Authorities await DNA tests on body parts
Arlington Heights police said today it will be at least a week before officials know whether the body parts found last week in the Lions Woods forest preserve near Des Plaines and those discovered weeks ago in Arlington Heights are from the same person.
A severely decomposed torso and head - with multiple cranial injuries - were found last Thursday in the forest preserve near Golf and River roads. That investigation is being handled by Cook County Sheriff's Police.
On April 16, Arlington Heights police discovered the lower half of a body wrapped in a garbage bag behind Marketview Apartments. It was severed just above the pelvis by a sharp instrument, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office.
Authorities have not been able to determine the identity of the victim or victims.
The medical examiner's office believes the Arlington Heights remains are of either a white or Hispanic man.
The bones of both halves have been sent for DNA testing to an Illinois State Police forensic crime lab, said Cmdr. Kenneth Galinski, chief of criminal investigations for the Arlington Heights Police Department.
The tests may take a while to be completed, he added.
Meanwhile, police released photos of three tattoos on the Arlington Heights body that officials believe are gang related.
But there have been no leads in the case from the tattoos, Galinski said.