DNA evidence helps Barrington Hills police ID victim in grisly 1979 death

Forty-four years after parts of a dismembered corpse were discovered in a grassy area in Barrington Hills, authorities on Wednesday announced they have a name to go with the remains.

Investigators used DNA and forensic genealogy to identify the remains as those of 27-year-old Joseph A. Caliva, police said in a news release. The announcement didn’t say where Caliva lived at the time he was killed, and a department spokesman couldn’t be reached.

The partially charred remains were found Aug. 5, 1979, by someone riding a horse along Old Dundee Road. A torso and two severed legs were recovered, police said. The head and arms never have been located.

Police believe Caliva was killed somewhere else and his remains left where they were found. Unable to identify the victim at the time, the case eventually went cold.

Authorities have not disclosed where Caliva lived.

But in 2023, Barrington Hills police sent evidence to Othram, a Texas company that specializes in testing forensic DNA evidence and identifying crime victims. That work led investigators to determine Caliva was the murder victim.

“Othram scientists successfully developed a DNA extract from the evidence and then (built) a comprehensive DNA profile for the man,” Othram CEO David Mittelman said. “Othram's in-house forensic genetic genealogy team used the profile … to develop new investigative leads that were returned to law enforcement.”

Using those new leads, police contacted a potential relative of the murder victim, Mittelman said. Follow-up DNA testing confirmed he was Caliva, Mittelman said.

Barrington Hills Village President Brian D. Cecola on Wednesday said he’s proud of the effort police put into identifying Caliva.

“We are relieved that the identity of the victim has been solved and hopeful that the identification brings some closure to the family of Mr. Caliva,” he said.

A crowdfunding campaign through dnasolves.com covered the costs of the forensic investigation, police said.

Anyone with information about the case can call the Barrington Hills Police Department’s investigation’s unit at (847) 551-3006. Reference Case No. 1979-2050.