Olasinmibo “Sinmi” Abosede was last seen walking away from her Naperville home on the morning of July 30. The mother of four was wearing a long-sleeve black Adidas jacket, gray sweatpants, a black headscarf and black Crocs.
A body with clothing that matched Abosede’s would be discovered in Springbrook Prairie Forest Preserve on Aug. 14, but it would be another month before the DuPage County coroner’s office confirmed that the woman was, in fact, Abosede.
Why did it take so long? The coroner’s office had been waiting for dental records before making a positive identification, which raises the question, just what goes on behind the scenes when someone has died and an ID is needed?
While DuPage County Coroner Judith Lukas declined to discuss the specifics of Abosede’s case, no two cases are alike and there are protocols to be followed, she said.
As the second most-populous county in Illinois, DuPage sees about 10,000 deaths a year, Lukas said. Not all of those deaths get reported to the coroner. If a person dies of a natural death and a physician is available to sign the death certificate, the coroner is not needed. State laws determine which deaths get reported to the coroner.
“We are obligated by law to investigate any sudden, unexpected or unexplained deaths,” Lukas said.
Of the 10,000 or so deaths a year, about 6,500 will come through the coroner’s office. That number includes not just physical bodies, but also cremation permit requests and deaths reported by hospice organizations.
As for the identification process itself, the steps taken can vary from case to case. For example, when a person calls 911 to report a death, the deputy coroner may go out to the scene to conduct an on-site investigation. That investigation can include talking to law enforcement and family members as well as searching for clues about what could have led to the death.
Sometimes, the office is able to identify a person at the scene through family members or items such as a driver’s license, state ID or passport.
“If we can identify a person on scene, then we will. If we have an ID or a family member who can identify a person, that’s preferred,” Lukas said.
But that’s not always possible. Due to decomposition or the extent of injuries, the office may not be able to identify the body on scene. There is no hard-and-fast rule for which method the coroner will use next. Factors like time needed to obtain certain records or whether the office has an idea of who the person is determine how they proceed.
“It’s like juggling. There’s so many balls in the air and you catch whichever falls first,” Lukas said.
If the deceased person has had a surgical device implanted — such as a knee, hip or shoulder joint replacement — the coroner can usually track the serial number and manufacturer associated with it, which can lead to identification.
The office may also turn to dental records, but only if they have a suspected identity. Tracking down those records can still be difficult: families may not know the dentist their loved one used and some people don’t see a dentist regularly.
Fingerprints are another tool, but only if they think a match could be found through a database, Lukas said. If an identity is suspected, law enforcement can run a background check to see whether the person has fingerprints on file.
“If it’s someone that we don’t know who the person is, then they may fingerprint the person and then see if they can find the person in the system,” she said. “And then maybe something will come up and maybe it won’t come up. But if we suspect we know who the person is and there’s no record, there’s no sense in fingerprinting them.”
If fingerprints do not bring up an identity, DNA analysis is the last resort.
DNA is typically the most expensive option and takes the longest time. Illinois State Police will conduct DNA tests for Illinois agencies for free, but there’s a backlog, or the coroner can pay to have a private lab conduct an analysis. Factors like time can contribute to which lab the office chooses.
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That was the case last year when the office opted for DNA analysis from a private lab after suspected human remains were found on the Great Western Trail in Carol Stream.
While there was a suspicion that the deceased was a person who had been reported missing, the remains were skeletonized, meaning it was not possible to collect fingerprints. Dental records were not available.
The remains were sent to Erin Waxenbaum, a forensic anthropologist at Northwestern University.
“She was able to look at (the remains) and give us an estimated age range. I think she did race, sex. It was a male, approximate height,” Lukas said. “So she was able to do all of that first. And once she did that report, and gave us that report, it matched who the person was that was suspected.”
The bones and two familial swabs for DNA analysis were sent to Bode Technology in Virginia on Dec. 9, 2024. When results came back on March 31, it was confirmed the remains belonged to a 59-year-old man from Carol Stream.
The process cost about $3,750.
When a body goes unidentified or unclaimed, there is no time limit on how long the office will hold onto the remains, Lukas said. A body can be cremated, and the remains held indefinitely.
Currently, the office has cremains for 57 people, including some with no known family and others whose relatives chose not to claim them.
“We do not have plans for burial as we intend to make the cremains available if family should want to claim them in the future,” Lukas said.