Anthropologist continues investigation of skull

A forensic anthropologist today will begin digging in a wooded area in Cranberry in hopes of unraveling the mystery surrounding the partial skull of a middle-aged woman found there last week.

Dennis Dirkmaat, a forensic anthropologist from Mercyhurst College in Erie, said Monday that the skull, found Nov. 17 among broken bottles and other debris, was consistent in size to a woman's skull. Based on hardening in the area of the cranial sutures, he said, the woman was between 30 and 50 years old at the time of her death.

Dirkmaat said that the discovery of more bone fragments at the site on Ehrman Road could help investigators determine the cause of death, along with her age and other characteristics.

A man reported Thursday to Cranberry police that he'd found the skull, several days after making the discovery. State police, who won't identify the man, were called in to investigate.

Dirkmaat said that because only the back and top portions of the skull were found, he can't yet determine the woman's race or what her face might have looked like.

He said that because the skull is partially eroded, it likely had been outside at least 10 years, possibly much longer.

"This is only a cursory examination," said Dirkmaat, the state's only board-certified forensic anthropologist. "Hopefully, when we excavate and search where the skull was found, we will find some more bone fragments to help us."

The partial skull was found in two pieces. Dirkmaat said that could indicate that the woman suffered some type of head injury or simply that her skull was broken while out in the elements after her death.

"It's too early to speculate on any of that," Dirkmaat said.

State police Trooper Cheryl Michalski said police will wait for more information from Dirkmaat before proceeding with their investigation. In the meantime, police are making no assumptions.

"There were a lot of old farms in the area where the skull was found, and it was not unusual for people to bury their loved ones on the property," Michalski said.

Michalski said the skull fragments could have been pushed to the surface as the soil froze and thawed over the years.