Arians questions skull

A skull taken from the casket of a woman murdered 63 years ago and exhumed in 2005 is not hers—and may not even be that of a woman.

That's what Mike Arians, Oregon restaurant owner, and Warren Reed, the brother of 1948 murder victim Mary Jane Reed, told members of the press Monday.

In an afternoon press conference held at Arians' restaurant, Arians showed a recent drawing done by forensic artist Lois Gibson, Houston, Texas, based on the skull he and Reed say is the same one taken from Mary Jane's coffin six years ago.

"She (Gibson) examined the skull. She said that what we're calling the Jane Doe skull could possibly be a John Doe skull," he said.

Mary Jane, then 17, Oregon, and her companion Stan Skridla, 28, Rockford, were shot to death in 1948. Both murders remain unsolved.

Arians and Reed founded the Mary Jane Reed Foundation several years ago in an effort to solve Mary Jane's murder. Mary Jane's body was exhumed in August 2005 in an effort to uncover more information about her unsolved murder.

Arians said he took the skull from the exhumation to Gibson at Northwestern University, Evanston, where she was teaching a class earlier in June.

Gibson said during a phone interview Monday that the skull she based the drawing on is from a person of Asian descent and, quite possibly, a male.

She drew her conclusions about the origin, she said, from the shape of the skull's cheekbones. The prominent brow, she said, is indicative of a male.

Arians said the drawing depicts a person of indeterminate gender with "Mongoloid" or Asian features.

But local law enforcement officials aren't so sure the skull showed to the Gibson is the same skull taken from Reed's coffin during the exhumation.

Ogle County Sheriff Michael Harn said he has no way of knowing if the skull Arians showed Gibson and other forensic experts is the same one taken from Mary Jane's coffin.

"Since the judge gave him the skull, how do we know he didn't switch it?" Harn said.

Arians called that accusation "Totally ridiculous."

"If they have these questions, come on, take me to task," Arians said. "Make me look stupid. Come and get me."

"In my opinion as a law enforcement officer, the judge should have never awarded the remains to anyone as long as it is a open homicide," Harn said. "This is an open homicide, and it always will be until it is solved."

The skull, a femur, vertebrae, and other remains were sent to the Illinois State Police lab for further testing after the exhumation. Mary Jane's other remains were reburied at Daysville Cemetery after an autopsy on the day of the exhumation.

After a lengthy court battle, Ogle County Judge Stephen Pemberton awarded the skull, a femur, vertebrae, and other remains to Warren Reed once the testing was completed.

The bones have been kept in a vault in Rockford since then, Arians said.

Arians said Monday that he hired Gibson after efforts to have the FBI test the remains fell through, thanks to Harn.

He said he had been working with Harn, chief deputy Michael Schabacker, and deputy Randy Hilliard for several months on the case and had planned on taking advantage of the free testing services offered to police agencies by the FBI.

"To this point the sheriff's department was pretty much on board. My personal opinion was that they were reluctantly helpful," Arians said.

Then, right after telling the three that he was planning to take the skull, a femur, and public hairs recovered during the exhumation to the FBI testing facility in Quantico, Va., Arians said he received an email from an FBI expert telling him that the testing would not be done because the chain of custody had been broken.

"There's no reason the sheriff's department shouldn't have cooperated with the FBI to let us take advantage of all these free services," he said.

Harn denied talking to the FBI about the chain of custody.

"He [Arians] represented himself to the FBI as a representative of the sheriff's office. I told them [FBI staff members] I had no objection to them doing whatever they can, but he [Arians] does not represent the Ogle County Sheriff's Department," Harn said.

Arians said the chain of custody is not that important in determining if the skull in question is the same one taken from Mary Jane's coffin.

He said the state police took 18 photos of the skull during the autopsy and subsequent testing.

"It's pretty obvious that the 18 photos the state police took are the skull we have," he said. "I want the state police anthropologist to say this is the skull he examined."

He said he would welcome an disinterested third party to perform further tests to prove it is the same skull. But, he and Reed, said they are opposed to turning it over to the sheriff's department.

"I don't trust them," Arians said.

Reed agreed. "Oh no," he said emphatically. "They're not getting it."

Arians said he now wants Skridla's body exhumed because he believes Mary Jane's skull may be in his coffin. Skridla is buried in the Rockford area.

"It's a possibility that Mary Jane's skull may be in Skridla's coffin," he said.

Arians said his efforts over the past decade have been aimed at helping Reed find closure for his sister's murder.

Reed said he just wants his sister's skull returned.

"So Mary Jane can be buried with her head," he said. "She won't be at rest without it."

BREAKOUT

The murder synopsis

Mary Jane failed to return home from a date on June 24, 1948.

Her body was found four days later in a ditch along Devil's Backbone Road just west of Oregon and south of Pines Road. Police said she was shot once in the head.

Her companion on the night she disappeared, Stan Skridla, 28, Rockford, was also found murdered on June 25, 1948 on County Farm Road south of Oregon.

He had been shot five times. His car was found near the corner of Ill. 2 and Pines Road.

Neither murder has been solved despite the exhumation of Mary Jane's body and a subsequent new investigation.