DNA evidence helps identify murder victim found in Barrington Hills in 1979

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 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 have never been located.

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

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

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

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.