New Details Released In Death Of Missing Yorkville Teen

YORKVILLE, IL — Nearly three months after Yorkville 16-year-old Aiyana Williams went missing near her home in the Country Hills subdivision, the Kendall County Coroner's Office said remains found June 22 were positively identified as the teenager's after DNA testing.

However, a cause of death could not be determined for the teen, whose disappearance prompted an outpouring of care and worry from the community after she vanished from the Country Hills subdivision.

On Sept. 10, officials said, DNA Solutions of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, submitted a report showing that DNA samples collected from the body were, "with 99.9999 percent accuracy, identified as a direct descendant of Aiyana Williams’ mother, allowing our office to positively confirm that the found individual was, in fact, Aiyana Williams." The coroner said that "due to the complexity of skeletal DNA analysis, this process required additional time and could not be completed locally."

Six days after she went missing, police said Williams' remains were found in a field off Route 71 and Country Hills Drive in Yorkville.

Williams was last seen alive on June 16, according to police, who issued a community alert saying, "Aiyana is not considered a danger to the public, but has previously been known to hide in secluded or covered outdoor spaces." No evidence of foul play was found, and she was being treated as a runaway, police said in June.

On July 2 and July 17, the coroner's office said etymologists from Valparaiso University and Ohio University, respectively, submitted independent reports that both concluded that "based on multiple insect samples submitted from the area around the body and from the body directly," Williams died between June 17 and 18. The finding was "consistent with the timeline reported to our office by both the Yorkville Police Department and Aiyana Williams’ family members," the coroner's office said.

Due to "unique challenges" in the case, including the body's advanced state of decomposition, the Kendall County Coroner's Office said traditional means of forensic examination could not be completed. With specialized resources unavailable in Illinois, laboratories and experts in other parts of the country were sought, the coroner's office said, and "multiple samples were sent off to outside labs for toxicological, etymological, and skeletal DNA analysis to ensure the most thorough investigation possible."

On July 31, NMS Laboratories of Horsham, Pennsylvania submitted a report concluding that caffeine was the only substance detected in Williams' submitted tissues, the coroner's office said.

On Aug. 17, Kendall County's forensic pathologist submitted a report concluding that the body showed no sign of perimortem trauma, but noted "noted that the advanced state of decomposition precluded adequate examination and determination of the cause and manner of death."

On Sept. 16, staff from the coroner's office met to review all case information and reports received and found no indication of trauma or foul play in the evidence that was available.

But due to factors including the advanced state of decomposition and the absence of available witnesses, "a definitive cause or manner of death cannot be established at this time," the coroner's office said.

In accordance with National Association of Medical Examiners guidelines, "deaths shall be assigned an 'Undetermined' classification when the available evidence does not support a more specific and definitive conclusion," the coroner's office said in a statement. "Should further investigative information become available, the case file may be reopened and the findings amended."

The statement thanked the public for its patience through the investigation process, adding, "We also wish to emphasize that Aiyana’s death has been impactful to many in our community, and that our commitment is to ensure that everyone under our care receives the highest level of compassion and respect."

Related:

• Dogs, Drones Used To Search For Missing Teen As Police Ask Public For Help
• Coroner Reveals Where Body Was Found During Search For Missing Yorkville Teen