Farmer claims skull is Ned Kelly's

MELBOURNE, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- Australian forensic experts say it may take a year to determine if a skull is that of notorious criminal Edward "Ned" Kelly.

Kelly was an Australian bushranger and a folk hero to some for his defiance of colonial authorities. He was hanged in 1880 after a shootout and his skull was put on display at various sites.

Western Australian farmer Tom Baxter Wednesday gave the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine a skull he said is the one that disappeared from an Old Melbourne prison display cabinet in 1978.

Baxter, who refused to say whether he stole it, asked the skull be buried at the Old Melbourne prison with a headless skeleton some believe to be Kelly, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported Friday.

Forensic experts will try to authenticate the skull through historical records and DNA tests, said Jeremy Smith of Heritage Victoria.

"I think with all things Kelly, it's a complex trail," Smith said. "It's quite possible that the skull was confused or mixed with another skull."