Skull fragment from woman, not Hitler

STORRS, Conn., Oct. 2 (UPI) -- A skull fragment thought to have come from notorious German Nazi leader Adolf Hitler actually came from an unknown woman, a U.S. anthropologist says.

Connecticut anthropologist Nick Bellantoni said his examination of bone fragments retrieved from Hitler's Fuhrerbunker in Germany determined the skull fragment came from a woman between 20 and 40 years old, The Hartford (Conn.) Courant reported Friday.

Hitler committed suicide in the bunker on April 30, 1945. Following the Nazi leader's death, Russia declared a bullet-pierced skull fragment found at the scene to be from Hitler.

Bellantoni said he and Linda Strausbaugh, director of the Center for Applied Genetics and Technology, extracted enough DNA and genetic material from the fragments to determine the fragment did not come from the infamous Nazi leader.

Bellantoni, who was hired by the History Channel to examine the remains, told the Courant the identity of the woman behind the fragment may never be known.

"This could simply be an anonymous person that was caught in the bunker," he said. "That person could be lost in history."