Melbourne - The headless remains of infamous Australian bushranger Ned Kelly have finally been identified, officials said on Thursday, solving a mystery dating back more than 130 years.
Considered by some to be a cold-blooded killer, he was also seen as a folk hero and symbol of Irish Australian resistance against oppression by the British ruling class.
After killing three policemen, Kelly was captured in Victoria state in 1880 and hanged for murder at Old Melbourne Gaol in November of the same year. But his body went missing after it was thrown into a mass grave.
The bodies in the grave were transferred from the gaol to Pentridge Prison in 1929 and then exhumed again in 2009 with the investigation into Kelly starting when a skull believed to his was found.
Doctors and scientists at the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine identified the body after a DNA sample was taken from Melbourne school teacher Leigh Olver, Kelly's sister Ellen's great-grandson.
Victoria's Attorney-General Robert Clark said he was amazed by the work of the forensic team.
“This is an extraordinary achievement by our forensic team,” he said. “To think a group of scientists could identify the body of a man who was executed more than 130 years ago, moved and buried in a haphazard fashion among 33 other prisoners, most of whom are not identified, is amazing.”
The exploits of Kelly and his gang have been the subject of numerous films and television series.
Rolling Stone Mick Jagger played the lead role in the 1970 movie “Ned Kelly” while Heath Ledger starred as the outlaw in a 2003 remake that also featured Orlando Bloom and Geoffrey Rush. - Sapa-AFP