Authorities discover original casket of Emmett Till

(CNN) - Authorities discovered Emmett Till's original casket in a dilapidated garage at a historic cemetery where four people are accused of digging up graves and reselling them, police said Friday.

"There was wildlife living inside of it," Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart said of the casket, which he said was found in the corner of a garage filled with lawn care equipment and other "piles of things" at Burr Oak Cemetery in Alsip, Illinois.

"We very quickly came to the conclusion it was the original casket that Emmett Till was buried in," Dart said.

Till, 14, was killed in August 1955 in Mississippi after he reportedly whistled at a white woman.

His body was exhumed in 2005 as part of a renewed probe into his death. The Chicago Tribune reported that he was reburied in a different casket.

Four people face felony charges after authorities discovered that hundreds of graves were dug up and allegedly resold at the cemetery. Groundskeepers told investigators that Till's grave was not among them, Dart said earlier this week.