BURLINGAME, Calif. -- The skeleton that an elderly Burlingame man kept in his closet until his death last week belonged to a woman between 70 and 75 years old who had signs of trauma to the left side of her chest, authorities said today.

The skull and bones found Monday in the "Samsonite-type" suitcase were tested today by a forensic anthropologist, who determined the woman was about 5 foot 3 and had injuries to ribs on her left side, according to San Mateo County Coroner Robert Foucrault.

The injuries appeared to be healing at the time of her death, according to the coroner's office.

Several paper and plastic bags filled with bones were inside the suitcase, discovered by family members of 82-year-old Douglas Fitzgerald, who died on April 28 of lung cancer, officials said.

Investigators with the coroner's office and the Burlingame Police Department have been interviewing Fitzgerald's relatives in an effort to piece together his past.

Officials said he was a widower and declined to release further details about his life.

"The family was stunned" by what they found in their relative's El Camino Real home when they went to clean it, Foucrault said.

The suitcase was stored in a closet and was secured shut by a standard luggage lock, officials said.