Hey Doc Whats in the Box
The third scenario involves a forensic anthropologist presented with a box of bones and asked to provide as many details as possible about the remains. In such cases, the anthropologist can determine the biological characteristics of the remains but, without seeing the remains in situ where they were found , may not be able to reconstruct much of the context Figure 16 . However, the bones themselves do carry clues about their context as two actual cases will help explain. The anthropologist...
Techniques for Recovering Skeletonized Human Remains
Although every forensic case is different, each case goes through many of the same phases. Each phase requires its own procedures and expertise. Throughout each phase, the chain of evidence must remain intact. The first phase usually is the discovery of the case. As likely as not, discovery is made by accident. The second phase is recovery of the remains and evidence. This and future phases require professional help. Next, laboratory analysis and research on the remains and evidence proceed. At...
Thomas Dwight Forensic Anthropology
Forensic anthropology has a long tradition in the United States. Its roots are intertwined with other medical and scientific disciplines such as human anatomy, paleontology, dentistry, archaeology, and anthropology. As is true for many kinds of technical and medical developments, the history and use of forensic anthropology are closely linked to military action. T. Dale Stewart, himself one of the most significant American forensic anthropologists, considers Thomas Dwight, MD, to be the father...
The Final Report
All forensic specialists understand the importance of clear, concise, and comprehensive recordkeeping you should expect no less from a consulting anthropologist. Any report submitted should be the result of your consultation with the anthropologist and in the format and style that are agreeable to both parties. The style of the report or portion of the report that describes the recovery of remains also should be agreed upon in advance. Discuss the kinds of maps and imaging, still photography,...
Human Remains Investigation General Information
This form inventories the personal effects and artifacts from the scene of the discovered remains and identifies the repository of the remains, personal effects, and artifacts. We have all had experience with relatives claiming that the victim's 10,000 diamond ring is missing. A record of the inventory of all personal effects found at the scene protects you from spurious claims. Specific identification of the repository of these effects is important when you are trying to locate them two years...
The Authors
Robert B. Pickering, PhD, has been Collier-Read Deputy Director at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Cody, Wyoming, since 1999. He is also associate professor adjunct in the anthropology department, University of Colorado at Denver and the University of Wyoming. Dr. Pickering received his PhD in physical anthropology from Northwestern University in 1984. He received a BA and MA in anthropology from Southern Illinois University in 1972 and 1973, respectively. Dr. Pickering was presented with...
Human Remains Investigation Forensic Anthropology Summary
This is the summary that you want your forensic anthropology consultant to provide. This report identifies specific physical information about your subject and allows you to compare it to information about a suspected victim. Using our example of the body found by John Brown, you can compare what the anthropologist tells you about the remains with the information you have about a missing subject. This information should assist you in making a positive identification of the remains.
Establishing the Ground Rules
Once you have found a forensic anthropologist and determined that this person's qualifications fit your needs, additional discussion should be started to outline your working relationship. You need to tell the forensic anthropologist what you expect of him or her and the forensic anthropologist needs to tell you what he or she expects of your office. That discussion should include everything from who provides various kinds of equipment, who takes and who may use photographs, fee structure,...
Setting the Scene
Hello Sheriff, this is John Brown and I think I just found a body. I was out hunting and I came across what looks like a human skeleton in the woods. Great, what do you do now Well, this is hunting season and chances are this is not an April Fool's joke. Your first step is to contact someone from the coroner's office to go with you to meet John Brown and have a look at this body. John Brown is right, this looks like a human skeleton to you, too. So what's your next step It is November, it is 6...
F
Facial features, 7, 172, see also Skull Feet, see Footprint impression analysis bowing, 76-77 defined, 190 Fibula, 190 decomposing remains, 7 degree of difficulty identifying, 172 identification and individualization, 138 Finger skin, 172 Follow-up steps, skeletal abnormalities, 167 Fontanel, 190 Footprint impression analysis, 129-130 Foramen, 190 FORDISC software program, 108, 127 Forensic anthropologists contributions to cases, 23, 27 insufficient training, 26 Forensic anthropologists,...
Ten Key Questions
Each time you are responsible for investigating partially or completely skel-etalized remains, you know that you will be facing a situation with many unknowns. To simplify your task, a series of 10 key questions must be answered in order for you to complete a thorough forensic investigation. The answers to these questions rarely are obvious enough to let you close your case quickly. In most cases the only way to get accurate answers to these questions is to seek outside help. A forensic...
Heres a Bone We Have a Problem
The second scenario in the discovery of remains involves someone actually bringing in a portion of the body. The task then is to find the rest of it. In this case, the informant may be able to lead the investigator directly to the remains or at least to the spot where the recovered portion was found. Yet, there are times when the portion is not recovered at the actual site where the body has been deposited. Therefore, a broader search is required to find the remains. Again, the role of animals...
Finding a Forensic Anthropologist
The forensic anthropologist is one of the specialists who can greatly contribute to the recovery and analysis of evidence in a case. At minimum, the forensic anthropologist can determine the major biological characteristics, such as age, sex, stature, and possibly race or ethnicity of a skeletonized, human remains. However, in a wide range of cases, forensic anthropologists often can do much more than collect evidence. Because of their training, forensic anthropologists may help reconstruct the...
Human Remains Investigation General Description of Remains
This report is important for two reasons. If completely filled out, it makes certain that the remains and its disposition at the site are fully described. This record may be essential for your testimony in court later. Your forensic anthropologist should fill this out at the scene. If for some reason you have failed to ask a forensic anthropologist to help you recover the remains and you suddenly appear with a bag of bones, this information will help the anthropologist who performs the...
How to Find a Forensic Anthropologist
Within the forensic field, there is one principal organization to which forensic anthropologists are likely to belong the AAFS, Anthropology Section. In addition, a person may belong to regional or international forensic organizations and may be a diplomate of the ABFA. Your interview process could be shortened by asking about these credentials, first. However, not every jurisdiction has a forensic anthropologist who is a member of these organizations. Therefore, it is still important for the...
Question What Are the Individual Characteristics of the Remains
After all this analysis, what do you know You have estimates of the class characteristics concerning sex, age, race, and stature that place your subject in a specific group, but you still have not answered the question of who this person is. The previous questions pertained to biological class characteristics the class of 21-year-old females, the class of males with a particular height. As important as these features are, each person also has unique traits that individualize one person from...
Question Is It Modern
Are these skeletal remains from an ancient burial, more than 100 years old, or are they from a recently deceased person and of forensic interest Determining time since death is one of the most difficult questions to answer because so many variables affect decomposition of a body. If the discovered remains are found on the surface of the ground and skin and hair are still present on the remains, you know that this death was relatively recent. Buried remains, particularly in a coffin or wrapped...
DNA Testing
The most revolutionary advance in forensic techniques for the positive identification of individuals is based on DNA testing. DNA is the carrier of the genetic code in humans. It is contained in the genes that occupy a specific location on the chromosomes in the nucleus of each cell. The human genome the complete set of chromosomes contains about 3 billion base pairs of DNA. Each person inherits two copies of this genome in 23 pairs of chromosomes, one set from each parent, for a total of 46....
Question Is It Bone
All of us can recognize bones as part of a complete skeleton. Most of us can recognize individual intact bones. The recognition task becomes more difficult if we are faced with fragmented bones. Many common materials, such as plastic or pieces of tree root, have been confused with bone. Fragments of cortical bone have been confused with some types of foam insulation, turtle shell, or other materials of similar size and curve to the cranial vault. Few of us are able to confidently identify...
Question What Bones Are Present
Answering this question requires knowledge of human osteology. After the scene investigation is complete, your job is to make certain that all the bones have been collected. If all the bones are not recovered, your investigation may miss important bits of information that could resolve the case. Every bone provides a clue to who this person was and what circumstances led to the discovery of the remains. As part of your case file, make certain that an inventory of the bones is done so you can be...
Closing the Case Closing the Book
Every death investigation raises three questions Who is this person When did this person die What caused this person's death Most of the time, these answers are clear and straightforward. But even in apparently obvious situations, the investigation can rarely be completed by a single person additional experts are usually needed to give final answers to these three questions. In a witnessed death, at least some of the questions have readily apparent answers. Because the death is observed, the...
Table of Contents
2 Some Bones Have Been Found 7 Scenario Two 10 Nine Key Points to Remember When Skeletal Remains Are 3 What the Forensic Anthropologist Can and Cannot Do 15 Finding a Forensic Anthropologist 15 What the Forensic Anthropologist Can Do 17 How to Find a Forensic Anthropologist 26 Establishing the Ground Rules 29 4 Techniques for Recovering Skeletonized I Think There's a Skeleton Buried in This Field 47 Here's a Bone, We Have a Problem 50 Hey Doc, What's in the Box 54 The Forensic Anthropologist...
Eight Essential Environmental Categories of Information
If you are going to estimate the time since death for a decomposing body, there are certain categories of information that you must acquire if your estimate is to have any scientific validity and acceptability as evidence in court 1. Season of year with hours of daylight and darkness 2. Temperature ranges, both daytime highs and nighttime lows for entire period 3. Humidity ranges for the entire period 4. Clouds, precipitation, snow cover 5. pH of soil for buried bodies 7. Scavengers common to...
DNA Databases
There are three types of DNA databases sometimes called databanks reference population databases, convicted offender databases, and unsolved crime scene DNA databases often referred to as no-suspect cases . Reference population databases are random samplings of various populations to determine if there are any differences in allele or DNA marker frequencies that would affect the prediction of how often one might expect to see a DNA profile i.e., genotype on a particular piece of evidence. A...
The Future of Forensic DNA
As the human DNA typing methods for forensic individualization have become more uniform from laboratory to laboratory, the technology has finally stabilized. Initially, as methods were being developed, new DNA test methods were being introduced and implemented every few years. Now, almost all forensic testing laboratories in the United States use the Combined DNA Indexing System CODIS core loci, which has allowed for the construction of a federal DNA database of convicted offenders. Where does...
Conclusions
Clearly, the main reason many social scientists today are questioning the race concept and striving for new terminology for the major human population groups is a fear of racism. They believe that too much focus on racial variation might lead to racist thinking and that the old racial terms contribute as well because they carry too much baggage from a racist past. They are also unaware of any positive value in continuing to view human variability through a racial lens as they call it. Even...
E
East Asian racial label describing remains, 104 racial traits, 107 Ectocranial, 190 Education, 26-28 Embalming, 75, 115 Entomology, 117-118, 190 Environmental categories, 118-119 Epiphysis, 190 Equipment field recovery, 66 ground rules establishment, 30 minimum list, 30-31 supplying, ground rules establishment, 29 Ethnicity, 105, see also Race ethnicity ancestry Examination, 18, 23 Excavation case report, 68 field recovery, 67 method, 57-59 supervision, as credential, 27 Expectations forensic...
Human Remains Investigation Recovery Area
This form records information about the specific recovery area and identifies consultants who may have taken samples from the site. Evidence of postmortem animal and human disturbance helps separate changes that occurred after deposition of the remains from things that happened at the time of death, which may help determine the cause and manner of death. HUMAN REMAINS INVESTIGATION RECOVERY AREA LOCATION OR RECOVERY AREA ALTITUDE MICROENVIRONMENT EXPOSURE TO SUNLIGHT TEMPERATURE RANGE FOR AREA...
Assessing Ancestry Race from the Skeleton George W Gill
What Is Race, Ethnicity, or Cultural Affiliation 104 What Methods Are Used to Establish Ancestry Race from Bones 107 How Accurate Are Assessments of Ancestry Race from Bones 109 7 Determination of Time since Death 113 Eight Essential Environmental Categories of Information 118 8 Special Techniques Their Value and Limitations 121 Direct Facial Reconstruction 122 Craniofacial Superimposition 128 Footprint Impression Analysis 129 9 An Introduction to Forensic Science and DNA 137 Heather Miller...
Forensics Defined
Forensic science is a compilation of scientific and analytical methods borrowed from multiple disciplines and applied to matters of law. At the most simplistic level, forensic science is about performing reliable tests on evidence properly collected from crime scenes to aid in case resolution.1 By collecting physical, chemical, or biological evidence, extensively documenting the evidence at both the scene and at the laboratory, and performing analyses using various laboratory tests, crime scene...
References
1. Stuart, J.H., and Jon, N.J. Forensic Science An Introduction to Scientific and Investigative Techniques. Boca Raton, FL CRC Press, 2003. 2. Lee, H.C. Physical Evidence. Enfield, CT Magnani and McCormic, 1995. 3. Butler, J. Forensic DNA Typing. San Diego, CA Academic Press, 2001. 4. Inman, K. and Rudin, N. An Introduction to Forensic DNA Analysis. Boca Raton, FL CRC Press, 1997. 5. Miller Coyle, H. Forensic Botany Principles and Applications to Criminal Casework. Boca Raton, FL CRC Press,...
Human Remains Investigation Cover Sheet
This report provides a summary of your investigation. It identifies the case jurisdiction, the lead investigator, when and who reported the remains, where it was located, who worked on the case from other agencies, the identification of the remains, and its final disposition. A key feature is the assigned case number. This should be assigned by the jurisdiction in which the case is located. It must be the same number for every report form and for every agency assisting in the investigation. If...
Letters of Agreement
Printed here are examples of letters of agreement that you might use as models for letters between your office and consulting forensic anthropologists. However, they are only models. Actual wording should be discussed in advance with the anthropologist and the final letter should be reviewed by your office's legal advisor. This letter constitutes my permission for you to use photographs of forensic cases on which you consulted for my office. Photos may be used for teaching purposes and as...
Human Remains Investigation Photo and Video Inventory
Photograph and videotape as much of your investigation as you can. Make sure that you make a record of everything that you do photograph. This can form a permanent record of your investigation that may be invaluable at a trial as it documents what you have done. HUMAN REMAINS INVESTIGATION PHOTO AND VIDEO INVENTORY JURISDICTION CASE NUMBER INVESTIGATOR IN CHARGE
I Think Theres a Skeleton Buried in This Field
In some cases, finding remains is a difficult task. Therefore, discovery of the remains precedes recovery. Sometimes, the region of probable disposal is known fairly precisely and sometimes it is not. Depending on the precision of location, different techniques will be needed. Obviously, the investigator will try to obtain specific information from informants regarding the location of a body. The more information provided, the more efficient the search. However, time passes, seasons change, and...
Human Remains Investigation Inventory
Everything should be inventoried the remains, the clothing, the personal effects, and any other items found at the scene. The persons doing the inventory should be identified. In most cases, it is wise to have two people doing the inventory, particularly if there are valuable items involved. Every inventoried item should be identified by number and recorded on separate sheets for remains, clothing, personal effects, and other items. HUMAN REMAINS INVESTIGATION INVENTORY LABEL EVERY ITEM WITH...
The Forensic Anthropologist and Recovery of Remains
There is no unimportant link in the chain of events related to the identification of human remains. However, the actual recovery of the remains and recording of the information at the recovery site provide the data for all subsequent analysis and interpretation. Without complete recovery, and accurate and detailed descriptions, an accurate reconstruction of events is not possible. A forensic anthropologist, particularly one who also has training and experience in archaeology, can be a valuable...
Putting Your Case Together
Let's go back to our original case, the body found by John Brown Chapter 2 . You have gathered all of the information, now what are you going to do with it The district attorney DA , as well as the press, is anxious to have some answers. Who was this person When did death occur Was it homicide What's your evidence and can it stand up in court Should the DA be considering charges against somebody You have found some answers. This is a case of complete skeletal remains found in the woods. You...
Preface
This book is written for medical examiners, coroners, and other law enforcement officers who are responsible for conducting death investigations. Forensic analysis has become and will continue to be a complex and highly specialized field of study. No longer can the lone investigator take on the responsibilities of doing all the work of recovery, examination, and interpretation of a human remains resulting from unexplained circumstances. Today, a forensic investigation requires a team of...
Forensic Toxicology
The ability of forensic toxicologists to determine trace amounts of drugs and other toxic elements in skeletal remains has been increased significantly through development of new methods of chemical analysis. Gas chromatog-raphy mass spectrometry GCMS is the technique that currently yields the most accurate results. With these instruments, chemists are able to discover small amounts of abnormal chemicals in bone or other tissue and can do so by utilizing small amounts of any tissue. Several...
FollowUp Steps for Skeletal Abnormalities
1. Document all evidence of skeletal abnormalities with good photographs. 2. X-ray all skeletal remains to look for evidence of trauma or disease. 3. Separate ante, peri, and postmortem trauma. 4. Use your outside experts to tell you what effect skeletal changes would have on a person during life. 5. Use this information to narrow your field of investigation. Figure 77 This dramatic set of x-rays presents a bone cyst on the third metacarpal of the hand. Photo courtesy of James Quale, MD,...
What the Forensic Anthropologist Can Do
Forensic anthropologists can help you recover and analyze human remains, particularly those that are decomposed or skeletonized, in a rapid, efficient manner. The training of forensic anthropologists allows them to recover skeletons quickly. Besides rapid recovery, their training enables them to glean information from the site that may be ofvalue in later analysis. Anthropologists can also help reconstruct previous events that are related to the deceased, as well as natural and intentional...
Equipment Requirements
From the anthropologist's viewpoint, the basic equipment list for field recovery includes tools of excavation shovels, trowels, screens, various measuring instruments, storage, and labeling material. Your office should always have a few shovels available as well as other hand excavation tools. In addition, at least two screens should be available -inch and -inch mesh hardware screens are basic. For the -inch mesh, a screen of 18 to 24 inches is an adequate size. For the -inch mesh, a 12- to...
Question Is It Human
Again, anyone will recognize a skeleton that has the bones lying in a normal anatomical configuration. If soft tissue or hair is still present, you can feel even more confident that you are dealing with human remains. Scattered bones present a more difficult problem. You will be able to identify a complete human skull its rounded vault and flat face distinguish human from animal skulls. A fragment of cranial vault bone can be confused with turtle shell. However, there are a number of traits...
C
tissue thicknesses, 125-126 training, as credential, 28 Cadmium, 134 Calcaneus os calsis , 189 Calvarium, 189 Carbon dating, see Radiocarbon dating Carnivores, 50, 151-153, see also Animals Carpal bones carpus , 189 Carpus carpal bones , 189 Case number, 67-68 Case questions age, 90-96 bone confirmation, 71-73 bones inventory, 81 commingling, 81-82 confirming human bone, 74-75 fundamentals, xii, 71, 101 individual characteristics, 99-101 race ethnicity culture, 82-84 sex, 84-90 stature, 97-99...
Skeletal Trauma and Identifying Skeletal Pathology
There is a third question that must be answered after Who is this person and when did this person die That question is, What was the cause of death Unfortunately, in many cases you will not learn the cause of death by examining the skeleton. Most of the time, people are killed by injury to the body's major organs. In partially skeletonized or severely traumatized remains, those organs will have decomposed to the point where that evidence has disappeared. Once in a while you get lucky skeletal...
Question What Is the Race Ethnicity or Cultural Affiliation
Race is both a cultural and a biological term. For more than a century, scientists and philosophers have tried to define race and describe races. Some scientists define only three races caucasoid, mongoloid, and negroid, while other scientists have defined more than 10. In our current climate of multicultural sensitivity, some scholars, not forensic anthropologists, suggest that race does not exist, or at least it should not be talked about. The dictionary gives several definitions for race....
The Microenvironment
The variables directly associated with decomposition of the body are relatively straightforward compared to the variables from the microenvironment that affect the rate of decomposition. 1. The time of year when the body is exposed dramatically affects decomposition. Cold weather slows the rate hot weather accelerates it. Frozen bodies do not decompose, as we know from recovered bodies that have been preserved in ice however bodies that thaw after being frozen for a long time decompose rapidly....
How Accurate Are Assessments of AncestryRace from Bones
Law enforcement personnel sometimes ask, How accurate is racial assessment from a skeleton In short, the forensic anthropologist can answer, Quite accurate. This is for a number of reasons. First, North America has an almost unique history that allows race to be a bit more biologically real than in many other parts of the world. People have come here from widely separated regions of the planet west Africa, northwest Europe, east Asia where human populations have evolved different physical...
What Methods Are Used to Establish AncestryRace from Bones
Methods very similar to those used to determine sex from an unknown skeleton can also be used to determine race. That is, observations of the shapes of bones and also precise measurements of the skull and certain long bones can produce reliable results in the hands of well-trained forensic anthropologists. One big difference between race assessment and sex determination is that the best area of the skeleton for sex determination is the pelvis and the skull is the second best area , while the...