Identifying the Dead with only Teeth and Bones - Essay Example

RUNNING HEAD: IDENTIFYING THE DEAD WITH ONLY TEETH AND BONES Identifying the Dead with only Teeth and Bones School Identifyingthe Dead with only Teeth and Bones Introduction Crime victim identification can be possible through the bones and teeth that remain in the crime scene. The initiative of forensic identification that includes Forensic Ballistics and Forensic Anthropology was made by Alexandre Lacassagne and his student Edmond Locard (both from France) who enunciated that every contact of the criminal leaves a trace (The Dead Speak, 2009). Locard then put up a forensic laboratory in 1910 where evidence is scientifically and systematically studied and analyzed (The Dead Speak, 2009). Forensic scientists who make this identification are forensic anthropologists (Bindel, 2008) who are trained in human osteology, anthropology, archeology, and anatomy (Walsh-Haney, 2002). Forensic anthropology, a branch of physical anthropology, requires multi-skills such as “archaeological field techniques, functional anatomy, human paleontology (fossils), and paleopathology (ancient diseases)” Bruce Wheatley (forensic anthropologist, UAB Department of Anthropology professor, consultant at Jefferson County Coroner’s Office and Alabama State Medical Examiner’s Office) enumerated (Sullivan, 1998, para. 5). In contrast, forensic pathologists determine the cause of death in murder victims (Bindel, 2008). Skeletal analysis can reveal the “reveal secrets surrounding the circumstances of death” (Walsh-Haney, 2002, para. 6) and life experiences of the dead (e.g. trauma experience that cause the bones to stop growing and such trauma led to suicide) (Bindel, 2008). Skeletal trauma analysis will also reveal whether the deceased died of violent trauma caused by a weapon or bone breakage caused by animals or environment (Walsh-Haney, 2002). Profiling The initial step in bone or teeth identification when presented with the specimen is biological and social profiling. The primary task forensic anthropologists perform is “doing the big four” that determines the age, sex, ethnicity and stature (Sullivan, 1998, para. 5). Dental record comparison and examination of bone markers can pin down the age, sex and ethnic background to the dead (Bindel, 2008). Minute horizontal grooves on the front teeth show that the victim was very sick or malnourished when the teeth were developing at childhood (Walsh-Haney, 2002). Bone fractures, healed and still healing, indicates repeated domestic violence while knee implants show sports injury (Walsh-Haney, 2002). The biological profile can provide specific conditions of the victim that can facilitate identification (Walsh-Haney, 2002). Bones undergo visual, stereoscopical, and radiographical examination for age, gender, stature, and ethnicity information (Walsh-Haney, 2002). Identification Process To retain integrity, the specimen should be “contamination-free” and carefully recovered since the retrieval process may cause damage to the specimen (Walsh-Haney, 2002). Thus, all evidence must be recovered that includes bullet casings, cigarette butts, etc. which must be photographed (Walsh-Haney, 2002). Following the biological profiling is analysis of trauma surrounding the death (Walsh-Haney, 2002). Specimen may also be difficult to retrieve when cluttered by other materials (e.g. rocks, debris) as with the victims of the September 11 World Trade Center attack (Walsh-Haney, 2002). Dental X-rays and DNA sample can be taken from the specimen, as done by the Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team (DMORT) of the US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) during the Katrina disaster (Biever, 2005). Dental X-rays are matched from previous dental records while the DNA specimen is compared with DNA samples taken from personal belongings of the deceased or family members and blood relatives (Biever, 2005). Through these identification methods, one-third of the 2,824 victims at World Trade Center were identified (only 10 victims were identified using visual confirmation) (Lipton & Glanz, 2002). The importance of teeth in identification cannot be ignored since the teeth and dental restorations stay the same for longer period even with subjected to fire (Babar, Iqbal & Jan, 2008). Forensic dentistry has gained importance in solving criminal cases (Babar, et. al, 2008). The uniqueness of dental treatment of each person can help in pinpointing the identity of the dead (Babar, et. al, 2008). Teeth may also differentiate ethnicity since Chinese have “evanginated odontome on the occlusal preface of premolars” while the “shoved shaped incisor of the Mongoloids might eliminate a Caucasoid origin” (Babar, et. al, 2008, p. 81). The teeth follow a pattern of development that indicates age (Babar, et. al, 2008). Moreover, the mineralization of each tooth, seen through jaw radiographs, can pinpoint age to a few months for infants and some years on teenagers at time of death (Babar, et. al, 2008). After the last of the permanent tooth erupts at 18 years, age determination becomes difficult at 20 years of age (Babar, et. al, 2008). A regression table can be used to determine age of an unidentified person of up to 7 years from time of death (Babar, et. al, 2008). It was reported that 60 to 70 percent of air crash victims were identified based on dental specimens alone (Babar, et. al, 2008). Dental identification may not be possible when dental records are no longer available (e.g. in New Orleans, dental records were washed away) (Biever, 2005). Thus, the identification can be undertaken from the DNA taken from bones that may be undertaken despite lapse of time, Ray Wickenheiser (forensic scientist, Acadiana Crime Lab, New Iberia, Louisiana) said (Biever, 2005). Nuclear DNA then is an ideal material for identification with the wide availability of siblings, parents and children for comparison in addition to personal items (Biever, 2005). Mitochondrial DNA taken from the bone, abundant in cells and has a ring structure more resistant to decomposition, is the alternative option (utilized on the Bosnia war crime victims) (Biever, 2005). Mitochondria, minute rings of DNA in cell structures passed through the maternal line, have around 10,000 in every cell is harder to work with but effective in identification (applied by Celera Genomics, located in Maryland, in collaboration with its Applied Biosystems division using a fast DNA sequencing equipment in the World Trade Center) (Lipton & Glanz, 2002). This can be used even between cousins but cannot distinguish between siblings or parents and children (Biever, 2005). Intense fire that could reduce a bone to ashes would not yield positive results since moisture and bacteria can further deteriorate integrity (Lipton & Glanz, 2002). On the other hand, the use of single nucleotide polymorphisms, called snips, can be found although the DNA is reduced to as small as 60 to 80 base pairs (lesser than that is traditional required ), said Mr. Stolorow (Orchid Cellmark) (Lipton & Glanz, 2002). Sex determination from bone fragments is the easiest process (The Dead Speak, 2009). A wider and lower pelvis indicates female gender while longer and heavier arm and leg bones and remarkable brow ridge belong to the male gender (The Dead Speak, 2009). Women have smaller skulls (Sullivan, 1998). For age, pubic symphyses are the best determinant (The Dead Speak, 2009). These hip bones “meet in the front of the pelvis” (The Dead Speak, 2009, para. 19). Skull sutures on the cranium (upper portion of the skull) fuse and narrow down and become harder with age (The Dead Speak, 2009). Older persons have hard vertebrae outgrowths and may show wearing on the joints (The Dead Speak, 2009). Wheatley elaborated that bone length, “extent of fusion of the epiphysis” (caps on ends of long bones that fuse completely with the bones after 20 years of age), and state of teeth (anthropologists called “dental eruptions”) are factors that help determines age (Sullivan, 1998, para. 5). At around 30 years of age, the “epiphysis on the sternal end of the clavicle” is fused while there is a change in the 4th rib sternal ends as a person ages (Sullivan, 1998). The age can be determined with precision by adding or subtracting two years by analyzing the “depth of the pitting on that rib” (Sullivan, 1998, para. 7). There is a deterioration at the lower back bones, becoming less dense or more porous (due to arthritis and injuries from work) at past 30 (Sullivan, 1998). Ethnicity is determined from certain features: a bony ridge at the base of the nose is commonly higher in Causacians, while broader nasal cavities and wider distance between eyes belong to Negroids (The Dead Speak, 2009). Wheatley commented that race determination is becoming more complex due to “racial mixing” wherein white people can be seen with marked cheekbones (Sullivan, 1998, para. 11). Thus, bone identification is confined to basic characteristics of races (e.g. white, black, Asian, Native American) without regard to skin color (Sullivan, 1998). Stature uses a mathematical formula referred to as “regression equation” in measuring the femur (thigh bone) which is combined with the other measurements taken from the tibia (lower shinbone) to attain highly precise estimate of the height (Sullivan, 1998). The data is sent to the national forensic skeletal data bank for comparison and assess the changing profile of the people in the US and determine the accuracy and probability of initial determination (Sullivan, 1998). References Babar, M.G., Iqbal, S. & Jan, A. (2008, November 5).Essential Guidelines for Forensic Dentistry. Pakistan Oral & Dental Journal, 27(1), 79-84. Scribd. Retrieved November 14, 2009, from http://www.scribd.com/doc/7754402/Forensic-Dentistry-PODJ Biever, Celeste. (2005, September 13). New Orleans will struggle to identify its dead. Retrieved November 12, 2009, from http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn7992-new-orleans-will-struggle-to-identify-its-dead.html Bindel, Julie. The bone detective. (2008, April 30). The Guardian. Retrieved November 11, 2009, from http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2008/apr/30/women.gender Lipton, E. & Glanz, J. (2002, April 22). Limits of DNA Research Pushed to Identify the Dead of Sept. 11. The New York Times. Retrieved November 13, 2009, from http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/22/nyregion/22IDEN.html?todaysheadlines=&pag Sullivan, E. (1998, Fall). If These Bones Could Speak: Identifying Skeletal Remains. UAB Magazine, 18(4). UAB Publications. Retrieved November 14, 2009, from http://main.uab.edu/show.asp?durki=45647 The Dead Speak Through Forensics.(2009). Crime Case Files. Retrieved November 12, 2009, from http://www.crimecasefiles.com/forum/forensics/1302-the-dead-speak-through-forensics.html Walsh-Haney, Heather. (2002, June 7). Skeleton Keys: How Forensic Anthropologists Identify Victims and Solve Crimes. Science. Retrieved November 14, 2009, from http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_magazine/previous_issues/articles/2002_06_07/noDOI.14943605155048245125 Read More