Commingled Human Remains

Methods in Recovery, Analysis, and Identification

Bradley Adams, John Byrd

• Publisher: Academic Press
• Year: 2014
• ISBN:
  9780124059184
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Criminology
• Index: Social Sciences

Commingled human remains are encountered in situations ranging from prehistoric ossuaries to recent mass fatality incidents. Commingled Human Remains: Methods in Recovery, Analysis, and Identification brings together tools from diverse sources within the forensic science community to offer a set of comprehensive approaches to resolving issues associated with commingled remains. This edition focuses on forensic situations, although some examples from prehistoric contexts are also addressed. Commingling of bones and other body parts is a major obstacle to individual identification that must be addressed before other forensic determinations or research can proceed. Regardless of the cause for the commingling (transportation disaster, terrorist attack, natural disaster, genocide, etc.) it is critical that the proper experts are involved and that the proper techniques are employed to achieve the greatest success in making identifications. Resolution of commingling nearly always requires consideration of multiple lines of evidence that cross the disciplinary lines of modern forensic science. The use of archaeology, DNA, and forensic anthropology are several areas that are critical in this process and these are core topics presented in this book. Even a relatively "simple" mass fatality event can become very complicated once body fragmentation and commingling occur. Expectations associated with all phases of the process from recovery of remains to their final identification and release to next of kin must be managed appropriately.

• A powerful resource for those working in the forensic sciences who need to plan for and/or address the complex challenges associated with commingled and fragmentary human remains
• Written by an international group of the foremost forensic scientists presenting their research and candid experiences of dealing with commingled human remains, offering recommendations and providing "lessons learned" which can be invaluable to others who find themselves facing similar challenges
• Contains chapters on remains recovery, laboratory analysis, case studies, and broader topics such as mass fatality management and ethical considerations

Chapter 1

Commingling Analysis

Historical and Methodological Perspectives

Douglas H. Ubelaker Department of Anthropology, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.

Abstract

The chapters assembled in this volume represent a testimony to the growing need for commingling analysis within forensic anthropology and to the vast array of approaches available now to meet that need. Although basic inventory and documentation techniques are desirable in all cases, specific problems call for the selection of particular methods. This volume, beginning with this chapter on historical and methodological perspectives in commingling analysis, provides the reader with an overview of both the problems and the solutions.

Keywords

commingling; historical perspective; methodological perspective; sorting procedure; scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive spectroscopy; DNA analysis; case analysis; radiocarbon analysis

In 1962, Wilton Krogman published the first major text focused specifically on forensic anthropology. Although The Human Skeleton in Forensic Medicine (Krogman 1962) is widely recognized as a classic historical text, it presents little discussion of issues of commingling in the analysis of human remains. Essentials of Forensic Anthropology, the more focused 1979 follow-up text by T. Dale Stewart (Stewart 1979) devoted only two of its 300 pages to commingling topics despite existing publications that focused on bone weight analysis (Baker and Newman 1957), ultraviolet fluorescence (Eyman 1965; McKern 1958), forensic neutron activation (Guinn 1970), statistical approaches to commingling issues (Snow and Folk 1965), and other considerations (Kerley 1972). Stewart noted (1979:38) that most remains studied by forensic anthropologists at that time had been found as primary skeletons. For such cases, context and field documentation indicated that commingling was likely not a major issue.

In 2013, many skeletons studied by forensic anthropologists are also found as primary interments. Increasingly, however, cases are presented involving commingling issues. Mass disasters (Blau and Briggs 2011; Stewart 1970), cremation litigation (Murray and Rose 1993), human rights investigations (Garrido Varas and Intriago Leiva 2012), separation of recent from ancient remains, and many other types of modern cases (Ritter 2007) raise questions such as, “How many individuals are represented in a group of remains?” and “How can remains of single individuals be identified within collections of remains from multiple individuals?” These problems are exacerbated by events of terrorism leading to extensive fragmentation. Cases and questions involving commingling issues are highly variable and problem specific in modern forensic anthropology (Adams and Byrd 2006; Ubelaker 2002).

The methodology employed in answering these questions can also be highly variable (Rösing and Pischtschan 1995). As with most analysis in forensic anthropology, there is no “cookbook” approach to commingling issues. Practitioners must be aware of the myriad of techniques available and craft a case-specific protocol to address the particular problems at hand.

The chapters assembled in this volume represent a testimony to the growing need for commingling analysis within forensic anthropology and to the vast array of approaches available now to meet that need. Although basic inventory and documentation techniques are desirable in all cases, specific problems call for the selection of particular methods. This volume provides the reader with an overview of both the problems and the solutions.

Separation of Bone and Tooth from Other Materials

Some problem applications call for identification of bone and tooth materials and their separation from other, similarly appearing items. These issues emerge particularly in small particle analysis of fragmentary and/or burned materials. Since DNA analysis can be employed even with small, fragmentary evidence to contribute to identification, many submitted cases involve such evidence. Particles of drywall, plastic, geological materials, and many other items can resemble bone and tooth, especially after exposure to intense heat or other taphonomic factors. Likewise, bone and tooth can be difficult to recognize as such after taphonomic alteration.

When gross morphology is inadequate to distinguish materials in such cases, microscopy can be useful. A high-quality dissecting microscope may allow detection of structure unique to bone and tooth (Ubelaker 1998). However, lack of such detail may be problematic because some bone and tooth fragments can be altered to the extent that surface diagnostic features may be lacking. Thin sections may be useful in such cases, but preparation techniques are destructive and may preclude molecular analysis with very small fragments.

Scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM/EDS) provides a useful new tool in separating nonbone and tooth material (Ubelaker et al. 2002). Analysis presents not only a highly magnified surface image, which may in itself be useful, but also compositional spectra that can identify elemental structure. The presence and relative proportions of the constituent elements can be useful to distinguish bone and tooth from other materials. A comparative database of analyses of many known materials, including bones and teeth representing a variety of conditions, is now available to provide the probabilities of association. This system is especially useful to exclude materials from being bone or tooth but also can be helpful in the diagnosis of their presence (Ubelaker et al. 2002).

Recognition of Nonhuman Animal

In some commingling cases, it may be necessary to document the presence of nonhuman animals or even determine species. Again, morphological assessment is the initial method of choice if the...

Table of contents

• Cover image
• Title page
• Table of Contents
• Copyright
• Preface
• About the Editors
• About the Contributors
• Chapter 1. Commingling Analysis: Historical and Methodological Perspectives
• Chapter 2. Spatial Analysis of Mass Grave Mapping Data to Assist in the Reassociation of Disarticulated and Commingled Human Remains
• Chapter 3. Recovery Methods for Cremated Commingled Remains: Analysis and Interpretation of Small Fragments Using a Bioarchaeological Approach
• Chapter 4. More Pieces of the Puzzle: F.B.I. Evidence Response Team Approaches to Scenes with Commingled Evidence
• Chapter 5. The Use of Radiology in Mass Fatality Events
• Chapter 6. A Practical Method for Detecting Commingled Remains Using Epiphyseal Union
• Chapter 7. Application of Portable X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) for Sorting Commingled Human Remains
• Chapter 8. Osteometric Sorting
• Chapter 9. Estimating the Number of Individuals Represented by Commingled Human Remains: A Critical Evaluation of Methods
• Chapter 10. Assessment of Commingled Human Remains Using a GIS-Based and Osteological Landmark Approach
• Chapter 11. Human Cremation: Commingling and Questioned Identity
• Chapter 12. Marrying Anthropology and DNA: Essential for Solving Complex Commingling Problems in Cases of Extreme Fragmentation
• Chapter 13. Prioritized Sampling of Bone and Teeth for DNA Analysis in Commingled Cases
• Chapter 14. A Multidisciplinary Approach to Commingled Remains Analysis: Anthropology, Genetics, and Background Information
• Chapter 15. Blast and Crash Incidents: Resolving Commingling at the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System
• Chapter 16. Forensic Investigation of Suicidal Bombings in Israel: Balancing Religious Considerations with Medicolegal Responsibilities
• Chapter 17. Anthropologist-Directed Triage: Three Distinct Mass Fatality Events Involving Fragmentation and Commingling of Human Remains
• Chapter 18. Recovery and Identification of Victims of the Colgan Air Flight 3407 Crash
• Chapter 19. The Korea 208: A Large-Scale Commingling Case of American Remains from the Korean War
• Chapter 20. Data Management and Commingled Remains
• Chapter 21. Resolving Commingling Issues During the Medicolegal Investigation of Mass Fatality Incidents
• Chapter 22. Mass Fatality Management and the Effects of Commingling
• Chapter 23. The Social Complexities of Commingled Remains
• Index