Commingled Human Remains. Methods in Recovery, Analysis, and Identification

Description:

Commingled human remains are encountered in situations ranging from prehistoric ossuaries to recent mass fatality incidents. The successful analysis of commingled remains 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.

Advances in the Recovery and Analysis of Commingled Human Remains brings together tools from diverse sources within forensic science to offer a set of comprehensive approaches to handling commingled remains. The chapters cover the recovery of commingled remains in the field, the use of triage in the assessment of commingling, various analytical techniques for sorting and determining the number of individuals, the role of DNA in the overall process, ethical considerations, and data management. Case examples, such as the World Trade Center attack, will be used to illustrate techniques that were found to be successful and those that were found to be problematic. Written by experts in the field, this book will be instrumental to the forensic community, as it brings together top professionals from various organizations that routinely deal with complex commingling scenarios.

Features:

• 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.

Table of Contents:

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: Commingled and Questioned Identity
Chapter 12: Marrying Anthropology and DNA: Essentials 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 Medicological 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 Medicological Investigation of Mass Fatality Incidents
Chapter 22: Mass Fatality Management and the Effects of Commingling
Chapter 23: The Social Complexities of Commingled Remains

By Bradley Adams, Forensic Anthropologist, New York, NY, USA and John Byrd, Central Identification Laboratory, Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command