Burnt Human Remains: Recovery, Analysis, and Interpretation

Burnt Human Remains
Contents
About the Editors
List of Contributors
Preface
Series Preface
1 History of the Study of Burnt Remains
1.1 Early Developments Prior to 1980
1.2 Post-1980 Advanced Experimentation and Casework
1.3 The 1990s: New Methods and Case Applications
1.4 Summary and Conclusions
References
Part 1 Search and Recovery of Burnt Human Remains from the Fire Scene
2 Fire Environments and Characteristic Burn Patterns of Human Remains from Four Common Types of Fatal Fire Scenes
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Experimental Research of Fire and Human Bodies
2.3 How the Human Body Burns
2.4 Variables of Fire Environments
2.5 Structure Fires
2.6 Burning Directly on the Floor
2.7 The Body on Furnishings: Couches and Chairs
2.8 The Body on Furnishings: Bed
2.9 Loss of the Floor
2.10 Collapse into a Lower Level
2.11 Vehicle Fires
2.12 Driver and Passenger Space
2.13 Rear Passenger Space with Bench Seats
2.14 Trunk Environment
2.15 Confined Space Fires
2.16 Outdoor Space Fires
2.17 Ignitable Liquids on Bodies
2.18 Burning Outdoor Debris Piles
2.19 Post-Fire Fragmentation of Burnt Bones
2.20 Suppression
2.21 Recovery and Transport from Fatal Fire Scenes
2.22 Conclusions
References
3 Recovery and Interpretation of Human Remains from Fatal Fire Scenes
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Summary of Fires in the USA
3.3 Statement of the Problem
3.4 Current Fatal Fire Victim Recovery Protocols
3.5 NIJ Protocols
3.6 Special Circumstances
3.7 Conclusions
References
4 Considerations to Maximize Recovery of Post-mortem Dental Information to Facilitate Identification of Severely Incinerated Human Remains
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Identification
4.3 Documentation
4.4 Preparation
4.5 Prepacked Scene Equipment
4.6 Scene Arrival
4.7 Safety Issues
4.8 Overall Scene Evaluation
4.9 Considerations Regarding DNA Evidence
4.10 Considerations Regarding Dental Evidence
4.11 Moving the Victim
4.12 Conclusions
References
Part 2 Examination and Identification of Burnt Human Remains
5 Methods for Analyzing Burnt Human Remains
5.1 Anthropological Methods for Classifying Burnt Remains
5.2 Medicolegal Classification Methods
5.3 Need for New Model within the Forensic Sciences
5.4 A New Classification System
5.5 Best Practices in Applying this New Model
5.6 Case Study #1
5.7 Case Study #2
5.8 Case Study #3
5.9 Case Study #4
5.10 Case Study #5
5.11 Broader Implications
5.12 Conclusions
Acknowledgments
References
6 Burnt Human Remains and Forensic Medicine
6.1 Fire Death Statistics
6.2 Statistics of Manner of Fire-Related Deaths
6.2.1 Prevalence of Self-Immolation
6.2.2 Prevalence of Criminal Immolation
6.3 Fire Damage to the Body
6.4 Classification of the Degree of Fire Damage
6.5 Medicolegal Determination of Cause of Death
6.6 Medicolegal Determination of Manner of Death
6.7 The Use of Post-Mortem Imaging for the Analysis of Burn Victims
6.8 Conclusion
Acknowledgments
References
7 Skeletal Alteration of Burnt Remains through Fire Exposure
7.1 Assessment of the Severity of the Thermal Damage in the Forensic Context
7.2 Soft Tissue Alterations by Fire Exposure
7.3 Bone Alteration by Fire Exposure
7.4 Teeth Alteration by Fire Exposure
7.5 Signature Changes in Skeletal Elements after Cremation
7.6 Conclusions
References
8 Challenges of Biological Profile Estimation from Burnt Remains
8.1 Why Does Burning Affect Methods of Identification?
8.2 How Does the Context of Burning Impede the Creation of Biological Profiles?
8.3 Challenges of Biological Profile Estimation of Burnt Remains
8.3.1 Morphological Methods
8.3.2 Metric Methods
8.3.3 Other Approaches to Biological Profile Estimation
8.4 Conclusions
References
9 Victim Identification: The Role of Incinerated Dental Materials
9.1 Introduction
9.2 Microstructural Changes in Teeth after Incineration
9.3 Structural Changes Due to Restorative Procedures
9.4 Case Reports
9.4.1 Case Report 1: Airline Crash
9.4.2 Case Report 2: Double Homicide
9.5 Conclusions
References
10 Techniques for the Differentiation of Blunt Force, Sharp Force, and Gunshot Traumas from Heat Fractures in Burnt Remains
10.1 Introduction
10.2 Bone Fracture Biomechanics: Fresh Bone
10.3 Bone Fracture Biomechanics: Stages of Thermal Damage
10.4 Heat Fractures
10.5 Blunt Force Trauma in Burnt Remains
10.6 Sharp Force Trauma in Burnt Remains
10.7 Gunshot Trauma in Burnt Remains
10.8 Case Study: 3D Modelling of Traumatic and Heat Fractures in Cranial and Irregular Bone
10.9 Discussion
10.10 Conclusions
Acknowledgments
Permissions
References
Part 3 Analytical Approaches to the Analysis of Burnt Bone
11 Biochemical Alterations of Bone Subjected to Fire
11.1 The Biological and Chemical Makeup of Fresh Bone
11.1.1 Introduction
11.2 Bone Transformation When Subjected to Heat
11.3 Analytical Approaches to Observing Bone Transformation
11.3.1 Colorimetry
11.3.2 SEM-EDX
11.3.3 Fourier Transform Infrared-Spectroscopy
11.3.4 Raman Spectroscopy
11.3.5 X-Ray Diffraction
11.3.6 Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC)
11.3.7 Amino Acid Racemization
11.4 DNA
11.5 Changes to the Bone at Different Temperatures
11.5.1 100°C Exposure
11.5.2 200°C Exposure
11.5.3 300°C Exposure
11.5.4 400°C Exposure
11.5.5 500°C Exposure
11.5.6 600°C Exposure
11.5.7 700°C Exposure
11.5.8 800°C Exposure
11.5.9 900°C Exposure
11.5.10 1000°C Exposure
11.6 Conclusion
Acknowledgment
References
12 DNA Profiling from Burnt Remains
12.1 Introduction
12.2 Research Studies on Burnt Remains
12.3 Forensic Cases
12.4 Alternative Approaches and New Technologies
12.4.1 Assessment of DNA Damage
12.4.2 Alternatives for DNA Extraction
12.4.3 New Technologies
12.5 Conclusions
References
13 Applying Colorimetry to the Study of Low Temperature Thermal Changes in Bone
13.1 Introduction
13.2 Colorimetry
13.3 Challenges of Colorimetry
13.4 Case Study
13.5 Conclusion
References
14 The Use of Histology to Distinguish Animal from Human Burnt Bone with Reference to Some Limitations
14.1 Introduction
14.2 Bone Tissue
14.2.1 Primary Bone Tissue
14.2.2 Secondary Bone
14.3 Vertebrate Histology
14.4 Burnt Bone Histology
14.5 Case Study for Comparison of Histology of Cremated Bone
14.5.1 Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis for Case Study
14.6 Discussion
14.7 Conclusion
References
15 Isotope Analysis from Cremated Remains
15.1 Introduction
15.2 Infrared Analyses
15.3 Radiocarbon Dating
15.4 Isotope Analyses
15.4.1 Carbon and Oxygen Isotope Ratios
15.4.2 Strontium Isotope Ratios and Concentrations
15.5 Archaeological Case Studies
15.5.1 Stonehenge
15.5.2 Meuse Basin, Belgium and the Netherlands
15.6 Conclusions
Acknowledgments
References
16 The Application of Imaging to Heat-Induced Bone
16.1 Introduction
16.2 Technological Progression
16.3 The Current Technology
16.3.1 Two-Dimensional Imaging
16.3.2 Three-Dimensional Imaging
16.4 The Application of Imaging to Heat-Induced and Burnt Bodies
16.4.1 Locating and Identifying Burnt Bone
16.4.2 Visual Capture and Documentation for Recording and Archiving
16.4.3 Quantifying and Analyzing Burnt Remains
16.4.4 Reconstruction
16.4.5 Ethical and Legal Considerations within the Forensic Context
16.5 Discussion and Conclusion
References
17 The First Reference Collection for the Research of Burnt Human Skeletal Remains Stemming from the 21st Century Identified Skeletal Collection (Portugal)
17.1 Introduction
17.1.1 The Challenge Posed by Burnt Skeletal Remains
17.1.2 Changing the Paradigm
17.1.3 The 21st Century Identified Skeletal Collection
17.1.4 Preparing the Skeletons
17.1.5 Composition of the Collection
17.2 Research Potential
17.3 Final Comments
Acknowledgments
References
Part 4 Case Studies
18 Analysis of Burnt Human Remains: Statistical Perspectives from Casework in Forensic Anthropology
18.1 Introduction
18.2 Materials and Methods
18.3 Results
18.4 Discussion
18.5 Conclusions
Literature Cited
19 The Challenge of Burnt Remains from the Brazilian “Microwave Oven”
19.1 Introduction
19.2 Brazilian Homicide Rates
19.3 The Relationship between Homicide and Drugs
19.4 The “Microwave Oven” Modality of Death / Disposability of Human Remains
19.4 Phases of Rubber Tire Combustion
19.5 The Challenges of Investigating “Microwave Oven” Deaths
19.6 The Role of Forensic Anthropology
19.6.1 Case Study 1
19.6.2 Case Study 2
19.7 Conclusion
Conflicts of Interest
Ethical Approval
Acknowledgments
References
20 Recovery and Identification of Fatal Fire Victims from the 2018 Northern California Camp Fire Disaster
20.1 Overview of the Camp Fire
20.2 Wildfire Burn Environments and Condition of Remains
20.3 Field to Morgue: What’s Important for Identification Efforts?
20.4 Morgue Identification
20.5 Conclusions
References
21 Recovery and Identification of Burnt Remains in a Military Theatre of Operations: The Warrior Six
21.1 Introduction
21.1.1 Improvised Explosive Devices and Blast Injuries
21.1.2 The Effects of Heat on Bone
21.2 Background to the Case
21.3 Assessment of the Vehicle and Recovered Remains
21.4 Excavation Strategy and Methodology
21.5 Examination of the Remains in the Temporary Mortuary
21.6 Examinations in the Role 3 Hospital
21.6.1 Soldier A
21.6.2 Soldier B
21.6.3 Soldier C
21.6.4 Soldier D
21.6.5 Soldier E
21.6.6 Soldier F
21.7 Post-mortem Examinations and Positive Identification in the UK
21.8 Conclusions
Acknowledgments
References
22 Volcanoes, Bones, and Heat: The Case of the AD 79 Victims of Vesuvius
22.1 Introduction
22.2 The AD 79 Eruption of Vesuvius
22.3 The Date of the Eruption
22.4 Historical and Archaeological Context of the Discovery
22.5 Bioarchaeological and Taphonomic Study
22.6 The Causes of Death
22.7 The Most Recent Studies
22.8 An Exceptional Discovery
22.9 Conclusions
References
Index
EULA