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Case Studies | Forensic Science | India | Volume 12 Issue 6, June 2023
Establishing the Identity of the Dead from their Skeletal Remains
Dr. Praveena Mukherjee | Dr. Dhrubo Midya [2] | Dr. Mayank Gupta [7] | Dr. Surendra Kumar Pandey [5]
Abstract: Identification is establishing the individuality of a person - living or dead. The identity of the dead is an essential part of post mortem examination for civil, criminal and humanitarian reasons. In partial/ incomplete identification, only some aspects of the individual such as race, age, sex, stature etc. are determined. Taking on the lead of partial identification, the police establish absolute identification. The police from a nearby district of Uttar Pradesh had brought a bundle of bones to the Department of Forensic Medicine, Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi in the month of November, 2022. A woman had gone missing about 4 months prior to this from that town, and the husband had raised suspicion on seeing the clothes and accessories that the bones might belong to his wife. The police had approached us requesting to identify the victim, the cause of death and establish the time since death. After a thorough post - mortem examination, it was established that the bones belong to a human female of age between 21 - 24 years. The bones had nibbled edges suggesting animal bite after death. The time since death was estimated to be about 4 - 5 months, based on the skeletonized condition of the body. The bones did not show any signs of injury, so the cause of death or manner of death, or mode of death could not be deciphered. The findings of the case had matched with profile of the victim. It once again proves the power of the knowledge of forensic osteology in providing a closure to the dead.
Keywords: Skeletal Remains Identification, Forensic Anthropology, Biological profile, Race, Age, Sex
Edition: Volume 12 Issue 6, June 2023,
Pages: 243 - 255