Burnt Human Remains – Recovery, Analysis, and Interpretation: Forensic Science in Focus

About the Editors xiii List of Contributors xv Preface xxvii Series Preface xxix 1 History of the Study of Burnt Remains 1 Douglas H. Ubelaker and Austin A. Shamlou 1.1 Early Developments Prior to 1980 1 1.2 Post-1980 Advanced Experimentation and Casework 3 1.3 The 1990s: New Methods and Case Applications 4 1.4 Summary and Conclusions 6 References 7 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 13 Elayne Pope 2.1 Introduction 13 2.2 Experimental Research of Fire and Human Bodies 14 2.3 How the Human Body Burns 14 2.4 Variables of Fire Environments 17 2.5 Structure Fires 18 2.6 Burning Directly on the Floor 19 2.7 The Body on Furnishings: Couches and Chairs 19 2.8 The Body on Furnishings: Bed 21 2.9 Loss of the Floor 22 2.10 Collapse into a Lower Level 23 2.11 Vehicle Fires 24 2.12 Driver and Passenger Space 25 2.13 Rear Passenger Space with Bench Seats 26 2.14 Trunk Environment 26 2.15 Confined Space Fires 28 2.16 Outdoor Space Fires 29 2.17 Ignitable Liquids on Bodies 29 2.18 Burning Outdoor Debris Piles 30 2.19 Post-Fire Fragmentation of Burnt Bones 31 2.20 Suppression 32 2.21 Recovery and Transport from Fatal Fire Scenes 33 2.22 Conclusions 35 References 35 3 Recovery and Interpretation of Human Remains from Fatal Fire Scenes 37 Alexandra R. Klales; Allison Nesbitt; Dennis C. Dirkmaat and Luis L. Cabo 3.1 Introduction 37 3.2 Summary of Fires in the USA 39 3.3 Statement of the Problem 39 3.4 Current Fatal Fire Victim Recovery Protocols 42 3.5 NIJ Protocols 43 3.6 Special Circumstances 51 3.7 Conclusions 55 References 55 4 Considerations to Maximize Recovery of Post-mortem Dental Information to Facilitate Identification of Severely Incinerated Human Remains 59 John Berketa and Denice Higgins 4.1 Introduction 59 4.2 Identification 59 4.3 Documentation 60 4.4 Preparation 61 4.5 Prepacked Scene Equipment 61 4.6 Scene Arrival 63 4.7 Safety Issues 63 4.8 Overall Scene Evaluation 65 4.9 Considerations Regarding DNA Evidence 66 4.10 Considerations Regarding Dental Evidence 67 4.11 Moving the Victim 69 4.12 Conclusions 71 References 71 Part 2 Examination and Identification of Burnt Human Remains 5 Methods for Analyzing Burnt Human Remains 75 Amanda N. Williams 5.1 Anthropological Methods for Classifying Burnt Remains 76 5.2 Medicolegal Classification Methods 78 5.3 Need for New Model within the Forensic Sciences 79 5.4 A New Classification System 80 5.5 Best Practices in Applying this New Model 83 5.6 Case Study #1 83 5.7 Case Study #2 86 5.8 Case Study #3 88 5.9 Case Study #4 90 5.10 Case Study #5 92 5.11 Broader Implications 95 5.12 Conclusions 95 Acknowledgments 96 References 96 6 Burnt Human Remains and Forensic Medicine 99 Sarah Ellingham; Joe Adserias-Garriga and Peter Ellis 6.1 Fire Death Statistics 99 6.2 Statistics of Manner of Fire-Related Deaths 100 6.2.1 Prevalence of Self-Immolation 100 6.2.2 Prevalence of Criminal Immolation 101 6.3 Fire Damage to the Body 102 6.4 Classification of the Degree of Fire Damage 103 6.5 Medicolegal Determination of Cause of Death 105 6.6 Medicolegal Determination of Manner of Death 106 6.7 The Use of Post-Mortem Imaging for the Analysis of Burn Victims 108 6.8 Conclusion 110 Acknowledgments 110 References 110 7 Skeletal Alteration of Burnt Remains through Fire Exposure 113 Joe Adserias-Garriga 7.1 Assessment of the Severity of the Thermal Damage in the Forensic Context 114 7.2 Soft Tissue Alterations by Fire Exposure 115 7.3 Bone Alteration by Fire Exposure 116 7.4 Teeth Alteration by Fire Exposure 120 7.5 Signature Changes in Skeletal Elements after Cremation 122 7.6 Conclusions 129 References 130 8 Challenges of Biological Profile Estimation from Burnt Remains 133 Tim J.U. Thompson 8.1 Why Does Burning Affect Methods of Identification? 134 8.2 How Does the Context of Burning Impede the Creation of Biological Profiles? 135 8.3 Challenges of Biological Profile Estimation of Burnt Remains 137 8.3.1 Morphological Methods 137 8.3.2 Metric Methods 139 8.3.3 Other Approaches to Biological Profile Estimation 140 8.4 Conclusions 142 References 142 9 Victim Identification: The Role of Incinerated Dental Materials 147 Peter J. Bush; Mary A. Bush and Raymond Miller 9.1 Introduction 147 9.2 Microstructural Changes in Teeth after Incineration 148 9.3 Structural Changes Due to Restorative Procedures 149 9.4 Case Reports 151 9.4.1 Case Report 1: Airline Crash 151 9.4.2 Case Report 2: Double Homicide 161 9.5 Conclusions 165 References 166 10 Techniques for the Differentiation of Blunt Force Sharp Force and Gunshot Traumas from Heat Fractures in Burnt Remains 167 Hanna Friedlander; Megan Moore and Pamela Mayne Correia 10.1 Introduction 167 10.2 Bone Fracture Biomechanics: Fresh Bone 168 10.3 Bone Fracture Biomechanics: Stages of Thermal Damage 170 10.4 Heat Fractures 171 10.5 Blunt Force Trauma in Burnt Remains 172 10.6 Sharp Force Trauma in Burnt Remains 175 10.7 Gunshot Trauma in Burnt Remains 177 10.8 Case Study: 3D Modelling of Traumatic and Heat Fractures in Cranial and Irregular Bone 179 10.9 Discussion 182 10.10 Conclusions 184 Acknowledgments 185 Permissions 185 References 185 Part 3 Analytical Approaches to the Analysis of Burnt Bone 11 Biochemical Alterations of Bone Subjected to Fire 193 Sarah Ellingham and Sara C. Zapico 11.1 The Biological and Chemical Makeup of Fresh Bone 193 11.1.1 Introduction 193 11.2 Bone Transformation When Subjected to Heat 195 11.3 Analytical Approaches to Observing Bone Transformation 196 11.3.1 Colorimetry 196 11.3.2 SEM-EDX 196 11.3.3 Fourier Transform Infrared-Spectroscopy 198 11.3.4 Raman Spectroscopy 200 11.3.5 X-Ray Diffraction 201 11.3.6 Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) 202 11.3.7 Amino Acid Racemization 202 11.4 DNA 204 11.5 Changes to the Bone at Different Temperatures 205 11.5.1 100°C Exposure 205 11.5.2 200°C Exposure 206 11.5.3 300°C Exposure 206 11.5.4 400°C Exposure 207 11.5.5 500°C Exposure 207 11.5.6 600°C Exposure 207 11.5.7 700°C Exposure 207 11.5.8 800°C Exposure 208 11.5.9 900°C Exposure 208 11.5.10 1000°C Exposure 208 11.6 Conclusion 208 Acknowledgment 209 References 209 12 DNA Profiling from Burnt Remains 213 Sara C. Zapico and Rebecca Stone-Gordon 12.1 Introduction 213 12.2 Research Studies on Burnt Remains 214 12.3 Forensic Cases 218 12.4 Alternative Approaches and New Technologies 221 12.4.1 Assessment of DNA Damage 221 12.4.2 Alternatives for DNA Extraction 222 12.4.3 New Technologies 223 12.5 Conclusions 225 References 226 13 Applying Colorimetry to the Study of Low Temperature Thermal Changes in Bone 229 Christopher W. Schmidt and Alexandria McDaniel 13.1 Introduction 229 13.2 Colorimetry 230 13.3 Challenges of Colorimetry 232 13.4 Case Study 233 13.5 Conclusion 236 References 236 14 The Use of Histology to Distinguish Animal from Human Burnt Bone with Reference to Some Limitations 241 Pamela Mayne Correia; Kalyna Horocholyn and Kassandra Pointer 14.1 Introduction 241 14.2 Bone Tissue 242 14.2.1 Primary Bone Tissue 243 14.2.2 Secondary Bone 252 14.3 Vertebrate Histology 254 14.4 Burnt Bone Histology 256 14.5 Case Study for Comparison of Histology of Cremated Bone 259 14.5.1 Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis for Case Study 259 14.6 Discussion 264 14.7 Conclusion 266 References 267 15 Isotope Analysis from Cremated Remains 273 Christophe Snoeck 15.1 Introduction 273 15.2 Infrared Analyses 274 15.3 Radiocarbon Dating 276 15.4 Isotope Analyses 277 15.4.1 Carbon and Oxygen Isotope Ratios 277 15.4.2 Strontium Isotope Ratios and Concentrations 281 15.5 Archaeological Case Studies 282 15.5.1 Stonehenge 282 15.5.2 Meuse Basin Belgium and the Netherlands 283 15.6 Conclusions 285 Acknowledgments 285 References 285 16 The Application of Imaging to Heat-Induced Bone 291 Rachael M. Carew and David Errickson 16.1 Introduction 291 16.2 Technological Progression 292 16.3 The Current Technology 294 16.3.1 Two-Dimensional Imaging 294 16.3.2 Three-Dimensional Imaging 295 16.4 The Application of Imaging to Heat-Induced and Burnt Bodies 299 16.4.1 Locating and Identifying Burnt Bone 299 16.4.2 Visual Capture and Documentation for Recording and Archiving 300 16.4.3 Quantifying and Analyzing Burnt Remains 301 16.4.4 Reconstruction 302 16.4.5 Ethical and Legal Considerations within the Forensic Context 305 16.5 Discussion and Conclusion 306 References 308 17 The First Reference Collection for the Research of Burnt Human Skeletal Remains Stemming from the 21st Century Identified Skeletal Collection (Portugal) 313 David Gonçalves; Calil Makhoul; Maria Teresa Ferreira and Eugénia Cunha 17.1 Introduction 313 17.1.1 The Challenge Posed by Burnt Skeletal Remains 313 17.1.2 Changing the Paradigm 315 17.1.3 The 21st Century Identified Skeletal Collection 320 17.1.4 Preparing the Skeletons 321 17.1.5 Composition of the Collection 323 17.2 Research Potential 324 17.3 Final Comments 327 Acknowledgments 328 References 328 Part 4 Case Studies 18 Analysis of Burnt Human Remains: Statistical Perspectives from Casework in Forensic Anthropology 337 Douglas H. Ubelaker; Cassandra M. DeGaglia and Haley Khosrowshahi 18.1 Introduction 337 18.2 Materials and Methods 337 18.3 Results 339 18.4 Discussion 342 18.5 Conclusions 344 Literature Cited 344 19 The Challenge of Burnt Remains from the Brazilian "Microwave Oven" 345 Melina Calmon Silva; Eugénia Cunha and Yara Vieira Lemos 19.1 Introduction 345 19.2 Brazilian Homicide Rates 346 19.3 The Relationship between Homicide and Drugs 347 19.4 The "Microwave Oven" Modality of Death / Disposability of Human Remains 348 19.4 Phases of Rubber Tire Combustion 350 19.5 The Challenges of Investigating "Microwave Oven" Deaths 351 19.6 The Role of Forensic Anthropology 353 19.6.1 Case Study 1 354 19.6.2 Case Study 2 359 19.7 Conclusion 365 Conflicts of Interest 366 Ethical Approval 366 Acknowledgments 366 References 367 20 Recovery and Identification of Fatal Fire Victims from the 2018 Northern California Camp Fire Disaster 371 Colleen Milligan; Alison Galloway; Ashley Kendell; Lauren Zephro; P. Willey and Eric Bartelink 20.1 Overview of the Camp Fire 371 20.2 Wildfire Burn Environments and Condition of Remains 374 20.3 Field to Morgue: What's Important for Identification Efforts? 375 20.4 Morgue Identification 379 20.5 Conclusions 381 References 381 21 Recovery and Identification of Burnt Remains in a Military Theatre of Operations: The Warrior Six 383 Julie Roberts 21.1 Introduction 383 21.1.1 Improvised Explosive Devices and Blast Injuries 384 21.1.2 The Effects of Heat on Bone 384 21.2 Background to the Case 385 21.3 Assessment of the Vehicle and Recovered Remains 387 21.4 Excavation Strategy and Methodology 390 21.5 Examination of the Remains in the Temporary Mortuary 394 21.6 Examinations in the Role 3 Hospital 398 21.6.1 Soldier A 398 21.6.2 Soldier B 398 21.6.3 Soldier C 399 21.6.4 Soldier D 399 21.6.5 Soldier E 400 21.6.6 Soldier F 400 21.7 Post-mortem Examinations and Positive Identification in the UK 401 21.8 Conclusions 403 Acknowledgments 403 References 403 22 Volcanoes Bones and Heat: The Case of the AD 79 Victims of Vesuvius 407 Pier paolo Petrone 22.1 Introduction 407 22.2 The AD 79 Eruption of Vesuvius 408 22.3 The Date of the Eruption 410 22.4 Historical and Archaeological Context of the Discovery 411 22.5 Bioarchaeological and Taphonomic Study 413 22.6 The Causes of Death 418 22.7 The Most Recent Studies 420 22.8 An Exceptional Discovery 427 22.9 Conclusions 430 References 431 Index 437