Forensic examination after exhumation: Contribution and difficulties after more than thirty years of burial

Autopsy doesn't always tell all: The importance of exhuming skeletal remains of cemetery unidentified decedents

The process of personal identification differs according to the state of preservation of the corpse, becoming more complicated when dealing with remains altered by taphonomic variables. Since 2015, the staff of the Laboratory of Forensic Anthropology and Odontology (LABANOF) of the University of Milan has been engaged in recovering the skeletons of 36 unknown people from the cemeteries of the city of Milan, to redraw their biological profiles and give them back the possibility of being identified. Of the 36 starting skeletons, 7 have been identified and therefore are not the object of this study, 25 individuals were previously subjected to an autopsy examination and 4 skeletons were studied for the first time in the present work. The post-mortem data of all the individuals who had previously undergone autopsy and had not yet been identified (n = 25) have been retrieved from the archives of the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Milan and allowed for a comparison with those obtained from the new anthropological study of each exhumed skeleton. The authors aim to present the three most interesting cases to better highlight the results that emerged from the comparison. The autopsy information alone lacked important details. In all cases, the anthropological examination proved to be capable of detailing the biological profile of the unknowns even after a long period of inhumation (even more than 20 years). The limitations of instrumental investigations in achieving the goal single-handedly and the importance of recovering the unknown skeletons from cemeteries for identification purposes are discussed.

Recommendations for large-scale exhumations of Potter's Fields: Cases in the US

Increased commitment to humanitarian identification and advances in DNA technology contribute to growing interest in large scale identification operations for unidentified, interred remains. However, scant literature discusses the practical challenges in conducting cemetery exhumations en masse for the purposes of DNA sampling and reinterment. This paper draws on a case study of cemetery exhumations conducted in the US as part of a multi-agency, multi-year endeavor, Operation UNITED. Challenges and strategies for managing logistics and manpower, locating human remains in active cemeteries, and overcoming containment and preservation issues of adult and juvenile remains are presented. This paper evidences the potential for investigation into cemetery exhumation strategies to assist in effective humanitarian identification.

Exhumations: rarely done procedure but useful in many circumstances—a review of 47 cases in Nigeria

Background

To do a comprehensive analysis of all exhumation and post mortem examination (EPME) performed in South-South region of Nigeria, with an aim to determine the causes of death and various factors that affect it.

Methodology

This is a retrospective study of all EPME that were done in South-South region of Nigeria over 16 years (1 January 2001 and 31 December 2017). The duplicate copies of all EPME reports that were written previously and police reports for each case were reviewed.

Results

A total of 47 cases were seen. The youngest case was a 6-month-old male and the oldest an 86-year-old man. Males accounted for 72.3% of cases. Age group 20–29 years accounted for most (19.1%) cases. The history summary included sudden traumatic death (40.4%), bodies found floating on the river (23.4%), and kidnapped victims (8.5%). In 91.5% of cases, the autopsies were performed immediately after exhumation beside the grave. Grave locations were the river bank (23.4%), farm lands (21.3%), the deceased family compound (21.3%), cemetery (17%), and in the forest (10.6%). Two mass graves were seen containing 8 bodies and 11 bodies, respectively. A casket was used in 9 cases (19.1%). The shortest interval between burial and exhumation was 5 days, and the longest interval was 348 days. On exhumation, the remains were moderately to severely decomposed (36.2%), skeletonized (34%), or partially decomposed (23.4%). The causes of death were seen in 63.8% of cases.

Conclusion

Exhumation, though rarely done, still remains a useful procedure, because in a significant number of cases, it helped to answer the medico-legal question (the causes of death were seen). Young males account for most cases in our setting.