Case study and forensic anthropology

forensics

any scientific or academic research aimed at understanding the collection, analysis, and interpretation of evidence for legal investigative purposes

• Criminal or civil

• Includes violent & non-violent crime

• Includes against people & property

forensic science

any science used for the purpose of law.

The Crime Laboratory

First criminalists laboratory in the world.

stablished in France in 1910, by Dr. Edmond Locard

Brought together scientists studying medicine, biology, physics and more to examine evidence being used in criminal investigations

Locard’s Exchange Principle

“Every contact leaves a trace.”

• Basically, when objects come into contact, there is always a transference of material from one object onto the other

The first crime laboratory in North America

In Montreal in 1914, called a medicolegal lab and became a subspeciality of medicine

The first one in the US was in Los Angeles in 1923

Forensic scientists

Pathologists, Firearm & Toolmark Examiners, Toxicologists/Chemists, Document & Photo Examiners, Digital/Electronic Examiners, Biologists, Psychiatrists, Entomologists, Odontologists, and Anthropologists

Pathologists, Firearm & Toolmark Examiners, Toxicologists/Chemists, Document & Photo Examiners, and Digital/Electronic Examiners

They’re usually in a large, modern crime lab on a full-time basis

Biologists, Psychiatrists, Entomologists, Odontologists, and Anthropologists

They’re usually not employed full time by a crime lab, but called in to assist on an ad hoc basis

forensic anthropology

• The application of the science of biological anthropology to the legal process

• Highest public profile

• Assists government agencies in identifying unidentifiable individuals

• Due to decomposition, burial treatment such as burning or cremation, taphonomic factors such as animal scavenging, perimortem and postmortem trauma

• It helps in determining MNI (minimum number of individuals) and sorting commingled remains.

What do Forensic Anthropologists do?

• Scene Search, excavation and recovery, questions of Identification, determine cause, manner & mode of death, determine time Since Death (PMI), recall importance of determining if death has ‘forensic significance’ (rough benchmark of ~50 years), and construct a biological profile

• They apply standard scientific techniques developed in biological anthropology and other related fields to identify human remains, and to assist in the detection of crime.

Commingled remains

Human remains that are partially or fully disarticulated from a body and intermingled with other disassociated body parts

Intentional commingling in burial

Ossuaries

“Unintentional” commingling in burial

multiple interments; mass casualty event like plane crash or explosion

“Unintentional” commingling after burial

Natural disturbances

Intentional commingling after burial

anthropogenic intervention, like graveyard relocation, and looting

Dirkmaat et al. (2008) “A New Forensic Anthropology”

Last 20 years change from bone biologist to expert in forensic archaeology, taphonomy, osteology, trauma analysis, & law

• A level of specialization beyond basic biological anthropology

• Role of DNA as an evidentiary tool

• Match between an unknown sample and an exemplar sample

Standards of expert testimony

All ‘experts’ ground their expertise in methods that are “testable, replicable, reliable, and scientifically valid.”

• Daubert (US)

• Mohan (Canada)

Medical Examiners

• Qualifications: Medical doctors, usually forensic pathologists.

• Used in MB, SK, AB, NS, NL.

• Focus: Clinical medical investigation of deaths.

• Powers: Broad authority to seize medical records, inspect records, and order autopsies.

Coroners

• Qualifications: Usually laypeople appointed by the provincial government, except in Ontario, where they are physicians.

• Used in BC, SK, ON, QC, NB, PEI, YT, NT, NU.

• Focus: Legal and administrative investigation of the circumstances of death.

• Powers: Can order autopsies, conduct inquests, and recommend public safety improvements.

Role of the Medical Examiner or Coroner

They determine the cause of death, the manner of death, the mechanism of death, and the time of death.

Cause of Death

Refers to the reason someone dies.

medical diagnosis signalling disease or injury

Ex: heart attack, gunshot wound, diseases (cancer) or injuries (skull fracture), stroke, drug overdose, malnutrition, smoke inhalation/burning, drowning, strangulation, hanging, suffocation, massive trauma (car crash, fall), bludgeoning, etc

proximate cause

The underlying cause that’s investigated

Final cause

is always only the cessation of breathing and/or heart pumping

manner of death

describes the specific immediate change in the body that brought about the end of life

can be classified into homicide, accidental, suicide, natural causes, or undetermined/unknown

Examples of manner of death

• Exsanguination (bleeding to death)

• Sepsis (infection in the bloodstream)

• Cerebral contusion (brain trauma)

• Intra-cerebral bleed) (brain bleeding)

• Pulmonary (respiratory) embolism (a blood clot blocking a lung artery)

• Cardiac arrhythmia or cardiogenic shock (problems with the pumping of the heart)

• Asphyxia (impairment of oxygen & CO2 exchange)

homicide

Death of one person caused by another

accidental

unplanned events → vehicular accident, falling, poisoning

natural causes

The interruption/failure of body functions due to age or disease

the most common manner of death

undetermined/unknown

when the information pointing toward one manner of death is no more compelling than any others.

mechanism of death

An extension of the cause of death

The altered physiology by which the disease/injury produced death

first-degree murder

• Murder is planned, meaning there was a scheme/design; thought out carefully

• Murder is deliberate, meaning that it’s considered and not impulsive

• The victim is a police officer or a prison guard

• It occurs during certain other crimes

Missing Women Commission Inquiry

It was y launched to examine the Vancouver police and the RCMP in the disappearances and murders of women in the Downtown Eastside

Robert Pickton case

Charges of attempted murder of a sex-trade worker stayed in 1997

A 1999 tip about a freezer full of human flesh was not investigated

His property wasn’t searched until 2002

Arrested in 2002 for illegal arms, then for murder

His case was handled by the RCMP & VPD

On December 9 2007, he was convicted of second-degree murder

He was given “Life”, meaning 25 years with no chance of parole in a federal penitentiary

Largest crime scene in Canadian history