Module 3- Death Investigations

FRSC 1030 asynchronous learning thingy

Provinces that use the coroner system

Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia, New Brunswick, North West Territories, PEI, Saskatchewan, Yukon and Nunavut

Provinces that use medical examiner system

Alberta, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador

What are the top three causes of death in canada?

Cancer, Heart Disease, Stroke

What does PMI stand for

Post -Mortem Interval 

Main points of a biological profile

• Sex

• Age at death

• Racial Ancestry

• Height

Case Study: "Bucky"

a skull found in a bucket, "Bucky". In Pennsylvania, children found a five-gallon bucket in a stream bed dried from a recent drought.The FBI pursued this question with the use of carbon dating. It was determined that the individual died between 1680 and 1740, meaning that the case was historic and therefore not forensically relevant (at least not currently).

Bones provide 4 main functions for the body:

support, motion, protection and growth.

Sex Differences: Pelvic Bones

pelvic brim (wider opening for females), whereas the bottom two photos show the difference in the pubic arch (narrower angle for males).

Sex Differences: Skull

cranial mass, suborbital margins, mandible, and mastoid process. 

Femur and Sex

This anatomical variation of the female pelvis passes the line of weight distribution through the femur to a more lateral location on the femoral head. This decreases angle between the femoral neck and shaft (where the femur joins the hip). This variation makes the proximal femur extremely useful for forensic sex determination. 

Advantages and disadvantages of femur

Advantage: Preservation, Disadvantage: Population Variation

Challenges in Forensic Anthropology that can lead to sources of error include: 

• assumptions of physical activity levels

• pathological conditions (diseases that alter bone structures)

• post-mortem distortions (e.g., fire that can change bone size, shape)

• different age groups (ie. Sub-adults)

Teeth - Why are they a good evidence type?

Tooth enamel is hardest substance of the human anatomy and persists in harsh conditions (plane crash, explosion, fire).  This durability means that teeth are often one of the only evidence types left in some circumstances.