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Forensic Medicine

and Human

Identification

d. KimBerley molina

Contents

5.1 Background 61
5.2 Human versus Nonhuman 6 2
5.3 Establishing Identity 6 3
5.4 Visual Identification 64
5.5 Circumstantial 64
5.6 External Characteristics 66
5.7 Internal Characteristics 70
5.8 Radiographs 70
5.9 Anthropology 71
5.10 Sources of Comparison 7 5
5.11 Methodology for an Unidentified Person/Body 76
References 76
Suggested Reading 77

5.1 Background

Establishing the identity of a person may seem like an easy task; the person, or
their friends or family, can simply be asked their name. In medicolegal cases,
however, there are often reasons why people are either unable to give accurate
answers or purposefully give inaccurate ones. In cases of death, a body may
also be too disfigured due to trauma to allow for easy identification. This is
common in cases of high-velocity crashes (e.g., cars, airplanes), fires, explo-
sions, or decomposed/skeletonized remains. Though sometimes difficult,
identification remains a necessary task. Living individuals for whom identifi-
cation is required may include wanted criminals attempting to elude custody,
amnesia victims, comatose victims, victims of disfiguring trauma, or persons
who require identity confirmation following identity theft. Deceased individu-
als requiring identification may include homeless individuals, undocumented
immigrants, burned bodies, decomposed or skeletal remains, and individuals
who sustained significant facial trauma that precludes visual identification.

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