Identification of Murder Victims' Cranial Bone Mutilation Using Forensic Medicine, Anthropology, and Genotype DNA Approaches

Abstract

The objective of forensic identification is to aid investigators in ascertaining an individual's identity. Reliability in identifying human remains from natural catastrophes, man-made disasters, and situations involving missing individuals has significantly advanced. Anthropological examination and forensic genetic profiling are particularly beneficial when traditional identification procedures, such as fingerprinting or ocular recognition, are not feasible. Even in cases where only skeletal remains are present, anthropological inquiries and forensic genetic examination of the remaining body parts can ascertain the identity and familial connection of the surviving individual. We have found a decapitated skull that is missing its lower jaw and comprises several cervical bones. Investigators think that the decapitated head is a component of a victim who was previously interred. We conducted an autopsy, an anthropological analysis and report the process of identifying skull bone mutilations in murder victims using forensic medicine, anthropology, and DNA genotyping approaches. We performed autopsy and anthropological investigations to collect data from the skeletal remains and a genetic analysis by collecting tooth and blood samples from victims' parents. These samples were then utilized for DNA extraction, calculation of DNA rate and purity, amplification, and identification of genotype. After investigation, we discovered a single cranial bone and four cervical bones. Under macroscopic examination, the bones exhibit a striking resemblance to the structure of a human head and neck. The presence of tissue still attached to the bones indicates that the time of death exceeds 10 days. The complete destruction of the cranial bones indicates that they belong to individuals aged between 21 and 39 years. The presence of shovel-shaped teeth, a rounded palatal form, straight palatal sutures, and molar teeth with four cusps provide strong identification of the deceased individual as belonging to the Mongoloid race. The assessment of height is challenging due to the absence lengthy bones.