Recovery of decomposed and skeletal human remains in the "Green River Murder" Investigation. Implications for medical examiner/coroner and police

The Green River Murder Investigation in King County, Washington, is currently the longest active serial murder investigation in U.S. history. During its course, over 26 separate scenes with from one to five victims each have been processed. The experience of the authors is presented in order to acquaint other agencies with techniques of outdoor scene processing that have evolved during recovery of remains from Green River and other skeletal cases.     

"I am flying to the stars"--suicide by aircraft in Germany

In 2006, 67 persons were killed in aircraft accidents in Germany and involving German aircrafts abroad. In spite of extensive investigation of each aircraft accident, there are no reliable data as to the number of suicides by aircraft. We report on a 50-year-old man who committed suicide by willfully crashing his Beech "Sierra" aircraft minutes after take off from an airport close to the town of Rendsburg, Germany. Before killing himself, the intoxicated pilot had sent an SMS announcing his suicide plans to a friend. The findings of the medico-legal investigation and the results of a review of aircraft accident reports by the German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Investigation (BFU) regarding suicidal plane crashes are presented.     

论“人肉搜索”在侦查中的运用

“人肉搜索”是网上侦查的有力工具，其在彰显公序良俗的同时，亦在挑战现行法律的道德底线。“人肉搜索”犹如一把双刃剑，既是侦查机关侦破案件的有力武器，同时也对公民的隐私权构成了巨大的成胁。笔者建议在法律的规制之下，才能将“人肉搜索”这种获取信息的方式运用于犯罪侦查实践；对于侵犯公民隐私权的违法“人肉搜索”行为应当禁止。     

Investigation into "normal" background DNA on adult necks: implications for DNA profiling of manual strangulation victims

Others have investigated the role that DNA profiling could play as a method for identifying the perpetrator of manual strangulation. These studies have demonstrated that it is possible to collect offender DNA from the skin surface of a victim following physical contact. It is not known whether nonself biological material is normally present on the skin surface due to adventitious transfer occurring during innocent everyday interactions. To test the hypothesis that detectable amounts of nonself DNA are normally present on the skin surface of healthy adult individuals due to the adventitious transfer of DNA occurring during normal day-to-day social interactions, we designed an experiment in three phases. Phase 1 was used to deduce which DNA collection, extraction, and amplification methods were suited to investigating this question. During phase 2, the neck surface of 24 healthy adult volunteers was swabbed. DNA was extracted using the QIAamp DNA mini kit and amplified using the SGM Plus PCR amplification kit, using 28 PCR cycles. The work carried out during phase 3 involved a simulated assault to investigate primary and secondary transfer of DNA during physical contact. It was found that 23% of neck areas swabbed during phase 2 of this investigation showed nondonor alleles in the resulting DNA profile, with 5% of areas showing six or more nondonor alleles. The results of phase 3 showed that primary, secondary, and zero transfer of victim and/or offender DNA could be observed after physical contact and that alleles from an unknown source could still be detected in this more controlled experiment. The data presented in this paper demonstrate that DNA profiles generated after swabbing the skin surface of healthy adults can include components of an unknown source, present due to adventitious transfer. These components, if present in large quantities, have the potential to interfere with DNA profile interpretation of swabs taken for the investigation of physical assault by DNA profiling.     

Identification of serial homicide victims in the "Green River Murder" investigation

The Green River Murder Investigation in King County, Washington, is currently the longest and most active serial murder investigation in U.S. history. To date, little information has been reported on methods used in identification of serial murder victims. In this paper, various methods used in victim identification are reviewed and difficulties encountered during the course of the investigation are described. The experience of the authors is presented in order to acquaint other agencies with problems of victim identification associated with these serial murder victims and to provide key methods that may be useful in other such investigations.     

Processing of skeletal remains. A medical examiner's perspective

A multidisciplinary approach to the investigation of skeletal remains is presented. Guidelines for recovery, documentation, examination, processing, storage, and release of skeletal material are offered and discussed.     

历史视野下的侦查“不立案”研究——以侦查启动的禁止性要件为分析中心

在我国现代侦查领域中，立案程序扮演着侦查启动的重要角色。在中国历史上的封建侦查领域中也存在着“立案”，但它只是启动刑讯的手续。封建社会侦查领域也存在着类似于现行立案程序的过滤机制，通过设立管辖、主体、客体、形式等方面的禁止性要件，使得侦查无从启动，从而达到“不立案”的客观效果。     

论立案与侦查的关系——关于初查的法律思考

我国侦查部门一直以来是采用先立案后侦查的提起侦查方式。然而,执法实践证明,一切侦查活动都必须在立案之后才能进行是不可能的。立案不能作为提起侦查的条件,提起侦查的条件应概括为;侦查主体获得犯罪线索之后,只要认为有可能存在犯罪事实时,就可以提起侦查。立案则可以在侦查的任何一个阶段,它标志着要追究犯罪嫌疑人的刑事责任。     

Reanalysis of Korean War Anthropological Records to Support the Resolution of Cold Cases

Re‐investigation of previously unidentified remains from the Korean War has yielded 55 new identifications, each with corresponding records of prior anthropological analyses. This study compares biological assessments for age at death, stature, and ancestry across (i) anthropological analyses from the 1950s, (ii) recent anthropological analyses of those same sets of remains, and (iii) the reported antemortem biological information for the identified individual. A comparison of long bone measurements from both the 1950s and during reanalysis is also presented. These comparisons demonstrate commonalities and continuing patterns of errors that are useful in refining both research on Korean War cold case records and forensic anthropological analyses performed using methods developed from the 1950s identifications.     

自侦案件“以事立案”模式论析

检察机关在自侦案件中应当摒弃“以人立案”的做法,并采取“以事立案”的模式,才能符合职务犯罪发案的客观规律,避免初查和侦查工作在衔接关系上的错位,并对自侦工作产生积极的促进效果和作用。要实现从“以人立案”到“以事立案”模式的转变,需要正确处理好立案与破案、立案与撤案和撤案与错案的关系。     

"No compensation" or "pro compensation": Moore v. Regents and default rules for human tissue donations

The much studied case of Moore v. Regents of the University of California is often considered important in property law for denying property rights in human tissue. This widespread misunderstanding of Moore has not only misplaced the legal emphasis of human tissue donations on property law instead of contract law, but has also hindered the creation of a much-needed default rule governing the issue of compensation for donated tissue. While it is possible that the majority of donors rarely consider compensation as an incentive to donate, without a legally recognized default rule the law remains blurred as to what contractual provisions apply to the exchange between donor and researcher. This Article argues that the solution is a weak default rule of no compensation that may be overridden by evidence that the parties intended otherwise.     

The reliability of forensic osteology--a case in point. Case study

The medico-legal investigation of skeletons is a trans-disciplinary effort by forensic scientists as well as physical anthropologists. The advent of DNA extraction and amplification from bones and teeth has led to the assumption that morphological assessment of skeletal remains might soon become obsolete. But despite the introduction and success of molecular biology, the analysis of skeletal biology will remain an integral part of the identification process. This is due to the fact, that the skeletal record allows relatively fast and accurate inferences about the identity of the victim. Moreover, a standard biological profile may be established to effectively narrow the police investigator's search parameters. The following study demonstrates how skeletal biology may collaborate in the forensic investigation and support DNA fingerprinting evidence.In this case, the information gained from standard morphological methods about the unknown person's sex, age and heritage immediately led the police to suspect, that the remains were that of a young man from Vietnam, who had been missing for 2.5 years. The investigation then quickly shifted to prove the victim's identity via DNA extraction and mtDNA sequence analysis and biostatistical calculations involving questions of kinship [4].     

Trace evidence: Here today,gone tomorrow?

The recent report of the National Research Council of the US National Academies “Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: a Path Forward” found evidence that the level of scientific development and evaluation varies substantially among the forensic science disciplines. In this paper the status of trace evidence will be reviewed from an international perspective with particular reference to case studies. The paper will argue that the trace evidence discipline needs to learn from past experience and that serious coordinated action is required at an international level if trace evidence is to continue to meet the standards expected of forensic science in the future. The paper concludes that it is vital that trace evidence remains a key component of forensic investigation due to its important role in addressing the ‘what happened’ question.     

Inquisitorial Adjudication and Institutional Constraints in Chinese Civil Justice

Based on participatory observations of trials and extensive interviews with judges, this article examines the operation patterns of the civil justice process in China and explores the underlying reasons behind. It finds that, despite the reform efforts placing more responsibility on the litigants, the Chinese civil proceeding remains largely inquisitorial. The decline of out‐court investigation is evident, yet judges rely on a limited form of cross‐examination aimed to obtain oral testimony that can be used to justify a decision. This kind of judge‐initiated questioning becomes an inexpensive substitute for the previously labor‐intensive court investigation. The article further argues that the judges do not adjudicate based on whatever evidence presented by the litigation parties, a change mainly attributed to the institutional constraints to which the judges are subject. They respond to the incentives by handling cases efficiently with the minimum possibility of reversal and complaint. The article concludes by offering theoretical implications on the study of comparative legal process more generally.     

Experimental forensic scenes for the characterization of ground-penetrating radar wave response

Over the last few decades, the use of non-intrusive geophysical techniques, which allows for coverage of an entire crime scene in a reasonable amount of time, in forensic investigation has increased. In this study, we analyze the effectiveness of ground-penetrating radar (GPR) in forensics. Experimental scenes were simulated and some of the most commonly buried items in actual crime scenes were introduced, such as bone remains, guns and drug caches. Later, a GPR survey was conducted on the experimental grids with a 500 MHz antenna. The final purpose was to characterize the radar wave response expected for each set of remains to assist with its identification in later actual investigations. The results collected provided promising information that can be used when surveying real cases. Nevertheless, there were some interpretational difficulties regarding the sizes of the items and the electromagnetic properties of the materials. For these cases, finite-difference time-domain modeling was employed to achieve an advanced interpretation of the field data. The simulated models used were built from accurate geometric data provided by photogrammetric methods, which replicate the experimental scenes in fine detail. Furthermore, this approach allowed for the simulation of more realistic models, and the synthetic data obtained provided valuable information for assisting in the interpretation of field data. As a result of this work, it was concluded that GPR can be an effective tool when searching for a variety of materials during a crime scene investigation.     

The primary investigation of material evidence and the evaluation of its suitability for expert biological identification by genomic "dactyloscopy"

Use of DNA "fingerprinting" method for biological analysis of material evidences exhibit new potentials for making concrete expert conclusions. But such expertise is time consuming and difficult to perform that's why it is important to evaluate fitness of expert material for DNA fingerprinting at early stages of object investigation. Method of preliminary treatment of objects sent for DNA fingerprint expertise in case of sexual assault is suggested and tested. This method allows one to evaluate objects easily from the standpoint of possibility to perform such investigation.     

"Insanity" in civil law

The issue of "insanity" is rarely alluded to in the area of civil law. As a consequence, the legal standard for insanity is not clearly understood by many psychiatrists. The standard derives from case law and is based upon statutory law in the criminal sector. A civil case will be presented where the question of "insanity" was raised. In this case an individual committed suicide and his insurance company refused to pay the beneficiaries of his life insurance policy based upon a provision in his policy that excluded payment in situations of suicide. His beneficiaries sued, claiming that the deceased was insane at the time of his suicide and therefore not responsible for his actions. The standard for insanity in New Jersey and the reasoning of the psychiatrists will be presented.     

A Case Example of Asphyxia Due to Occupational Exposure to Airborne Chemicals and Review of Workplace Fatalities

Although worker injury and fatalities have decreased since adoption of the Occupational Safety and Health Act in 1970, it remains an important safety issue. This article describes a 27‐year‐old white male who died from occupational exposure to airborne chemicals. Several trends in the last several decades, both in the types of injuries and the occupations associated with fatalities, are noted. Additionally, individual risk factors such as age, gender, chronic disease, smoking, and alcohol and drug use are implicated in worker health and safety. The role of the forensic pathologist in the investigation of workplace deaths is highlighted, in addition to the future of occupational safety and current improvements brought about by such incidents.     

Hair as a source of forensic evidence in murder investigations

Obtaining palynological and other botanical evidence from murder victims is becoming part of routine mortuary protocol in the United Kingdom. Forensic pathologists are often keen to cooperate in the collection of classes of material that have, in the past, been considered to be of little importance in criminal investigation. Work over the last eight years has demonstrated the great value in scrutinising cadavers for the presence of plant material and/or soil stains. Macroscopic plant remains and palynomorphs (pollen, spores and other microscopic entities) retrieved from skin and hair have allowed the differentiation of murder scenes from places of eventual deposition. Furthermore, although the opportunity has not yet presented itself, obtaining palynological evidence from the hair of suspects is feasible. During an offence, the offender might have had physical contact with foliage or the ground. Pollen and spore assemblages picked up by hair during that activity might provide forensic evidence for contact. Brief details of some aspects of case histories are presented to demonstrate the value of sampling cadavers. One case has been through the courts while the other is ongoing and, therefore, cannot be identified.