Mitochondrial DNA typing--a new level for solving identification problems in forensic medical expert identification of unidentified remains of victims of terrorist acts in Moscow and the armed conflict in the Chechen Republic

Two large-scale episodes described in this paper reflect the first in Russia use of molecular genetic matrilinear markers (analysis of polymorphism of sequences of amplified fragments of mitochondrial DNA hypervariable locuses) in solution of a complex identification problem: forensic medical identification of unidentified fragments of victims of explosions of houses in Moscow in September, 1999, and of soldiers dead in the war conflict in the Chechen Republic in 1994-1996. The results of this work and methodological experience gained in it essentially extend the potentialities of expert studies as regards forensic medical identification of victims of large scale disasters, terroristic acts, and war conflicts.     

A complex forensic-medical molecular-genetic examination of the victims of terroristic bombing in Moscow underground

The authors emphasize the need in coordination when conducting expert examinations in investigation of accidents with a great number of victims. Coordination is of special importance for combined application of molecular-genetic technologies and standard forensic medical investigations. The experience in experts cooperation in investigation of terroristic bombing in Moscow underground on February 6, 2004, according to algorithm of combined use of conventional forensic medical methods and innovating techniques of molecular-genetic identification for personal identification of dead bodies in accidents with a great number of victims is demonstrated.     

Identification of tsunami victims in Thailand: international experience in organization and conduction of forensic-medical expert investigations in emergency situations with many victims

Russians were among the victims of tsunami in Thailand. The authors participated in the activity of Thai Tsunami Victim Identification Center as experts for identification of tsunami victims. The article outlines management and course of identification, some results. The unique experience with international cooperation in conduction of forensic-medical expert investigations in emergency situations with many victims is discussed.     

Typing of STR locus in biological objects with pronounced degeneration: analysis of DNA in exhumed remains of victims of war actions

The authors describe some specific features of enzymatic amplification typing of DNA preparations obtained from degraded tissues of remains of humans, which were brought from regions of war actions in the Chechen Republic. Special attention is paid to the specific artefact of polymerase chain reaction, for the first time detected by the authors in examinations of the above-mentioned objects. This so-called "ladder" effect manifesting by simultaneous nonspecific amplification of many variants of allele fragments of the STR locus on the individual DNA matrix, which can be erroneously interpreted as an evidence of mixed DNA preparation, is apparently characteristic of individual objects with pronounced degradation of biological material. Such phenomena were observed in typing of STR locuses in biological tissues subjected to biological, thermal, and physicohemical degradation. The phenomenon was studied in detail.     

Independent forensic autopsies in an armed conflict: investigation of the victims from Racak, Kosovo

In January 1999, a team of Finnish forensic experts under the mandate of the European Union (EU forensic expert team, EU-FET) performed forensic investigations in a sovereign state, in Kosovo, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY). The team served as a neutral participant in the forensic investigation of victims of an incident at Racak, which was receiving considerable international attention. The Finnish team performed forensic autopsies, monitored forensic autopsies performed by local experts and verified findings of earlier executed autopsies. The victims had sustained varying numbers of gunshot wounds, which were established to be the cause of death. The manner of death remained undetermined by the EU-FET, because the scene investigation and the chain of custody for the bodies from the site of the incident to the autopsy were impossible to verify by the team. The events at Racak were the first of those leading to charges by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) against the highest authorities in power in the FRY for crimes against humanity and violations of the laws or customs of war.     

传染病疫情下法医学尸体解剖检验室建设展望

人群对新型冠状病毒肺炎普遍易感,在国内已造成数万人感染。由于现有的尸体解剖检验室不具备传染病患者或疑似传染病患者尸体解剖检验条件,公安机关法医人员在处理感染状态不清、疫情接触时不明的未知名尸体案事件时,面临着严峻的感染风险。为满足传染病患者或疑似传染病患者尸体解剖工作需要,确保法医人员身体健康安全,了解传染病患者的病理生理改变,完善法医学解剖检验室的建设十分必要。     

Post-mortem changes of the middle ear: multislice computed tomography study

Six dry skulls were studied by multislice computed tomography (MSCT). They had not previously been prepared, and were natural skeletonized remains. All had been found in the soil. Examination focused on the temporal bones and the ear structures. In all cases, either disruption of the ossicular chain or absence of some ossicular bones were noted. The authors concluded that the fragile ossicles were disrupted in the post-mortem state, and were not indicative of ante-mortem pathology. These observations illustrate the ability of MSCT to visualize taphonomic changes. To further illustrate these findings, we present the results of MSCT performed on an exhumed body. The left ossicular bones were missing and the right ossicular chain was disrupted. With the development of forensic radiology, structures as tiny as the ossicles can be examined. However, the radiologist who performs post-mortem imaging must be familiar with taphonomic changes to avoid interpretation as ante-mortem or peri-mortem traumatic injuries. This could potentially have considerable judicial impact, especially in the study of exhumed bodies.     

The case of Dr. Shipman

On January 31, 2000, Dr. Harold Shipman was convicted at Preston, England, of murdering 15 of his patients by administering lethal doses of diamorphine (pharmaceutical heroin). Investigations indicate that, during his working life, he killed about 220 to 240 of his patients. The bodies of many victims were cremated. Twelve victims were exhumed, and 9 of these deaths were included in the indictment. Most victims were elderly and had histories of natural disease. Autopsies confirmed known natural disease but showed no evidence of acute lethal events. Analysis of skeletal muscle disclosed significant quantities of morphine, to which the deaths were attributed. Circumstantial evidence was strong, as illustrated by the convictions in 6 deaths without autopsy or toxicology, because the bodies had been cremated. Organic compounds are remarkably stable in buried bodies. Even so, detection and quantitation of morphine in exhumed bodies may become problematic after burial for 4 years or more. Morphine glucuronide is slowly converted back to free morphine in the buried corpse.     

Identification of exhumed remains of fire tragedy victims using conventional methods and autosomal/Y-chromosomal short tandem repeat DNA profiling

In a fire tragedy in Manila in December 1998, one of the worst tragic incidents which resulted in the reported death of 23 children, identity could not be established initially resulting in the burial of still unidentified bodies. Underscoring the importance of identifying each of the human remains, the bodies were exhumed 3 months after the tragedy. We describe here our work, which was the first national case handled by local laboratories wherein conventional and molecular-based techniques were successfully applied in forensic identification. The study reports analysis of DNA obtained from skeletal remains exposed to conditions of burning, burial, and exhumation. DNA typing methods using autosomal and Y-chromosomal short tandem repeat (Y-STR) markers reinforced postmortem examinations using conventional identification techniques. The strategy resulted in the identification of 18 out of the 21 human remains analyzed, overcoming challenges encountered due to the absence of established procedures for the recovery of mass disaster remains. There was incomplete antemortem information to match the postmortem data obtained from the remains of 3 female child victims. Two victims were readily identified due to the availability of antemortem tissues. In the absence of this biologic material, parentage testing was performed using reference blood samples collected from parents and relatives. Data on patrilineal lineage based on common Y-STR haplotypes augmented autosomal DNA typing, particularly in deficiency cases.     

STR analysis of skeletal remains exhumed from a dry “water well” used as a massive clandestine burial in Argentina

The military dictatorship that took power in Argentina from 1976 to 1983, brought enforced disappearance and death to thousands of people in the country. “Pozo de Vargas” is a 3.5 m wide and 60 m deep dry water well used as a massive clandestine burial site in Tucumán, Argentina. The site contained commingled remains as well as partially articulated body parts. Since 2011, EAAF Forensic Genetics Laboratory (LGF-EAAF) has been processing post mortem (PM) samples exhumed from the well to achieve the intra-skeletal re-association and the identification of the bodies or body parts. 981 skeletal remains, with different states of preservation, were analyzed for STR typing using commercial available kits. Different bone elements were exhumed for intra-skeletal re-associations (PM-PM genetic comparisons): teeth, femur and tibia represented more than 65% of sampling and almost all of them were successfully re-associated; spongy bones as scapula, vertebrae and clavicles yielded worse results, although almost 80% of them were also re-associated. 871 skeletal remains (89%) were successfully typed for autosomal STR markers and re-associated into 147 unique STR profiles meaning that at least 147 different individuals were thrown into the water well. After re-association, unique STR profiles obtained from the skeletal remains were compared to ante mortem (AM) family reference database in order to identify victims (AM-PM genetic comparisons), being possible to restore 113 victims to their families. Another challenge of this identification project was the presence of biologically related victims inside the well.     

The First Successful Use of a Low Stringency Familial Match in a French Criminal Investigation

We describe how a very simple application of familial searching resolved a decade‐old, high‐profile rape/murder in France. This was the first use of familial searching in a criminal case using the French STR DNA database, which contains approximately 1,800,000 profiles. When an unknown forensic profile (18 loci) was searched against the French arrestee/offender database using CODIS configured for a low stringency search, a single low stringency match was identified. This profile was attributed to the father of the man suspected to be the source of the semen recovered from the murder victim Elodie Kulik. The identification was confirmed using Y‐chromosome DNA from the putative father, an STR profile from the mother, and finally a tissue sample from the exhumed body of the man who left the semen. Because of this identification, the investigators are now pursuing possible co‐conspirators.     

Identification of victims from two mass-graves in Serbia: a critical evaluation of classical markers of identity

Reliable identification of victims in mass graves is of humanitarian and human rights concern. Because mass graves in the former Yugoslavia usually contain an 'open' population of large numbers of unknown victims and therefore 'presumptive identifications' based on classical markers of identity are problematic, greater reliance is now made on blind matches between victim DNA and a database of donated blood DNA samples from family members of missing persons. Nevertheless, there will always remain a legal and social need to show good correspondence between a DNA-derived identification and classical markers of identity. Moreover, pathologists and anthropologists, who must continue to rely in much of their case work on classical methods, need to evaluate on an ongoing basis the goodness of fit between the two paradigms of identification. The Institute of Forensic Medicine and Laboratory for Anthropology in Belgrade participated in 2001 in the exhumation and identification of more than 300 bodies of Kosovar Albanians interred in two mass graves at Batajnica, near Belgrade, Serbia. Of these bodies, 136 were legally identified by the end of 2003 providing an opportunity for the forensic experts to evaluate their post-mortem findings of classical markers of identity. Sex and age at death of young to middle-aged adults were reliably determined but old adults were markedly under-aged. Stature was reconstructed reliably in 77% of cases. Dental status contributed little to identification efforts. In no case did classical markers of identity require rejection of the DNA-based identification. It is concluded that: sex determination from pelvic bones is very reliable, as are age at death estimates from pelvic and rib standards for young to middle-aged adults but that uncertainty intervals for age at death in older adults be broadened or refined by creation of local osteological standards.     

Odontological contribution to the identification of concentration camp physician Josef Mengele

The body which had been exhumed from a graveyard in Embú (Brazil) on June 6th was investigated by forensic experts. The comparison of the post-mortem dental findings and jaw bones with ante-mortem data of Josef Mengele, physician of the concentration camp of Auschwitz, makes evident, that there is positive identity by high probability.     

Forensic medicine experiences in Kosovo

In summer 1999, a German forensic team of CID officers and forensic pathologists was sent to Kosovo on request of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) to investigate possible war crimes. For this purpose, witnesses had to be found and interrogated and graves of victims had to be located and the bodies exhumed and examined forensically. Roughly 200 bodies have been found and examined during the campaign that were predominantly of male sex and showed mainly gunshot wounds. A high percentage of all bodies could be identified. The article deals with different forensic-pathologic aspects of such an investigation.     

Identification of the cadaver remains of Josef Mengele

In 1985 at the cemetery in Embu near Sao Paulo, Brazil, parts of a skeleton were exhumed, and now these parts have been examined to determine whether they are the remains of the corpse of Dr. Josef Mengele, the camp doctor of the Auschwitz concentration camp. The osteometrical and osteological findings ascertained correspond completely and consistently without contradiction with all the available personal data of Josef Mengele. Through a method of electronic visual mixing for the identification of the skull, it was determined that all the authentic pictures available used for comparison correspond definitely and consistently to the exhumed skull.     

The body buried twice

The authors report the case of an unusual reason for an "exhumation." A young person "exhumed" a child's body involved in a road accident because he wanted to test methods for preventing or slowing down the process of postmortem decay.     

新冠肺炎等传染病与法医学鉴定评述

新冠肺炎致死或引发的其他法律纠纷可能涉及法医学病理解剖或者法医临床学鉴定。在日常法医学解剖中时有遇到因传染性疾病死亡患者的尸体,法医鉴定机构及鉴定人应当有风险识别意识,充分认识到在解剖、检查这类尸体时的被传染风险。法医鉴定人需要采取充分有效的防护措施。由于新冠肺炎属于新型传染性疾病,相关研究成果、信息资料更新快,鉴定中的信息参考要慎重选择。同时本文对因传染性疾病死亡患者的尸体解剖中常见的职业伦理、知情同意、保险理赔和环境保护等问题进行讨论。     

Identification of the cadaveric remains of Josef Mengele

In 1985 at the cemetery in Embu near Sao Paulo, Brazil, parts of a skeleton were exhumed, and now these parts have been examined in order to determine whether they are the remains of the corpse of Dr. Josef Mengele, the camp doctor of the Auschwitz Concentration Camp. The osteometrical and osteological findings ascertained correspond completely and consistently without contradiction with all the available personal data of Josef Mengele. Through a method of electronic visual mixing for the identification of the skull, it was determined that all the authentic pictures available used for comparison correspond definitely and consistently in all details to the exhumed skull.     

医学会应做好准备 积极应对专家出席法庭

新修订的《中华人民共和国民事诉讼法》于2013年起开始实施。当事人对鉴定结论有异议,要求鉴定专家出席法庭作证已是大势所趋。医学会开展医疗事故(医疗损害)鉴定,专家签名和出席法庭的问题已经没有讨论的必要,如何采取措施积极应对是医学会要迫切考虑解决的问题。医学会、相关专家学者对这一问题进行过多次讨论,提出了多种建议、过度办法以及应对措施,但具体如何操作,还需要在实践中总结和探索。笔者以为,塑造和培养一支优秀的鉴定专家队伍,保证鉴定结论客观、科学、公正,写好鉴定书分析意见,使鉴定结论令当事人信服,是解决这一问题的关键。     

Gender determination based on osteometric characteristics of the upper and lower extremities by discriminant analysis

The authors studied the osteological collection of the Chair of Antropology of the Moscow State University. The results of measurement of length of long tubular bones and articular parts of scapula and pelvis were statistically treated. The complex of discriminant models calculated by the Fisher's method is recommended for the sex identification. The diagnostic accuracy is 74 - 83.5% (separated bones) and 85.7 - 95.2% (complex of bones of upper and lower extremities).