Photographs of the human face and broken projective symmetry

The exact projective symmetry manifested in photographs is broken if the object is not flat. It has been found that front view perspectives of the human face, photographed with limited variations in camera angle (within 30 degrees) show a breaking projective symmetry sufficiently small to be considered for accurate comparison. As a practical implementation of this new approach, a computer-controlled video camera superimposition technique has been developed and demonstrated in the identification of a disguised human face.     

Development of equipment for the standardization of skull photographs in personal identifications by photographic superimposition

The technique of photographic superimposition of postmortem specimens (dried skull or head) positioned identically to the orientation in an antemortem smiling photograph is now a recognized method for personal identification of human remains. Previous methods used to produce the postmortem photographs were problematic as orientation of the specimen could not be easily adjusted and positions were not reproducible. The objective of this paper is to describe the design and method of use of purpose-constructed equipment intended to alleviate these problems. The equipment comprises a skull-holding jig based conceptually on the Royal Berkshire Hospital halo frame. This is mounted on a pan-and-tilt device, incorporating calibrated measurement scales, enabling independent movements in each of the Cartesian coordinates. A camera is attached to an adjustable mount running on twin parallel rails allowing the camera-to-specimen distance to be varied. The equipment has proven to be straightforward in use and offers considerable advantages over previously described methods for producing postmortem photographs.     

William R. Maples, forensic historian: four men, four centuries, four countries.

Prior to 1984, William R. Maples, Ph.D. worked primarily with Medical Examiners in the State of Florida in investigation of and testimony in criminal cases. In 1984 the Republic of Peru requested him to identify skeletal remains thought to be those of Francisco Pizarro, conqueror of Peru and the Incas in the early 16th Century. Dr. Maples made a positive identification of those remains as Pizarro, resulting in their substitution in a glass-sided coffin in the Cathedral of Lima, where other remains had been displayed as those of Pizarro for a hundred years. In addition, it was proved that the remains removed could not have been those of Pizarro. In 1988, Dr. Maples examined the skeletal remains of Joseph Merrick ("The Elephant Man") at Royal London Hospital, Whitechapel, and made photographic studies of them for comparison with death casts of limbs and skull to ascertain depth of tissue by video-superimposition. In 1991, Dr. Maples, headed a team which removed President Zachary Taylor (1779-1842) from his tomb in Louisville, Kentucky. The purpose was to determine if he had been poisoned, as had been proposed by some at the time. Test results showed that he had not been. In 1992, Dr. Maples and a team of forensic specialists went by invitation to Ekaterinburg, Russia to study skeletal remains which the Russians had tentatively identified as the Russian Royal Family, and entourage, murdered in 1918. The American team identified them as Tsar Nicholas II, his wife, three of his children, his physician, and three of his servants. William Ross Maples died in Gainesville, Florida, 27 February 1997.     

Reliability of Craniofacial Superimposition Using Three‐Dimension Skull Model

Craniofacial superimposition is a technique potentially useful for the identification of unidentified human remains if a photo of the missing person is available. We have tested the reliability of the 2D‐3D computer‐aided nonautomatic superimposition techniques. Three‐dimension laser scans of five skulls and ten photographs were overlaid with an imaging software. The resulting superimpositions were evaluated using three methods: craniofacial landmarks, morphological features, and a combination of the two. A 3D model of each skull without its mandible was tested for superimposition; we also evaluated whether separating skulls by sex would increase correct identifications. Results show that the landmark method employing the entire skull is the more reliable one (5/5 correct identifications, 40% false positives [FP]), regardless of sex. However, the persistence of a high percentage of FP in all the methods evaluated indicates that these methods are unreliable for positive identification although the landmark‐only method could be useful for exclusion.     

An investigation into the accuracy and reliability of skull-photo superimposition in a South African sample

One of the aims of forensic science is to determine the identities of victims of crime. In some cases the investigators may have ideas as to the identities of the victims and in these situations, ante mortem photographs of the victims could be used in order to try and establish identity through skull-photo superimposition. The aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of a newly developed digital photographic superimposition technique on a South African sample of cadaver photographs and skulls. Forty facial photographs were selected and for each photo, 10 skulls (including the skull corresponding to the photo) were used for superimposition. The investigator did not know which of the 10 skulls corresponded to the photograph in question. The skulls were scanned 3-dimensionally, using a Cyberware? Model 3030 Colour-3D Scanhead scanner. The photos were also scanned. Superimposition was done in 3D Studio Max and involved a morphological superimposition, whereby a skull is superimposed over the photo and assessed for a morphological match. Superimposition using selected anatomical landmarks was also performed to assess the match. A total of 400 skull-photo superimpositions were carried out using the morphological assessment and another 400 using the anatomical landmarks. In 85% of cases the correct skull was included in the possible matches for a particular photo using morphological assessment. However, in all of these cases, between zero and three other skulls out of 10 possibilities could also match a specific photo. In the landmark based assessment, the correct skull was included in 80% of cases. Once again, however, between one and seven other skulls out of 10 possibilities also matched the photo. This indicates that skull-photo superimposition has limited use in the identification of human skeletal remains, but may be useful as an initial screening tool. Corroborative techniques should also be used in the identification process.     

A thousand tales of dead men: the forensic anthropology cases of William R. Maples, Ph.D.

This paper examines the nearly 1000 forensic anthropology case reports authored by the late William R. Maples during his 28 year career at the University of Florida, Gainesville. The types of case files reviewed include C.A. Pound Human Identification Laboratory reports; 999, US ARMY-CILHI reviews; 226, and historical or prominent persons. Although Dr. Maples performed private casework, these files were not available for examination. A demographic profile for the C.A. Pound Human Identification Laboratory sample is presented.     

Digital dental radiographic identification in the pediatric, mixed and permanent dentitions.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the utility of digital dental radiographic superimposition in the various stages of development of the human dentition. Digital, computer assisted dental identification is a means of identification which allows the spatial relationships of the root and support structures of the teeth to be compared one to the other. The technique has not been tested in patients with developing dentitions. Dental radiographs from patients in the pediatric, mixed and permanent dentition stages of development, simulating "antemortem" and "postmortem" radiographs, were digitized using a flat field radiograph scanner. Anatomic features were used as points of comparison utilizing image editing software whereby anatomic sections were digitally cut from the antemortem image and compared to the same anatomic locations on the postmortem image to assess for points of concordance. The technique was applied to 25 cases within the primary dentition, 25 cases within the mixed dentition and 25 cases within the permanent dentition. Results showed that this was a viable technique within both the pediatric and permanent dentition although it was of little value within the mixed dentition.     

Homicide or accident off the coast of Florida: trauma analysis of mutilated human remains.

In the many years Dr. William R. Maples served as a forensic anthropologist, he saw diverse sources of trauma presented in the victims of violent crime, accident and suicide in the state of Florida. In 1996 the District 18 Medical Examiner's Office of Florida requested the assistance of Dr. Maples in the analysis of human remains recovered by the U.S. Coast Guard. The deceased was in an advanced state of decomposition characterized by skin slippage and discoloration. The torso bore multiple lacerations, including nearly parallel lacerations in the skin of the back. Specimens were carefully macerated and the fractures reconstructed. The skeletal trauma was caused by a device capable of delivering robust cuts and blunt trauma in linear paths, as is consistent with propeller trauma. Unusual in this case were blows to the ventral and dorsal surfaces of the body. Based on the anthropological analysis and interviews with the family of the deceased, the F.B.I. proceeded with the case as a homicide investigation.     

Estimating the Skull‐to‐Camera Distance from Facial Photographs for Craniofacial Superimposition

The overlay of a skull and a face image for identification purposes requires similar subject‐to‐camera distances (SCD) to be used at both photographic sessions so that differences in perspective do not compromise the anatomical comparisons. As the facial photograph is the reference standard, it is crucial to determine its SCD first and apply this value to photography of the skull. So far, such a method for estimating the SCD has been elusive (some say impossible), compromising the technical validity of the superimposition procedure. This paper tests the feasibility of using the palpebral fissure length and a well‐established photographic algorithm to accurately estimate the SCD from the facial photograph. Recordings at known SCD across a 1–10 m range (repeated under two test conditions) demonstrate that the newly formulated method works: a mean SCD estimation error of 7% that translates into <1% perspective distortion error between estimated and actual conditions.     

The identification of Josef Mengele. A triumph of international cooperation

In recent weeks, world attention has been focused on the identification of skeletal remains suspected of being those of the most widely sought Nazi war criminal still at large--Josef Mengele. Several important turns in the investigation of his whereabouts led to a small city south of S?o Paulo, where he had been living until 1979. Mengele was reported to have drowned and to have been buried in a country cemetery near his last residence. The initial processing of the remains was done at the Medicolegal Institute of S?o Paulo by police officials in consultation with anthropologists and dentists as well as Dr. Wilmes Teixeira of Mogi das Cruzes, a suburb of S?o Paulo. Dr. Teixeira coordinated the team of authorized international forensic experts officially representing the governments of West Germany and the United States, as well as the Simon Wiesenthal Center of Los Angeles, who joined Brazilian scientists in completing identification. The success of the investigation was due to complete cooperation among members of the team, resulting in verification, within a reasonable scientific certainty, that these were the remains of Josef Mengele.     

Source Camera Identification for Heavily JPEG Compressed Low Resolution Still Images*

Abstract: In this research, we examined whether fixed pattern noise or more specifically Photo Response Non‐Uniformity (PRNU) can be used to identify the source camera of heavily JPEG compressed digital photographs of resolution 640 × 480 pixels. We extracted PRNU patterns from both reference and questioned images using a two‐dimensional Gaussian filter and compared these patterns by calculating the correlation coefficient between them. Both the closed and open‐set problems were addressed, leading the problems in the closed set to high accuracies for 83% for single images and 100% for around 20 simultaneously identified questioned images. The correct source camera was chosen from a set of 38 cameras of four different types. For the open‐set problem, decision levels were obtained for several numbers of simultaneously identified questioned images. The corresponding false rejection rates were unsatisfactory for single images but improved for simultaneous identification of multiple images.     

Computer-assisted skull identification system using video superimposition

This system consists of two main units, namely a video superimposition system and a computer-assisted skull identification system. The video superimposition system is comprised of the following five parts: a skull-positioning box having a monochrome CCD camera, a photo-stand having a color CCD camera, a video image mixing device, a TV monitor and a videotape recorder. The computer-assisted skull identification system is composed of a host computer including our original application software, a film recorder and a color printer. After the determination of the orientation and size of the skull to those of the facial photograph using the video superimposition system, the skull and facial photograph images are digitized and stored within the computer, and then both digitized images are superimposed on the monitor. For the assessment of anatomical consistency between the digitized skull and face, the distance between the landmarks and the thickness of soft tissue of the anthropometrical points are semi-automatically measured on the monitor. The wipe images facilitates the comparison of positional relationships between the digitized skull and face. The software includes the polynomial functions and Fourier harmonic analysis for evaluating the match of the outline such as the forehead and mandibular line in both the digitized images.     

Burned beyond recognition: systematic approach to the dental identification of charred human remains

Forensic dental evaluation methods for use in a systematic approach to the dental identification of charred human remains are described. A systematic, conservative approach prevents the loss of valuable dental information before a thorough picture of the individual's dental remains has been adequately documented. The presenting conditions of fire victims are explained and illustrated with photographs, and a series of illustrations and text describe the damage seen in the dentition of the fire victim. A systematic four-stage process for gaining access to the intraoral structures of charred human remains is outlined and illustrated. Utilizing methods of access to the oral structures that maintain the integrity of the dentition through each stage of the evaluation of charred remains will prevent the loss of potential dental information before a thorough dental charting, intra-oral photographs, and radiographs can be obtained.     

Development of a methodology for the standardisation and improvement of ‘Smartphone’ photography of patterned bruises and other cutaneous injuries

Human bite-mark analyses can play a prominent role in forensic case investigations, including those involving sexual assault. High-quality photographs routinely secure a link between a bite-mark and an individual's dentition. Access to around the clock forensic photography, however, is often limited, resulting in delay and/or missed opportunities to record valuable evidence. The emergence of Smartphone high-quality photographic technology now provides a previously unimagined opportunity to gather timely forensic photographic evidence. Problems can arise, however, due to the relatively poor quality of the photographs, as a result of many of those taking photographs having received little or no forensic photography training. This study compares unassisted photography with assisted photography, by a specifically developed camera application (App), to provide a standardised method for taking forensic photographs. An App, written in Java, was hosted on the Google Android Operating System, on a Samsung Galaxy SII Smartphone. Twenty-four volunteers participated in a study to photograph a pseudo bite-mark using three methods, (1) unassisted (as a control), (2) assisted by an ABFO No.2 right-angled photographic reference scale and (3) assisted by the App. The App, method (3), was shown to consistently outperform methods (1) and (2), demonstrating greater standardisation and precision (p < 0.001). Analysis of the data showed the extent to which acquiring an accurate photograph depends on the image being orthogonal to the camera. It appears likely that the relatively inaccurate photographs acquired by methods (1) and (2), were as a result of deviation from the plane, orthogonal to the bite-mark. Therefore, the App was successful in ensuring that the camera was both orthogonal and at an appropriate distance, relative to the bite-mark. Thus, the App enhanced the abilities of non-experts to acquire more accurate photographs and created the potential to significantly improve the quality of forensic photographs.     

The use of videotape to demonstrate the dynamics of bite marks

Traditionally, bite mark photographs have been used to study statically a dynamic event. With the advent of the compact video camcorder, odontologists can now document bite marks on video tape and, in some instances, with the model of the suspect's dentition, may be able to record the dynamics of a bite on human flesh. A review of two cases and equipment used is discussed.     

Value of skull identification as evidence using a superimposed video image technic with reference to individual craniometric differences in the human skull

The possibility of using the video superimposition technique for the identification of a skull by comparing it with photographs of missing persons is based on the fact that the human skull, unlike any other part of the human skeleton, shows unmistakable individual characteristics. In order to obtain a quantification, the individuality of human skulls is defined in terms of craniometric data and their probability distribution. First calculations based on the coordinates of some important encephalometric points of 52 European skulls suggest that there are individual aspects comparable to those of fingerprints. Under certain conditions, the video superimposition technique can establish very strong evidence for the identity of an unknown skull, provided that it is applied correctly and carefully.     

Fatal suffocation by rubber balloons in children: mechanism and prevention

The increase in the use of photographs on individual identification credentials such as driving licences, credit cards, security passes and passports has led, for the purpose of criminal activities, to the falsification of genuine documents bearing photographs of the perpetrating criminal. These photographs may be used as valuable physical evidence when compared with known photographs of a suspect as they form somewhat of a signature of the suspect that is left behind on the evidence. The comparison of ID photographs requires the cooperation of two predominantly visual disciplines; forensic photography and morphological anatomy. This paper describes a photographic technique which allows accurate anatomical measurement and tracing of facial features, which allows direct physical comparison of ID document images.