Hangings in Newfoundland and Labrador: A 40-year retrospective analysis of medical examiner data.

A comprehensive review of medical examiner data was undertaken of all hanging deaths in the Canadian Maritime province of Newfoundland and Labrador from 1982 to 2021. A total of 811 cases were identified representing suicidal, accidental, and undetermined manners of death. Variables examined included age; sex; seasonality; ligature type; location; time since death; prior attempts/suicidal ideation; presence/absence of a suicide note; and presence/absence of alcohol and drugs. Data subsets were generated, and additional analysis was conducted for hangings involving females; suicidal hangings occurring in the region of Labrador; and those who hanged themselves outdoors. Results indicate that females are choosing to kill themselves by hanging in rapidly increasing numbers. Outdoor suicides by hanging were more common in Newfoundland and Labrador (22.1%) than previously reported in Alberta (11.5%), Texas (5%), and Turkey (12-13%). Unique trends in seasonality were revealed, as were repeated incidents of suicidal clusters. The age distribution was skewed strongly toward youths (10 to 22 years of age), particularly in Labrador. Although Labrador represents only 5% of the total provincial population, it produced 20.1% of the total suicidal hangings in the study. The suicide rate in Canada has decreased by 24% over the past 40 years, yet the rates of suicidal hangings nationally and in Newfoundland and Labrador have increased during the same time period. With a better understanding of the circumstances under which people commit suicide by hanging within the province, it may be possible to target at-risk groups to prevent future cases.

A comparison of the international protocols for the forensic assessment of conflict-related sexual violence victims.

International protocols for forensic investigations are often created by committee and in isolation. When field tested, the results of such tests are rarely reported to the wider forensic community. This study presents a comparative study of one such protocol, the International Protocol on the Documentation and Investigation of Sexual Violence in Conflict: Best Practice in the Documentation of Sexual Violence as a Crime or Violation of International Law. The protocol was used in a pilot study involving 20 victims of conflict-related sexual assault in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The results of the pilot study were compared with an existing database of 341 victims of sexual assault (also from the same region of the DRC) who were examined using another protocol developed and utilized by Medicins Sans Frontier (MSF). The results clearly indicate the international protocol was far superior in all aspects, including comprehensive data capture and ease-of-use. Although the MSF protocol is intended for humanitarian purposes, all medical records are subject to potential downstream forensic applications. Given constraints in funding and resources in conflict zones, the wide-spread adoption of the full international protocol would ensure that every victim receives a complete, forensically valid examination suitable for the future pursuit of justice.

Addressing the Lack of Forensic Scientific Evidence and Expertise in the "Trigger Mechanisms" of Genocide Investigations.

The impetus to begin a legal investigation or prosecution of the crime of genocide is a "trigger mechanism," which serves as the prima facie case against the accused state or actor. Unlike domestic cases of homicide, the trigger mechanisms for international genocide investigations to date have not included any forensic evidence nor have they sought input from forensic scientists. The jurists tasked with addressing the trigger mechanisms were fully capable of assessing forensic evidence but unable to generate it. This study reviews four recent large-scale investigations of genocide in Bosnia, Rwanda, Darfur and Myanmar to reveal pitfalls in the cases that could have been avoided by the earlier inclusion of scientific expertise, and identifies the potential contributions of forensic science in future investigations.

Patterns of trauma in conflict victims from Timor Leste.

Understanding population-level trauma patterns has implications for the recognition of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Trauma data were abstracted from autopsy and anthropology reports for 105 victims from the 1999 conflict in Timor Leste. A significant number of individuals displayed no evidence of injury. No trauma was found in 25% of the sample, while a further 5% had only minor, nonlethal wounds. Where trauma was evident, sharp force injuries were most common (35%), followed by gunshot (20%) and blunt force (13.33%). Timorese frequencies of trauma differ significantly from percentages found in prior reports of mass killings from Cambodia, Bosnia, Croatia, and Afghanistan but closely resemble reported trauma patterns in Rwanda. Decomposition and percentage of body recovered were shown to have a significant impact on the presence/absence of trauma. Complete, fleshed remains were 10.4 times more likely than skeletal remains to have evidence of major or lethal trauma.

The use of a 3-D laser scanner to document ephemeral evidence at crime scenes and postmortem examinations.

Proper documentation of physical evidence at both crimes scenes and postmortem examination is crucial for downstream analysis, interpretation, and presentation in court. Ephemeral or transient evidence poses particular challenges to investigators, as its very nature renders it difficult or impossible to seize and maintain in its original physical state. The use of a hand-held three-dimensional (3-D) laser scanner is proposed to capture and document such evidence, both in the field and at autopsy. Advantages of the scanner over traditional means of documentation such as photography or casting include the ability to obtain measurements in all dimensions, the ability to reconstruct missing elements, and the ease with which generated images can be interpreted by the jury at trial. Potential scenarios warranting the use of the scanner are identified, and the limitations of its use are discussed.

Is victim identity in genocide a question of science or law? The scientific perspective, with special reference to Darfur.

In genocide, victims must represent an ethnic, racial, religious or national group. But is victim identity a question of science or law? Must victims be a socially recognized group or can group identity exist solely in the mind of the perpetrator? This question is relevant to the on-going crisis in Darfur. The "Arab-on-African" violence depicted in the media encompasses identities not shared by Darfurians. This study details an evaluation of victim identity in Darfur, based on field research and literature review. Darfurians are defined by subsistence strategy and economic groups are not protected under genocide law. Whether Darfur is genocide depends on whether victims must conform to scientific group classifications or need only be defined by their relationship to the perpetrators.

The use of material culture to establish the ethnic identity of victims in genocide investigations: a validation study from the American Southwest*.

Successful prosecution of genocide requires that the victims constitute one of four protected groups: national, religious, ethnic, or racial. Establishing victim identity in prior trials has relied on positive identification of decedents, been largely presumptive, or was based on untested methodology. This report details a validation study of one untested method: the use of material culture in establishing ethnic identity. Classes of clothing and personal effects were scored on 3,430 individuals of known Hispanic or White ancestry from autopsy records in New Mexico. Significant differences were seen in evidence of language, nationality, and religious affiliation between the two groups, as well as clothing types and currency. Predictive models used to estimate ethnic identity in random, blind subsets produced an overall accuracy of 81.5% and estimates of 61-98% in specific subsets. Results suggest material culture, when present, can provide reliable evidence of ethnic affinity in genocide investigations.

Manufactured populations: what do contemporary reference skeletal collections represent? A comparative study using the Maxwell Museum documented collection.

The extent to which archaeological or cemetery skeletal collections accurately represent the population from which they were drawn cannot be known. The creation of documented or forensic skeletal collections, derived from donation or autopsy, was intended to overcome many of the problems inherent in archaeological populations, yet it is misleading to assume such collections represent a specific or defined population. This study compares the documented skeletal collection curated at the Maxwell Museum to annual demographic information from three relevant populations: (i) the living population of New Mexico (NM), (ii) the deceased of NM, and (iii) the subset of decedents who undergo a medicolegal death investigation or autopsy. Results indicate that the Maxwell Documented collection differs significantly from all three populations in every variable examined: age, sex, ethnicity/race, cause, and manner of death. Collection development that relies on body donation or retention of unclaimed bodies under coroner/medical examiner statutes results in a biased sample, with significant overrepresentation of males, Whites, the elderly, those who die unnatural deaths and individuals with antemortem traumatic injury or surgical intervention. Equally problematic is the perception that the collection has documented race or ethnicity, when in fact only 17% was self-reported, while the affinity of the remaining individuals was determined by pathologists or other observers. Caution is warranted in how this and similar collections are used and interpreted by researchers. Although documented reference collections are useful in developing methods of estimating age or sex, they are not a proxy for modern or racially/ethnically defined populations.

Kumho, Daubert, and the nature of scientific inquiry: implications for forensic anthropology.

In the last 15 years, the US Supreme Court has implemented major changes concerning the admittance of expert testimony. In 1993, Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals superseded the Frye ruling in federal courts and established judges, not the scientific community, as the gatekeepers regarding the credibility of scientific evidence. In 1999, a lesser-known but equally important decision, Kumho Tire v. Carmichael, ruled that technical expert testimony needed to employ the same rigor as outlined in Daubert, but experts can develop theories based on observations and apply such theories to the case before the court. Anthropology has never been defined as a hard science. Yet, many recent publications have modified existing techniques to meet the Daubert criteria, while none have discussed the significance of Kumho to anthropological testimony. This paper examines the impact of Daubert and Kumho on forensic anthropology and illustrates areas of anthropological testimony best admitted under Kumho's guidance.

Tattoo types and frequencies in New Mexican white hispanics and white non-hispanics: autopsy data from homicidal and accidental deaths, 2002-2005.

Tattoos serve as a form of forensic personal identification and providing evidence of possible gang affiliation, incarceration history, and high-risk lifestyle factors such as drug use. Despite their forensic applications, tattoo typology and frequencies in specific ethnic and racial groups are underreported and poorly understood. This study examined autopsy records from the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator from 2002 to 2005. A total of 3430 individuals (1666 white Hispanics; 1764 white non-Hispanics), aged 18 to 100 years, with homicidal or accidental manners of death were included in the study. In addition to demographic information, data were recorded on the presence/absence of tattoos, singular or multiple tattoos, and the language of text tattoos. Tattoos depicting gang or religious symbolism were also recorded. Results indicate statistically significant differences in tattoo frequencies by ethnicity (52% Hispanic vs. 29.5% non-Hispanic), sex (46.8% men vs. 25.9% women) and age cohort. Hispanics were more likely to have multiple tattoos than non-Hispanics (41% and 19%, respectively), and were 4.67 times more likely to have a religious tattoo and 7.13 times more likely to have a gang tattoo than non-Hispanics. Significant patterns in language of text tattoos and correlations with manner of death were also noted.

Proposed classes of morphological autopsy findings for decomposed and skeletal remains in mass death investigations.

Analysis of mass death events, often involving partial or skeletal human remains, requires investigators to condense information on a large number of victims into a single report. Prosecution of war crimes typically requires that victims be categorized according to the injuries sustained. Reports recognizing only the presence or absence of trauma are misleading or misrepresentative. This study introduces a 4 class system for skeletal remains based on morphologic autopsy findings. Each class corresponds to the lethal potential of the trauma or pathologic conditions evident at autopsy, and the certainty with which cause of death can be determined. Data were extracted from 766 autopsy cases involving decomposed or skeletal remains from the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator in which cause and manner of death were ruled. Statistically significant associations between morphology class and the cause and manner of death, positive identification, and natural and non-natural deaths were evident in this study. Intraobserver and interobserver tests revealed excellent replicability and reliability in the assignment of morphology classes to individual cases. In addition to its mass death applications, this classification system offers potential research contributions to physical anthropologists and bioarchaeologists studying human populations in antiquity.

Variables influencing victim selection in genocide.

While victims of racially motivated violence may be identified through observation of morphological features, those targeted because of their ethnic, religious, or national identity are not easily recognized. This study examines how perpetrators of genocide recognize their victims. Court documents, including indictments, witness statements, and testimony from the International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia (FY) detail the interactions between victim and assailant. A total of 6012 decedents were included in the study; only 20.8% had been positively identified. Variables influencing victim selection in Rwanda included location, segregation, incitement, and prior relationship, while significant factors in FY were segregation, location, age/gender, and social data. Additional contributing factors in both countries included self-identification, victim behavior, linguistic or clothing evidence, and morphological features. Understanding the system of recognition used by perpetrators aids investigators tasked with establishing victim identity in such prosecutions.

Percentage of body recovered and its effect on identification rates and cause and manner of death determination.

Anthropologists frequently encounter cases in which only partial human remains are recovered. This study reports how the percentage of the body recovered affects identification (ID) rates and cause and manner of death determination. A total of 773 cases involving anthropology consults were drawn from the New Mexico medical examiner's office (1974-2006). Results indicate a significant correlation between body percent recovered and ID rates, which ranged from 89% for complete bodies to 56% when less than half the body was present. Similar patterns were evident in cause/manner determination, which were the highest (83% and 79%, respectively) in complete bodies but declined to 40% when less than half the body was found. The absence of a skull also negatively impacted ID and ruling rates. Findings are compared with general autopsy ID rates (94-96%) and cause/manner determination rates (96-99%) as well as prior published rates for individual casework and mass death events.

Frequencies of morphological characteristics in two contemporary forensic collections: implications for identification.

Positive identification relies on comparison of antemortem and postmortem data. Some identifications are based on morphological features such as fracture, pathological condition, and surgical hardware, despite little literature indicating the frequencies of such traits. This study examines whether such features are sufficiently rare as to be deemed individualizing. Data were collected on two modern North American skeletal collections (N=482 individuals). Presence/absence of features was scored by skeletal element and side. Results indicate that frequencies vary by geographic region (higher frequency of fractures and pathological conditions in New Mexico while individuals in Tennessee were more likely to have surgical interventions), many features such as fractures are remarkably common and that even suites of traits may not be individualizing. Caution is warranted when using written data rather than radiographic comparisons as the primary source of identification. The implications of these findings to missing person databases are also discussed.

Lessons from Srebrenica: the contributions and limitations of physical anthropology in identifying victims of war crimes.

In July 1995, the town of Srebrenica fell to Bosnian-Serb forces, leaving more than 7000 Muslim men missing and presumed dead. Anthropologists participating in the identification process were faced with a unique problem: the victims appeared identical. All were adult males of a single ethnic group. Decomposition as well as the absence of antemortem (AM) medical and dental records confounded identification. As of December 1999, only 63 men had been positively identified using DNA, personal effects, and identification papers. Are current anthropological methods of sex, age, and stature estimation and AM trauma assessment sufficiently accurate to differentiate the remaining victims and aid in their identification? Comparisons of relative-reported AM information and postmortem examination records for 59 of the 63 identified individuals indicated that while all individuals were sexed correctly, only 42.4% were accurately aged and 29.4% had a stature estimate that included their reported height.

Twenty-seven years of forensic anthropology casework in New Mexico.

A review of anthropological consult cases for the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator was conducted for the years 1974 through 2000. A total of 596 cases are summarized and information is presented on the sex and age of the individuals, season of recovery, depositional environment, body covering, time since death, perimortem trauma, postmortem animal activity, and skeletal element recovery. Results reveal a higher percentage of male victims (76%). No variation is seen in the seasonal distribution of cases. In cases with known time since death, 35% were recovered within one week while 30% had a postmortem interval exceeding one year. Depositional environments include surface (45%), burial (13%), and airplane crashes (9.5%). In 42% of the cases, no evidence of perimortem trauma was observed. Postmortem animal activity was noted in 46% of cases. Data presented in this study may prove useful in supporting expert witness testimony and generating future research models.