Day 10: Disaster Victim Identification

Still on the topic of Disaster, but now I'm going to discuss about the management of dead victims in disaster. As I have mention in my earlier post, Day 7: More About Disaster: Disaster and its Effect to Mental Health; victims of disaster can be classified into 3 groups: (primary, secondary and tertiary victims). 

However, victims can also be group as:

• Non-injured
• Injured
• Dead

I will not discuss the management of non-injured victims and injured victims here. But I will focus more on dead victims. 

How do we identified dead victims?
Here I will elaborate more on dead victims identification. [Please read on... (^^,)]

When a person dies, it is a legal requirement in most countries for the body to be formally identified. Usually, identification can be carried out by relatives or friends viewing the body (visual identification) and confirming the identity to the police. In some cases, however, post-mortem changes such as decomposition or facial trauma or disfigurement, incineration or skeletonization make visual identification unacceptable. In this instance, other methods of identification are attempted. These include dental, fingerprints, DNA and etc. On a national or global scale, the issue of identification becomes a particular challenge in situations of multiple fatalities; for example: in circumstances of natural disaster or tragic events such as aeroplane crashes, genocide, war or terrorist attacks. In these situations, identification of victims becomes one of the primary aims of the disaster relief teams.

The identification of a person in situations of mass disaster differs from methods commonly used in conventional coronial/medical examiner investigations. For most coronial cases, members of the deceased’s family or their friends are available to conduct a visual identification. The body is usually located relatively recently after death, which increases the likelihood of a visual identification being acceptable.

In situations of multiple fatalities, family and friends may have perished along with the victim, thus sometimes makes visual identification difficult. Further complicating visual identification is the probability that the body has undergone trauma or post-mortem changes such as decomposition, thus making visual identification unacceptable.    

Dr. Yudha mentioned 2 kinds of evidence for identification:

1. Biological evidence:

• Human body
• Complete: fresh or decomposed
• Incomplete: mutilated or skeleton
• Part of human body: blood stain, semen, hair, fingerprint, etc.

2. Non-biological evidence:

• Document: ID card
• Properties: clothes, shoes, accessories
• Location in the scene

We can also group disaster victim identification based on another 2 kinds of identification; namely positive identification and presumptive identification.

Positive Identification:

1. Visual – event though this method of identification is the most common and easiest, problems may be encountered. Numerous injuries and decompositional changes may cause such disfigurement that the family may not take a good enough look to make sure this is their relative or not.

2. Fingerprint – nobody in this world have the same, identical fingerprint; and this includes identical twins.

3. Dental – unless the decedent is edentulous, dental comparison is an excellent method for making a positive identification because most people have had some type of dental work. Many times, decedents with a set of dentures can be identified especially when the technician who made the dentures may put the decedent’s name or some other form of personal identification on the denture.

4. X-ray – antemortem studies can be used for post-mortem comparison. X-rays of the skull and the pelvis tend to be the best for comparison. The skull has sinuses which are specific for each individual. A chest x-ray is not as good as the skull and pelvis for comparison.

5. DNA fingerprinting – all individuals except identical twins have different DNA sequences in their chromosomes. These DNA sequences can be broken down and studied by the use of enzymes. Any material with cells containing DNA can be used for comparison. Blood, hair, semen, teeth and other tissue may be used.

Presumptive Identification:

1. Skeletal remains – skeletal remains are usually examined by an anthropologist. Such professionals are expert in estimating age, gender and race; and may use numerous scientific formulae to arrive their conclusions. Age estimation are the most difficult to make; however it is becoming easier with microscopic analyses.

2. Clothing – the style, size and make of clothing are commonly used to make a presumptive identification. Relatives or friends may remember what the missing person was last wearing. Unfortunately, many clothes will decompose along with the rest of the body, or they will become destroyed if the body is burned.

3. Physical features – tattoos, scars, birthmarks, the absence of organs from surgical procedures, and other physical anomalies are helpful in making identifications. The presence or absence of any of these characteristics may also be helpful in eliminating any possible matches, as well as making a possible identification.

4. Location (circumstances surrounding death) – identifications may be impossible to make based on the few remains recovered at the scene; however, the circumstances in which the remains are discovered may allowed an identification to be made.

Now I shall elaborate more on certain methods of identification:

Comparison of Dental Characteristics

One of the most accurate and efficient manners of making an identification or an exclusion with a missing person is through comparison of dental characteristics. Specialists that work with dental identification are called forensic odontologists, or forensic dentist. When analysing an unidentified set of remains, it is critical that all the characteristics of the teeth are accurately documented. This is accomplished by completing a post-mortem charting that records all missing, filled and unrestored teeth in the unidentified individual’s mouth. Post-mortem x-rays are also taken for comparison and are of utmost importance. Sometimes, one of the most difficult tasks in the identification process is to find antemortem x-rays and treatment records. Even if a missing person’s dentist can be located, this does not guarantee that the records have been archived and retained. When antemortem radiographs exist, the antemortem-postmortem comparison is generally straightforward, especially if there has been a large amount of restorative work. No two fillings are the same, so comparing dental radiographs is similar to fingerprint comparison. A match between the two establishes a positive identification.

Fingerprint identification

Fingerprint identification is considered to be one of the most reliable methods of identification. This is due to the fact that all fingerprints are unique and standard methods of identification have been developed that are globally accepted. No two fingerprints have ever been shown to be identical (each individual’s 10 fingerprints are also unique). Fingerprints may be destroyed or appear unusable in charred and severely decomposed or mummified bodies. However, in certain number of decomposed cases, the skin can be slipped off the hand, placed over one’s own gloved hand or finger. In order for a decedent to be positively identified using fingerprint as a comparison, 2 things must occur. First, a set of the individual’s fingerprints must be contained within a searchable database. Second, the dead body must be in a condition that will allow for fingerprints to be made for comparison. 

X-ray Identification

Besides dental radiographs, almost any antemortem x-ray of the skeleton can be potentially used to make identification. Some more common types of antemortem x-rays include those of the head and chest. Radiographs of the head in the anterior-posterior plane will likely reveal outlines of the frontal sinuses (they are very distinctive and are cauliflower-shaped in appearance). Studies have shown that no two frontal sinuses share the same pattern.

DNA Identification

DNA analysis is a recent scientific advance that has made it possible to positively identify previously unidentifiable sets of remains. Since DNA can be extracted from bones and teeth, this type of forensic analysis is very useful in many forensic anthropology cases. DNA analysis is still expensive and time-consuming but when all other means of identification fail, it is often the method that can supply a name to an unknown person.

Therefore, in conclusion of this post, there are many methods of identification of dead people. Each of these has its own unique set of challenges, and all available antemortem and post-mortem evidence must be considered in order to determine if a positive identification is possible. Ideally, fingerprints, dental x-rays or some type of antemortem information will be available to make the identification rapid, straightforward and conclusive. If not, less traditional means, such as facial reconstructions may have to be employed in order to try and find potential match. Finally, if traditional identification methods such as fingerprint or dental analysis are not possible, DNA analysis is an excellent means of identification.

Proper identification of an individual is important not only for the family or friends of the deceased, but it is also necessary for proper completion of a variety of documents (including death certificate) and for the settlement of insurance claims and estate issues.

This is the example of DVI method by using dental characteristics.

Other methods of identification also follow the same flow of event. 

DNA fingerprinting is a recent method of identification.

It is expensive and time consuming, 

but this method is used when other methods of identification fails.  

Here are the main example of differences in fingerprints. 

However, each and everyone of us have our own characteristic type of fingerprint patterns.

Even the identical twins doesn't share the same fingerprints.

REFERENCES:

1. Forensic Anthropology; Infobase Publishing; 2007
2. Colour Atlas of Forensic Pathology; CRC Press LLC; 2000
3. Forensic Pathology for Police, Death Investigators, Attorneys, and Forensic Scientists; Humana Press
4. Forensic Pathology: Principles and Practice; Elsevier Inc.; 2005
5. Forensic Pathology Reviews, Volume 5; Humana Press, 2008
6. Dr. Yudha Nurhantari: Management of Dead Victims in Mass Disaster
7. Prof. Etty Indriati: When Life has Been Lost: The Roles of Anthropology in Disaster Victim Identification