Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Marciniak, Stephanie

Titel

Postmortem dismemberment and fire exposure: The identification of saw mark characteristics on burned bone

Ort / Verlag

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses

Erscheinungsjahr

2008

Quelle

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses A&I

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Previous cremation studies within the forensic literature have established that exposure to heat can distort the signatures of trauma. Research on the class morphology of saw marks has not been sufficiently integrated into studies of fire exposure. This study assesses the degree of modification to the saw mark characteristics of dismembered skeletal remains when exposed to a controlled outdoor fire of limited duration. It examines the potential for the class identification of saw marks on cremated bones. The sample consists of 36 adult pig hind limbs which were dismembered fleshed to approximate some of the conditions of remains in a forensic context. Six handsaws and six power saws were used, with three limbs dismembered and burned for each of the saw types. Outdoor fires were created which ranged from 384°C to 397°C, and the duration of burning was between 27 and 44 minutes. Results indicate that fire exposure affects the visibility and identifiability of saw mark striae, which is dependent on the nature of the striae pattern and the sawing action. The striae contour is observed as clearly identifiable, identifiable, or unidentifiable depending on the degree of burning and the colour of the bone. Given the parameters of this study, it is possible to identify the class of saw based on the diagnostic characteristics present on the cremated bones. Future research should focus on the effect of burning at higher temperatures and longer duration on saw mark identification from bone. Keywords. forensic science, dismemberment, saw marks, cremation, animal bone.