Chapter 10
Identifying Unknown Victims
IN THIS CHAPTER
Outlining how bodies are identified
Finding answers in skeletal remains
Determining the time and cause of death
Using facial reconstruction and photographic techniques
Not every corpse that comes into the coroner’s office is conveniently carrying a driver’s license and Social Security card. All too often police are confronted with identifying an unknown corpse. In movies, this process usually takes only a few minutes of screen time, but in reality, it may take weeks, months, or even years. Some bodies never are identified.
The corpse in question may have been dead for hours, days, months, years, or many decades. An extended time since death and many other factors can complicate the identification process, which usually involves several different forensic disciplines and techniques, all of which are coordinated by the medical examiner (ME).
Become an O’Reilly member and get unlimited access to this title plus top books and audiobooks from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers, thousands of courses curated by job role, 150+ live events each month,
and much more.
Read now
Unlock full access