NCJ Number
214483
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 51 Issue: 3 Dated: May 2006 Pages: 469-474
Date Published
May 2006
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This study used geographic information systems and spatial analysis technology to examine patterns in the locations and scattering of remains for human bodies dumped in Louisiana.
Abstract
The study found that in approximately 0.75 percent (n=130) of the 175 cases examined, the bodies were dumped in a rural area; 89 percent were not close to any building; and 49 percent were found in a wooded environment. Most were found within a quarter of a mile of the nearest road. Among the 49 bodies dumped in an urban area, 78 percent were close to a building, and the remainder were about equally distributed between being inside a building and being dumped some distance from a building. Out of the entire sample of 175 cases, very few of the bodies were found in water or inside a building. There was a relationship between the length of time from the death and the finding of the remains and the distance between the elements of the remains; however, there were no geographically specific patterns in the distance between the elements of remains, the direction of their locations, and the length of time between death and the finding of the remains. There was no seasonal pattern in the dumping of the bodies. Data were selected from cases analyzed by anthropologists at the Louisiana State University Forensic Anthropology and Computer Enhancement Services Laboratory from 1984 to 2005. The materials and methods used in the study are described in detail. 12 tables, 2 figures, and 15 references