NCJ Number
225901
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 54 Issue: 1 Dated: January 2009 Pages: 159-166
Date Published
January 2009
Length
8 pages
Annotation
Over a period of 16 months, this study tested the ability of a handheld spectrometer and hyperspectral imagery produced from an aircraft to detect an experimental animal mass grave in a tropical moist forest in Costa Rica and distinguish it from a false grave refilled with soil that did not contain any carcasses.
Abstract
Using an ASD Fieldspec FR handheld spectrometer, the study found distinct differences in the spectral signature (reflected electromagnetic radiation in the visible to shortwave infrared wavelengths) of the simulated grave that contained mammalian carcasses compared to the spectral signature of the false grave over a 16-month period following burial. The study also obtained distinct spectral differences between the real and false graves from airborne hyperspectral imagery 1 month following burial. The study concludes that with further development, airborne hyperspectral imagery could be used as a rapid first-look in detecting and confirming the existence of suspicious decomposition signatures, i.e., mass graves. The study thus demonstrates that fly-over and potentially satellite hyperspectral imagery provides a new detection tool for the international community in its investigations of mass killings in which victims have been buried in mass graves. The location of graves is among the first steps in organizing a recovery team to exhume and identify the remains for the purpose of collecting evidence for prosecution and the return of the victims to their families. The remotely sensed data could be evidence in its own right. The descriptions of the methods used address the study area and experimental set-up, the spectral measurement with the handheld spectrometer, the airborne hyperspectral image, and the analyses of the airborne image and the spectral measurements of the handheld spectrometer. 5 figures and 62 references