NCJ Number
182624
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 44 Issue: 4 Dated: July 1999 Pages: 716-719
Editor(s)
R. E. Gaensslen Ph.D.
Date Published
1999
Length
4 pages
Annotation
In the many years William Maples served as a forensic anthropologist, he saw diverse sources of trauma presented in victims of violent crimes, accidents, and suicides in Florida.
Abstract
In 1996, the District 18 Medical Examiner's Office of Florida requested the assistance of Maples in the analysis of human remains recovered by the U.S. Coast Guard. The deceased was in an advanced state of decomposition characterized by skin slippage and discoloration. The torso had multiple lacerations, including nearly parallel lesions in the skin of the back. Specimens were carefully macerated and fractures were reconstructed. It was found the skeletal trauma was caused by a device capable of delivering robust cuts and blunt trauma in linear paths, consistent with propeller trauma. Unusual in the case were blows to ventral and dorsal surfaces of the body. Based on the anthropological analysis and interviews with the family of the deceased, the Federal Bureau of Investigation proceeded with the case as a homicide investigation. 9 references and 5 figures