NCJ Number
231656
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 55 Issue: 4 Dated: July 2010 Pages: 1105-1110
Date Published
July 2010
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This case study presents the results of the recovery and analysis of three sets of disarticulated and incomplete human remains found in Ecuador, within the Amazonian jungle.
Abstract
Recovered body parts sustained extensive sharp force trauma situated on different aspect of the skeleton. The anthropological examination (bone reassembly, biological profile) was followed by a detailed analysis of cut marks, including a basic experimental study on pig bones to demonstrate that dismemberment may have occurred within a certain amount of time after death. Despite the location (deep into the Amazonian jungle) and the perpetrator's actions (dismemberment and dispersion of body parts in a river), forensic work both on the field and in laboratory allowed identification of the victims and the reconstruction of the sequence of events. (Published Abstract)