Concealment of the Body in Drug Deaths

Hawley, Dean A.; Doedens, David J.; McClain, Joni L.; Pless, John E.

doi:10.1520/jfs12665j

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 3 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Dismemberment and burning is an attempt to conceal the identity and thereby the crime. However, the assumption of the investigators in such situation is that the manner of death is homicide though it may not invariably true [1].Forensic investigation into dismembered remains needs the involvement of a multidisciplinary forensic team [2,3].Careful,…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multidisciplinary forensic investigation into a partially burnt dismembered body found by a road side

2015

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Introduction Forensic investigation into dismembered remains needs involvement of a multidisciplinary forensic team. In such situations, actions taken at the crime scene investigation play an important role. Often these crime scenes involve multiple locations. We report the forensic investigation of a partially burnt dismembered body found on a roadside to highlight the need of a multidisciplinary approach. Case report Decapitated, partially burnt human remains disremembered into seven parts were recovered from a road side in a residential area. The primary challenge was identification of the deceased. A systematic multidisciplinary scene visit conducted by crime scene officers, forensic pathologists and arson specialist revealed the primary scene of crime was different from the burnt site. Partly burnt "Friendship wrist bands" found in the right upper limb linked the body to a missing young man. Personal information of the missing person's general identity was compatible with autopsy findings. Further investigations of the missing person's last movements led to the original crime scene in a room in the 4 th floor of a building. Although the primary site had been "washed away", remnants of the blood stains were sufficient to reconstruct the events. DNA investigations confirmed the identification of the 'missing person'. Conclusion: Dismemberment and burning are linked with multiple "crime sites" and concealing of identity and the cause of death. Establishment of the identity most of the time helps to reconstruct the event through other corroborative evidence.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multidisciplinary forensic investigation into a partially burnt dismembered body found by a road side

2015

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…On occasion, a body may be concealed in situations where a homicide has not occurred. One of the more common scenarios would be following an unexpected death due to drug toxicity where there is an attempt to distance the victim from other drug users and possible criminal activity 4 . Other scenarios include failure to report a natural death with hiding of a body to enable continued access to the decedent's pension or social service benefits 5,6 …”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One of the more common scenarios would be following an unexpected death due to drug toxicity where there is an attempt to distance the victim from other drug users and possible criminal activity. 4 Other scenarios include failure to report a natural death with hiding of a body to enable continued access to the decedent's pension or social service benefits. 5,6 Finally, the bodies of homicide victims may be concealed by perpetrators using a number of quite different methods.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Concealed Homicides—A Postmortem Study and Review

Byard

2023

Am J Forensic Med Pathol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A study was undertaken at Forensic Science SA, Adelaide, South Australia, of all cases of homicide (January 2003–December 2022) where the victims' bodies had been concealed. Three hundred twenty-six homicides were identified, which included 27 cases where bodies had been deliberately hidden (8%) (age range, 2–82 years; ave, 34.9 years; M:F = 1.5:1). Deaths were due to blunt force trauma (n = 11), sharp force trauma (n = 4), asphyxia (n = 4), gunshot wound (n = 2), and a combination of drowning and asphyxia (n = 1). In 5 cases, the cause of death was not determinable. The methods of concealment (which were sometimes overlapping) included the following: dumping at a hidden/isolated location (n = 8), burial (n = 7), dismembering (n = 3), incinerating (n = 3), hiding in a wheeled garbage bin (n = 2), disposing in garbage resulting in the remains being located at waste disposal facilities (n = 2), hiding in a shed (n = 1), under a concrete floor (n = 1), in a suitcase (n = 1), in a river (n = 1), in a mine shaft (n = 1), and in a septic tank (n = 1). Although it has been asserted that concealed homicides are rarely encountered in forensic practice, the current study has demonstrated that the bodies in at least 8% of victims of homicide in South Australia have undergone some form of concealment.

show abstract