Evaluation of DNA profiles obtained from deceased individuals at Salt River Mortuary (South Africa)

Reid, Kate Megan; Martin, Lorna J.; Heathfield, Laura Jane

doi:10.1080/00450618.2019.1569149

Cited by 7 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…[13] However, in circumstances of significant physical trauma (e.g. burns, decomposition), alternative scientific means of identification, such as fingerprints, [14] DNA testing, [15,16] odontology analyses, [17,18] and/or anthropometric analyses, [19,20] are recommended. If a body is not identified within 7 days of death, SRM follows the procedure that fingerprints and biological samples for DNA testing should be obtained.…”

Section: Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The short time elapsing between death declaration and postmortem investigation (median 3 days) suggests that DNA degradation would not be problematic for DNA analyses. [16] However, the time elapsing between the actual death (as opposed to death declaration) and refrigeration has a greater impact on DNA quality. [29,30] In this study, PMI data were only available for 4 cases; therefore, the ability to evaluate the potential usefulness of DNA in these particular cases was limited.…”

Section: Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Bodies without names: A retrospective review of unidentified decedents at Salt River Mortuary, Cape Town, South Africa, 2010 - 2017

2020

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Background. Decedents who remain unidentified and/or unclaimed following postmortem investigations are an international occurrence. Salt River Mortuary (SRM), one of the largest and busiest mortuaries in Cape Town, South Africa, also experiences this burden; however, little is known about the nature of these cases. Objectives. To review all cases admitted to SRM between 1 January 2010 and 31 December 2017 (n=26 960), with the objectives of quantifying the number of decedents who remained unidentified, and to better understand circumstances surrounding death and the identification methods that were attempted. Methods. Data pertaining to unidentified cases were collected from mortuary burial records and medicolegal case files. Data were analysed using Microsoft Excel 2013 (Microsoft, USA). Results. Over the 8-year period, 2 476 cases (mean 9.2% of caseload per annum) admitted to SRM remained unidentified. Bodies underwent an autopsy after a median of 3 days after a death declaration. However, in cases of decomposition, skeletonisation or other physical inhibitors of visual identification (n=345; 14.1%), the time between death and autopsy was undetermined owing to the overall lack of entomology analyses. Approximately 56.9% (n=1 408) of cases were between 20 and 50 years of age, and were predominantly males (78.7%). Unnatural injury-related deaths accounted for 32.4% of unidentified deaths, with firearms, assault and stabbings contributing approximately one-third each. With regard to identification attempts, forensic anthropology was requested in only 1.5% of these cases, and DNA analysis appeared to be used in only 23.6% of cases. Data pertaining to secondary identifiers, forensic odontology and fingerprint analyses were not formally recorded. Conclusions. The relatively short time interval between death declaration and postmortem examination suggests that DNA analysis should be more regularly utilised. Furthermore, it is urged that other ancillary investigations should be more regularly employed; that there is a greater collaboration between stakeholders and identification attempts; and that results are centrally recorded.

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Section: Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bodies without names: A retrospective review of unidentified decedents at Salt River Mortuary, Cape Town, South Africa, 2010 - 2017

2020

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“…3). The need for standardisation, accurate documentation and recording of ante-mortem data was the most common recommendation across all articles included in this study (n = 11/17) [8,12,15,23,[28][29][30][31][32][33]70]. This is not surprising, as the forensic community continues to argue for better standardisation, which has led to the creation of guidelines and working groups within disciplines (Scientific Working Group for Forensic Anthropology (SWGANTH) and Scientific Working Group on DNA Analysis methods (SWGDAM)) [50,71] and for the performance of disaster victim identification [72].…”

Section: Issues and Recommendationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding the burden of unidentified bodies: a systematic review

2023

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While human identification is a crucial aspect of medico-legal investigations, many individuals remain unidentified each year across the world. The burden of unidentified bodies is often referred to when motivating for improved methods of identification, and anatomical teaching, yet the actual burden is somewhat unclear. A systematic literature review was undertaken to identify articles that empirically investigate the number of unidentified bodies experienced. Despite the large number of articles returned, an alarmingly low number (24 articles) provided specific and empirical details on the number of unidentified bodies, demographics and trends thereof. It is possible that this lack of data is due to the variable definition of ‘unidentified’ bodies and the use of alternative terminology such as ‘homelessness’ or ‘unclaimed’ bodies. Nevertheless, the 24 articles provided data for 15 forensic facilities across ten countries of both developed and developing statuses. On average, developing countries experienced more than double (9.56%) the number of unidentified bodies when compared to developed nations (4.40%). While facilities were mandated under different legislations and infrastructures available varied greatly, the most common issue faced is the lack of standardised procedures for forensic human identification. Further to this, the need for investigative databases was highlighted. Through addressing the standardisation of identification procedures and terminology, alongside the appropriate utilisation of existing infrastructure and database creation, the number of unidentified bodies could be significantly reduced globally.

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“…SA annually reports the highest murder rate in Africa, with the city of Cape Town most affected over the 2021/2022 period, with a murder rate of 63 per 100 000 people 4 . Unsurprisingly, this has led to a heavily burdened death investigative system that lacks sufficient resources, funding or qualified forensic experts needed to combat high caseloads 5,6 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Medico-Legal Death Investigation Systems – South Africa

Dinkele

Kirk

Martin

2022

Sri Lanka J Forensic Med, Sci & Law

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South Africa (SA) is a developing nation with a heavily burdened and under-resourced medico-legal death investigative system. The medico-legal death investigative system in SA resembles aspects of the medical examiner and coronial systems yet maintains characteristics unique to the South African environment and legal pr actice. In this article, we discuss the procedures followed in medico-legal death investigations in SA.

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Evaluation of DNA profiles obtained from deceased individuals at Salt River Mortuary (South Africa)

Cited by 7 publications

References 3 publications

Bodies without names: A retrospective review of unidentified decedents at Salt River Mortuary, Cape Town, South Africa, 2010 - 2017

Bodies without names: A retrospective review of unidentified decedents at Salt River Mortuary, Cape Town, South Africa, 2010 - 2017

Understanding the burden of unidentified bodies: a systematic review

Medico-Legal Death Investigation Systems – South Africa

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