Facial approximation of ‘Angel’: Case specific methodological review

Abstract

A forensic facial approximation is typically undertaken to generate further leads to identity of the deceased, and over the past ten years there has been a considerable increase in the number of verified relationships concerning the skull and likely facial appearance. This paper describes the evidence and methods used to approximate the face and facial features of a young woman whose remains were found in the Belanglo State Forest (New South Wales, Australia) in August 2010. A review of methodologically analogous forensic facial approximations (i.e. involving some degree of manual manipulation to achieve the results), and published in international academic journals since 2000, indicates that it is common for methodological description to be minimal. Furthermore, what information is provided clearly shows a surprisingly enduring preference for applying 'legacy' skull-soft tissue relationships, despite most of these recommendations having been proven invalid.

A geometric morphometric evaluation of the Belanglo ‘Angel’ facial approximation

“…Both in the forensic report that accompanied the facial approximation and in the publication that describes the methods [1] facial indices were calculated from the results. These indicated that:…”

“…(e35) The geometric morphometric evaluation of the facial approximation, relative to the average of the 64 database images (Table 3, However, not all of the methods that were applied in 2011 were verified methods. As discussed in the paper that describes the facial approximation [1], some were untested recommendations that have since been proven invalid, and not all aspects of the face have a verified method to apply. Furthermore, the geometric morphometric analyses also show that an assumption that there needed to be inter-feature agreement between the different methods is a false assumption.…”

“…As described previously [1], the facial approximation was undertaken in reference to digital, scaled photographs of the skull and, due to the constraints of the assigned location, from a distance of 2 m from the nasion. Each of the resulting images were scaled to life size and checked against calliper measurements for overt levels of photographic distortion (heights and widths of the neurocranium, facial skeleton, orbits, nasal aperture, mandible and teeth).…”

“…Each of the resulting images were scaled to life size and checked against calliper measurements for overt levels of photographic distortion (heights and widths of the neurocranium, facial skeleton, orbits, nasal aperture, mandible and teeth). It took the better part of a day to achieve satisfactory results, and these were described as "orthogonal" [1].…”

“…Although the estimation of this young woman"s facial appearance assisted in generating a substantial number of new leads, none resulted in a positive identification. In 2013, the methods used to estimate facial appearance formed part of a critical comparative review of the largely invalidated and popular forensic facial reconstruction approach [1]. In October 2015, the young woman, referred to in the Australian media as "Angel", was identified as Ms Karlie Jade Pearce-Stevenson, facilitated by a lead unconnected to those generated by the facial approximation.…”