CASE INVOLVING DIFFERENTIATION OF DEER AND HUMAN BONE FRAGMENTS

In a recent Louisiana forensic anthropology case, it was necessary to attempt species identification of six small bone fragments. The primary concern was whether or not they matched the fractured humerus of a woman killed by two shotgun blasts and then disposed of in the Mississippi River. These tiny fragments were recovered by law enforcement officers inside a jeep pickup and at the gas station where the vehicle had been cleaned. The police suspect claimed that these fragments were from a deer that he had recently killed. The small size of the pieces precluded positive recognition of human versus nonhuman origin based upon gross morphology and cortical thickness. Microscopic examination was possible. This analysis involved comparison of the unknown specimens to reference deer and human thin sections including bone recovered from the woman during autopsy. Examination of the jeep and gas station fragments revealed no plexiform bone, secondary (not primary) osteons, and variability in size and shape of the osteons and Haversian canals. These and other variables identified the bone fragments as human.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/00221198
• Corporate Authors:

  American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM)

  100 Barr Harbor Drive, P.O. Box C700
  West Conshohocken, PA  United States  19428-2957
• Authors:
  • Owsley, D W
  • Mires, A M
  • Keith, M S
• Publication Date: 1985-4

Media Info

• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: p. 572-578
• Serial:
  • Journal of Forensic Sciences
  • Volume: 30
  • Issue Number: 2
  • Publisher: Blackwell Publishing
  • ISSN: 0022-1198
  • EISSN: 1556-4029
  • Serial URL: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1556-4029

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bones; Deer; Forensic medicine; Human beings; Identification systems
• Uncontrolled Terms: Identification
• Subject Areas: Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00399094
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
• Report/Paper Numbers: HS-038 801
• Files: HSL, USDOT
• Created Date: Sep 30 1985 12:00AM