Medicolegal Aspect of Identification

Catherine Grace Q. Aparece, MD

 Objectives
• 1. List the different methods of identification
• 2. Recognize the points of identification applicable to
living and the dead
• 3. Appreciate the importance of identification
 Reference
• Legal Medicine by Pedro Solis
 Identification

• the determination of individuality of a person or a

thing
Importance of Identifying a Person
• In the prosecution of the criminal offense,
the identity of the offender and that of the
victim must be established
• Settlement of estates, retirement and
insurance
• Resolves anxiety of the next-of-kin
• In some transactions-sales, release of
body
 Rules in Personal Identification
• Law of Multiplicity of Evidence in Identification-
The greater the number of points of similarities and
dissimilarities of two persons compared, the greater is
the probability for the conclusion to be correct
 Rules in Personal Identification
• The longer the interval between the death and the
examination of the remains for purposes of identification,
the greater is the need for experts in establishing identity.
• The team to act in shortest time because it is perishable
• No rigid rule to be observed in the procedure of
identification of persons.
Methods of Identification
• By comparison- identification found in
crime scene compared with the file
• By exclusion
 Ordinary methods of
identification
Points of Identification Applicable
to the Living Person Only
 Characteristics which may easily be
changed

• Growth of hair, beard or

mustache
• clothing
 Characteristics which may easily be
changed
• Growth of hair, beard or
mustache
• clothing
• Characteristics which may easily be changed

• Growth of hair, beard or

mustache
• clothing
• Characteristics which may easily be
changed
:
 Characteristics which may easily be changed

– Frequent place of visit

– Grade of profession
– Body ornamentations
• Characteristics which may easily be changed

– Frequent place of visit

– Grade of profession
– Body ornamentations
• Characteristics which may easily be
changed
:– Frequent place of visit
– Grade of profession
– Body ornamentations
• Characteristics which may easily be
changed
:– Frequent place of visit
– Grade of profession
– Body ornamentations
 Characteristics that may not be easily changed

• Mental memory-
• Speech
• Gait
• Mannerisms
 Characteristics that may not be easily changed

• Hands and feet

– Foot or hand impression
– Footprint or handprint
• Changes in the eyes
 Characteristics that may not be easily changed

• Complexion
• Left or right handedness
• Degree of nutrition
 Facie

Leonine Myxedemic

Hippocratic
Points of Identification Applicable to
Both Living and Dead before
Onset of Decomposition
• Occupational Marks
• Race
• Stature
• Tattoo marks
• Weight
• Deformities
• Birthmarks
• Moles
• Scars
• Tribal marks
• Sexual organ
Anatomic Terminology
Basic Anatomy
Skull: anterior and posterior views
Skull: lateral and inferior views
Upper and Lower Extremities
Pelvis
Hand and Foot
Methods of Approximating the Height of a Person

Measure the distance between

the tips of the middle fingers
of both hands with the arms
extended laterally and it will
approximately be equal to the
height
 Methods of Approximating the Height of a Person

Two times the length of one

arm plus 12 inches from the
clavicle and 1.5 inches from
+12in the sternum is the approximate
+ 1.5 in
height
Methods of Approximating the Height of a Person

• Two times the length from

the vertex of the skull to the
pubic symphysis is the
x2 height
Spot the difference…
Anthropometry: (Bertillon
System)
• Basis of the Bertillon System of
Identification:
– The human skeleton is unchangeable
after the twentieth year.
– It is impossible to find two human beings
having bones exactly like.
– The necessary measurement can easily be
taken with the aid of a simple instrument.
Portrait Parle
• a verbal, accurate and picturesque
description of the person identified
 LIGHT AS A FACTOR IN IDENTIFICATION
• Clearest moonlight or starlight
• best known person cannot be
recognized by the clearest moonlight
at a distance greater than 16 to 17
yards and by starlight any further than
10 to 13 yards.
 LIGHT AS A FACTOR IN IDENTIFICATION
• Broad daylight-can hardly recognized
another person at a distance farther than
one hundred yards if the person has
never been seen before
• Flash of firearm- letters of two inches
high can be read with the aid of the
flash of a caliber .22 firearm at a
distance of two feet
SCIENTIFIC METHODS OF IDENTIFICATION
 A. Fingerprinting
• considered to be the most valuable method of
identification
• universally used because:
– 1. There are no two identical fingerprints
– 2. Fingerprints are not changeable
Types of Fingerprint Pattern
• Arches — The ridges go • Loops — One or more
from one side of the ridges enter on either side,
pattern to another, never recurves and terminate or
turning back to make a tend to terminate on the
loop same side from which it
entered
 Types of Fingerprint Pattern
• Whorls — Patterns with • Composite
two deltas and patterns
too irregular in form
B. Dental Identification
• The role of the teeth in human identification is important
• The possibility of two persons to have the same dentition is quite
remote.
• The enamel of the teeth is the hardest substance of the human body.
• After death, the greater the degree of tissue destruction, the greater is
the importance of dental characteristics as a means of identification
• The more recent the ante-mortem records of the person to be
identified, the more reliable is the comparative or exclusionary mode
of identification that can be done
 B. Dental Identification
• For purpose of uniformity, the
following are the description of
location for dental identification:
• Teeth position
– Anterior — From cuspid to
cuspid inclusive (it includes
cuspid,lateral and central
incisor
– Posterior — All bicuspid and
molar teeth
C. Handwriting
• A person may be
identified through
his handwriting,
hand printing and
hand numbering
 C. Handwriting
• Some Practical Uses of
Handwriting Examination

• Financial crimes
• Death investigation
• Robberies
• Kidnapping with ransom
• Anonymous threatening
letters.
• Falsification of documents
 C. Handwriting
• Whether the document was written by the
suspect.
• Whether the document was written by the
person whose signature it bears.
• Purpose of
• Whether the writing contains additions or
Handwriting
Examination
deletions.
• Whether the document such as bills, receipts,
suicide notes or checks are genuine or a
forgery
 D. Identification of the Skeleton
• Occasionally, before a physician is called to examine a
dead body, the soft tissues have already disappeared
and only the skeletal system remains
 D. Identification of the Skeleton
• In the examination of bones, the following points can be
determined approximately:
– 1. Whether the remains are of human origin or not.
– 2. Whether the remains belong to a single person or not.
– 3. Height.
– 4. Sex.
– 5. Race.
 D. Identification of the Skeleton
• 6. Age.
• 7. Length of interment or length of time from date of
death.
• 8. Presence or absence of ante-mortem or post-
mortem bone injuries.
• 9. Congenital deformities and acquired injuries on the
hard tissues causing permanent deformities.
 Determination of the Sex of the Skeleton

• The following bones must be studied:

– Pelvis
– Skull
– Sternum
– Femur
– Humerus
Determination of the Sex of the Skeleton
 Differences Between a Male and a Female Pelvis
Male
• 1. Heavier construction wall more
pronounced.
• 2. Height greater and flays off its wall
more pronounced.
• 3. Pubic arch narrow and less round.
• 4. Diameter of the true pelvis less.
• 5. Curve of the iliac crest reaches a
higher level.
• 6. Narrow greater sciatic notch.
• 7. Body of the pubis narrow.
• 8. Iliopectineal line sharp.
• 9. Obturator foramen eggshaped.
Female
• Lighter construction wall less
pronounced.
• 2. Height lesser and flays off its wall
less pronounced.
• 3. Pubic arch wider and rounder.
• 4. Diameter of the true pelvis greater.
• 5. Curve of the iliac crest is of
the lower level.
• 6. Wide greater sciatic notch.
• 7. Body of the pubis wider.
• 8. Iliopectineal line rounded.
• 9. Obturator foramen triangular.
 Cranium
Male
• Less curve of shaft. Mastoid process
larger.
• Cranium placed horizontally rests on
mastoid process
• Styloid process shorter
• Forehead higher and more oblique.
• sinuses less prominent
Superciliary ridges less sharp or more
rounded.
• Zygomatic arches and frontal sinuses
more prominent
• Lower jaw larger and wider.
Female
• More curve of shaft
• Predominance of cranial roof over cranial base Mastoid
process smaller.
• Cranium placed horizontally rests on the occipital and
maxilliary bones.
• Styloid process longer and slender
• Forehead less high and more vertical
• Superciliary ridges sharper,
• Zygomatic arches and frontal
• Lower jaw narrower and lighter and chin not projecting
• Face smaller in proportion to
the cranium
AGE:Union of Bones and Epiphyses
Spot the girl…
 Legal Importance of Sex Determination

• As an aid in identification
• To determine whether an individual can exercise
certain obligations vested by law to one sex only
• Marriage or the union of a man and a woman:
• Rights granted by law are different to different sexes
• There are certain crimes wherein a specific sex can
only be the offender or victim
 F. Determination of Age
• Legal Importance of Determination of Age
– As an aid to identification
– Determination of criminal liability:
– Determination of right of suffrage
– Determination whether a person can exercise civil rights
– Determination of the capacity to contract marriage
– As requisite to certain crime
How old are they?
 How old are they?

B D
 Age Determination During Infancy

• Age based on height or weight:

• a. Height:
– New bom full term child — 50 cm.
– After 6 months — 60 cm.
– After one year — 68 cm.
– After 4 years — Double the birth height (one meter)
• b. Weight:
– Newly born full term child — 2.5 to 3 kg.
– Roughly a child increases in weight by 0.5 kg. per month.
– At the end of 6th month — Child doubles the birth weight.
– At the end of one year — Child weighs three times the birth weight.
IDENTIFICATION OF BLOOD AND
BLOODSTAINS
 Legal Importance of the Study of Blood

– For disputed parentage (maternity and paternity)

– Circumstantial or corroborative evidence against or in favor of
the perpetrator of a crime
– Determination of the cause of death
– Determination of the direction of^ escape of the victim or the
assailant
– Determination of the approximate time the crime was committed
– Determination of the place of commission of the crime.
– Determination of the presence of certain diseases
 Examination of Blood

Physical Examination Chemical Examination

• Solubility test • Saline extract of the blood stain
• Heat test: plus ammonia
• Benzidine test
• Luminescence test
• Guaiacum test (Van Deen's
Dyas' or Schombein's Test):
• Phenolphthalein test (Kastle-
Meyer TestLeucomalachite
Green test
 Examination of Blood

Microchemical Examination Spectroscopic Examination

• From fresh blood stains:
• Hemochromogen crystal or • From older stains:
Tokayama test • Other blood preparations:
• Teichmann's blood crystals
or Hemin crystals test
• Acetone-haemin of
Wagenhaar test
 Takayama Test
• Crystals varying from salmon color
to dark brown and pink and which
are irregular rhomboids or in
clusters, may be seen.
• This test is positive to any
substance containing hemoglobin
 Differential Characteristics of Blood from Different Sources
• 1. Arterial Blood:
– Bright scarlet in color.
– Leaves the blood vessel with pressure.
– High oxygen contents.
• 2. Venous Blood:
– Dark red in color.
– Does not spill far from the wound.
– Low oxygen content.
 Differential Characteristics of Blood from Different Sources
• 3. Menstrual Blood:
– Does not clot.
– Acidic in reaction owing to mixture with vaginal mucous.
– On microscopic examination, there are vaginal epithelial cells.
– Contains large number of Deoderlein's bacillus.
• 4. Man's or Woman's Blood:
– There is no method differentiating a man's blood from a woman's
blood. Probably, the presence of sex hormone in female blood may
be a point of differentiation.
 Differential Characteristics of Blood from Different Sources
• 3. Menstrual Blood:
– Does not clot.
– Acidic in reaction owing to mixture with vaginal mucous.
– On microscopic examination, there are vaginal epithelial cells.
– Contains large number of Deoderlein's bacillus.
• 4. Man's or Woman's Blood:
– There is no method differentiating a man's blood from a woman's
blood. Probably, the presence of sex hormone in female blood may
be a point of differentiation.
 Differential Characteristics of Blood from Different Sources

5. Child's Blood:
– At birth, it is thin and soft compared with that of adult.
– Red blood cells are nucleated and exhibit greater fragility.
– Red blood cells count more than in adult
 Parts of the Hair
• 1. Cuticle — The outer layer
of the hair.
• 2. Cortex or middle layer —
Consists of longitudinal
fibers bearing
• the pigment.
• 3. Medulla or core —
Contains air bubbles and
some pigments
Differences between hair forcibly extracted and naturally shed hair

• If a hair-root has been extracted forcibly, the bulb is

irregular in form due to rupture of the sheath and shows
an undulating surface, together with excrescences of
different shapes and sizes.
• A naturally shed bulb has a rounded extremity, a smooth
surface, and most probably show signs of atrophic or
fatty degeneration, especially in an elderly person
Other points in the Identification of the Hair
• 1. Characteristics of the hair:
– Hair on body surfaces is fine while those from the beard,
mustache and scalp are very thick.
– Hair from the eyebrows and lashes is tapering gradually to
fine points.
• 2. Length of the hair
– Hair from the scalp grows 2.5 cms. a month.
– Beard hair grows at the rate of 0.4 millimeter a day
Other points in the Identification of the Hair
• 3. Color of the hair
– The color of the hair may be black, blonde or brunette.
– Hair from older persons may be white or gray.
– The hair may be artificially colored by bismuth, lead or
silver salts. It may be bleached by addition of hydrogen
peroxide, chlorine or diluted hydrochloric or nitric
acid.
 Estimation of Age based on Hair
• Hair of children are fine, short, deficient of pigments
and, as a rule, devoid of medulla.
• At the adolescent age, hair may appear at the pubis.
Hair on the scalp becomes long, wiry, and thick.
• In the case of older persons, the color is usually white
or gray, with marked absorption of pigments and
degenerative changes.
Thank you for your attention.