Identification
Dr. Tanush Shetty
MBBS, MD
Assistant Professor
• 3.1.1 : Define corpus delicti
• 3.1.2 : Describe the importance of corpus delicti in establishing the crime.
• 3.1.3 : List the various means of identification in living and dead person.
• 3.1.4 : Explain the role of hand writing analysis, gait, speech,
photography and facial description as a tool of identification.
• 3.1.5 : Describe the methods of determination of race.
• 3.1.6 : Describe the methods of sex determination in a living person.
• 3.1.7 : Describe the methods of sex determination in a dead person.
• 3.1.8 : Define intersex
• 3.1.9 : Describe the types of intersex and its medicolegal importance.
• 3.1.10 : Describe the methods of age determination in a living person.
• 3.1.11 : Describe the methods of age determination in a dead person.
• 3.1.12 : Explain the methods of age estimation using Gustafson’s
technique
• 3.1.13 : Discuss the forensic aspects related to teeth.
• 3.1.14 : Describe the methods of determination of stature.
• 3.2.1 : Explain the role of hair in the identification of an individual.
• 3.2.2 : Describe the medicolegal importance of hair.
• 3.2.3 : Describe the dyes used, methods of erasure and
medicolegal importance of tattoo.
• 3.2.4 : Describe the medicolegal importance of scar.
• 3.2.5 : Define anthropometry
• 3.2.6 : Describe the various data included in anthropometry and its
importance in identification.
• 3.2.12 : Describe the role of superimposition in establishing the
identity
Identification
• Determination of the individuality of a person (Live or dead) is
known as identification.
2 types
Complete identification: Dactylography
Partial Identification
• Age
• Sex
• Stature
• Race
Criteria used for identification
• Big 4 parameters:
- Age
- Sex
- Stature
- Race
• Forensic:
- Osteology
- Odontology
- Trichology
• Prints :
- Fingerprinting
- DNA fingerprinting
- Lip prints
- Foot prints
- Ear prints
Miscellaneous
• Marks : moles, tattoos and occupational marks
• Deformities
• Superimposition
• Biometric methods
• Religion
• Special characteristics
Medicolegal importance of
identification
• In living:
- Impersonation
- Identification in the court of law
- Mix up of newborn babies in hospital
- Absconding soldiers and criminals
• In dead:
- Decomposed bodies
- Burnt bodies
- Air crash
- Earthquakes
• Civil cases :
- Insurance
- Pension
- Disputed sex
- Marriage
- Missing person
• Criminal cases:
- Assault
- Murder
- Rape
Corpus delicti
• Facts of any criminal offence
• It includes the body of the victim and other facts which are
conclusive of death due to foul play – weapon of offence, clothing
showing blood stains, accessories and photographs of the deceased
showing fatal injury.
Purpose of corpus delicti
• Positive identification of dead body of victim
• It must be proved that the victim died due to criminal act of the
accused.
John perry and William Harrison case,
1660
Race Identification
Race from general features
Caucasians ( Europeans)
Negroes
Mongolians
Race from skeletal remains
• Skull: Cephalic index = Maximum breadth of skull X 100
Maximum length of skull
Maximum breath of skull – Distance between two parietal eminence
Maximum length of the skull – Distance from glabella and external
occipital protuberance
Cephalic index Type Race
70 – 75 Dolicocephalic Negroids
(Long headed)
75 – 80 Mesaticephalic Caucasoids
(Medium headed) (Europeans),
Indians
80 - 85 Brachycephalic Mongoloids,
(Short headed) Chinese
Race from dentition
• Shape of incisors :
- Chisel shaped in Caucasoid and negroid
- Shovel shaped in Mongoloid
Carabelli’s cusp
• It is a small nodule or an additional (fifth) cusp at mesio-palatal
surface of maxillary permanent molars.
• It is most commonly seen in Caucasoid (Europeans)
• Pulp chamber of permanent molars becomes extremely large and
extends towards the roots.
• Seen in Mongolians
Sex Identification
Nuclear sexing
• Determination of sex by microscopic study of sex chromatin
present in the nucleus.
Barr bodies
• It is seen as condensed material towards the nuclear membrane in
the nucleus of the cell. This is known as sex chromatin or barr
body.
• It is presumed to be due to inactivation of an X chromosome.
• Females – 20- 30%
• Males- 0- 4%
Davidson bodies
• These neutrophilic drumsticks as a dense chromatin head, attached
to the nucleus by a thread like connecting neck.
• They are pathognomic of females.
• Diagnosis – peripheral smear – minimum 6% counts.
Intersex
• It is an intermingling in one individual of characters of both sex in
varying degrees, including physical form, reproductive organs and
sexual behavior.
- Gonadal agenesis
- Gonadal dysgensis : Klinefelter’s syndrome, turner’s syndrome
Klinefelter’s syndrome
• It is a condition where the anatomical structure is that of a male
but nuclear sexing is of a female.
• Sex chromosome pattern is XXY ( 47 chromosomes).
• Increased height
• Gynacomastia
• Testicular atrophy
• Lack of male secondary sexual characters
Turner’s syndrome
• Anatomical structure is female but nuclear sex is male.
• Sex chromosome pattern is XO.
• Primary amenorrhoea
• Sterility
• Loose skin folds at the nape of the neck
• Short stature
• Webbed neck
• Shield chest
• Wide set nipples and poor breast developement
True hermaphroditism
• This is a very rare condition of bisexuality in which an ovary and a
testicle or two ovotestis are present with external genitalia of both
sexes.
Pseudo hermaphroditism
• Testicular feminizing syndrome
• Congenital adrenal hyperplasia
Testicular feminization syndrome
(Androgen insensitivity syndrome)
• Look like a female
• Have testes in inguinal region or abdomen
• Female external genitalia but no uterus, fallopian tubes and
ovaries.
• Amenorrhea
• 5 Alpha reductase deficiency
Congenital adrenal hyperplasia
• 21 – hydroxylase deficiency
• Looks like male but genetically a female
• Labio majora may enlarge to look like scrotum but no testes.
• Do not develop breasts at puberty
Medicolegal importance of sex
• Third gender : Transgender person has been assigned to those who
are neither male nor female as per protection of rights Act, 2019.
• Sex has to be determined in case of concealed sex, marriage,
impotence and divorce.
• In India, only a male can be charged for committing rape.
• A woman cannot be arrested after sunset and before sunrise.
• Pre-natal sex determination is illegal and is a punishable offence.
Age
Forensic odontology
Age estimation from
dentition
• Superadded teeth
• Successional teeth
Gustafson’s method
• Attrition - wear and tear due to mastication
• Peridontosis – Regression of the gums and periodontal tissues
• Secondary dentine – It may develop from the walls into the pulp
cavity.
• Cementum apposition – Secondary cementum is slowly and
continuously deposited throughout life and form incremental lines.
These incremental lines appear as cross-striations on the enamel of
the teeth due to cementum apposition.
• Root resorption : It involves both cementum and dentin.
Absorption of the root first starts at the apex and extends upwards.
• Transparency of root : It is not seen until about 30 years of age.
The canals in the dentin are at first wide. With age they are filled
with mineral, so that they become translucent gradually and the
dentine becomes transparent due to rarefaction.
0 – 3 points
• Stage 0 – No change
• Stage 1 – Beginning of change
• Stage 2 – Obvious change
• Stage 3 – Maximum change
• The error is said to be +/- 4 to 7 years.
Medicolegal importance of age
• Criminal responsibilities :
- According to railway act, a child ( no age prescribed) may be held
responsible for wrecking a train or endangering the safety of commuters
of train.
- Sec. 82 I.P.C – Any act done by a child below 7 years of age is not an
offence.
- Sec. 83 I.P.C – A child between 7 to 12 years is presumed to be capable
of committing an offence, if he attained sufficient maturity to judge.
- Sec. 89 I.P.C – A child below 12 years cannot give valid consent.
- Sec. 87 I.P.C – A person above 18 years can give consent to suffer
any harm which may result from an act not intended to cause
death or grievous hurt.
• Rape :
- Sexual intercourse by a man with a girl below 18 years with her
consent.
- Sexual intercourse by a man with his wife below 15 years
• Kidnapping : Sec. 359 to 369 I.P.C
- Taking away a child by illegal means
a) To kidnap a child with the intention of taking dishonestly any
moveable property, if the age of the child is under 10 years. (Sec.
369 I.P.C )
b) To kidnap a minor from lawful guardianship, if the age of a boy is
under 16 and that of a girl is 18 years. (Sec. 361 I.P.C)
c) Kidnap, abducting or inducing a woman to compel her marriage.
(Sec. 366 I.P.C)
d) To procure a girl for prostitution, if her age is under 18 years.
(Sec. 366 – A I.P.C)
e) To import into India from a foreign country a female for purpose
of illicit intercourse, if her age is less than 21 years. ( Sec. 366 – B
I.P.C)
• Employment :
- A child below 14 years cannot be employed for any type of work.
- A child completing 15 years is allowed to work in a factory as an
adult, if a fitness certificate is issued.
• Marriage contracts:
- A female under 18 years and male under 21 years cannot contract
marriage.
- The age of the female is likely to be increased to 21 years.
Bite marks
• They are types of pattern injuries, caused by the forceful bite over
the skin. They are mostly abrasions and bruises.
• The classical human bite is elliptical or circular injury caused by the
front teeth.
Investigations of bite mark
• Faint teeth marks become visible when examined under UV light in
a dark room.
• Take swabs of saliva.
• The bite mark is photographed with two scales placed at right
angle to each other.
• A plastic substance ( rubber or silicon base) is placed over the bite
mark to take a permanent negative cast.
Medicolegal importance of bite marks
• It can tell the criminal intention of the perpetrator:
- Offensive : caused by assailant on the victim . Usually seen on the face,
breast, thighs etc.
- Defensive : caused by the victim on the assailant to defend himself.
Usually seen on arms and hands.
- Self- inflicted : Seen on the accessible parts of own body. Seen in
psychiatric patients and teenage girls.
- Love bite : During sexual assault
• Bite mark may be found on the soft material left at the crime
scene, such as wax, chocolates, apple, cheese etc.
• Human bite can be differentiated from animal bite.
Hair
Trichology
• Study of hair.
• Hair grows at a rate of 0.4 mm/ day.
Trait Human hair Animal hair
Character Fine and thin Coarse and thick
Cuticle Cuticular scales are short, broad, Cuticular scales are very large and
thin and irregularly annular. have step like or wavy
projections.
Cortex Thick, well- striated and 4 -10 Thin, rarely more than twice as
times as broad as medulla. broad as medulla.
Medulla Usually narrow Wider
Pigment Evenly distributed Mostly present in medulla
Precipitin test Specific for human Specific for different animals
Medullary index
Medicolegal importance
• Hair is important in crime investigations, it remains identifiable on
the clothes, body and alleged weapons. It often provides the only
connection between a weapon or even the accused and the victim
of an assault.
- In rape and sodomy, the pubic hair of the accused may be found
on the victim or vice versa.
- Stains on the hair may indicate the nature of assault.
• Nature of the weapon can be made out from the injuries to the hair
and hair bulb.
• Hair is useful for identification especially when there is known
peculiarities on the hair such as dyeing, bleaching etc.
• Age of a person may be determined.
• Sex may be determined from their distribution on body, texture and
barr bodies.
• Singeing of hair indicates burns.
• In chronic poisoning with heavy metals such as arsenic - poison
can be detected in the hair.
• Time of death can sometimes be determined from the length of the
hair on the face.
Tattoo marks
• They are designs made manually in the skin by multiple small
puncture wounds with needles or an electric vibrator dipped in
colouring matter.
Commonly used dyes
• Indian ink
• Indigo
• Ultramarine (Blue)
• Carbon (Black)
• Chromic acid (Green)
Recognition
• A faded tattoo mark becomes visible by the use of ultraviolet lamp
or rubbing the part and examining with magnifying lens.
• Infrared photography makes old tattoos readily visible.
Erasure
- Complete excision and skin grafting
- Production of burn by means of red hot iron
- Carbon dioxide snow
- Electrolysis
- Laser beam
Medicolegal importance
• If there are large number of tattoos, positive identification can be
made by the tattoos alone.
• Religion
• God of worship
• Nationality
• Gang member
• Homosexuals
Sydney shark murder case
Documentation of
identification marks
Birth marks
Size
Colour
Colour
Anatomical position
Hairy or not ?
Description
• Size
• Shape
• Colour
• Position based on anatomical landmarks
• Hairy or not ?
• Elevated or not ?
Tattoo Marks
• They are made manually in the skin by multiple small puncture
wounds with needles or electric vibrator dipped in colouring matter.
Tattoo
Description
• Colour
• Position
• Depicting
• Measurement
Recognition
• Faded tattoo - Ultraviolet lamp or rubbing the part and examining
with magnifying lens.
• Infrared photography – old tattoo
Scars
• It is a fibrous tissue covered by epithelium without hair follicles,
sweat glands or pigment produced from healing of a wound.
• Scars are permanent
Examination
• Good lighting is essential
• Application of heat, filtered ultraviolet light can make the scar more
visible.
• Magnifying lens is very useful
Description
• Number
• Site
• Size
• Shape
• Level it bears to the body surface
• Fixed or not
• Smoothness or irregularity of the surface
• Colour and presence or absence of glistening
• Tenderness
Occupational marks
Carpenters
Cobblers
Manual labourers
• Traffic Policemen – varicose veins
• Butchers – Thickening of the palmer skin of fingers on right hand
• Tailors – Marks of needle puncture on their left index finger.
Skull – photo superimposition
Skull photo superimposition
• It is a technique applied to determine whether the skull is that of the
person in the photograph.
• It has negative value, exclusion criteria
• Points for comparison:
- Nasion
- Suprorbital ridge
- Angle of the jaw
- Teeth
Thank you