Medicolegal death investigations

Forensic anthropologists face the challenge of sorting remains from commingled assemblages. This webinar examines how chemical signatures of bone can complement physical reassociation strategies. Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) offers rapid, visually non-destructive analysis that acquires chemical information from bone. Statistical evaluation of chemical profiles taken across 1284 bones from 45 individuals reveals that physicochemical variation exists between individuals and, consequently, can be used to classify the bones.

The Transition Analysis 3 (TA3) age-at-death estimation method was developed as part of an international research project supported by National Institute of Justice (NIJ) award #2014-DN-BX-K007. This presentation provides a brief history of the TA3 project from its beginnings in the late 1990s to its current status two decades later. Participants learn about the iterative process used to identify traits and develop definitions and are introduced to the TA3 trait manual and generic data collection form.

This webinar will explore the prevalence of strangulation in sexual assault cases, including considerations for evidence collection and supporting victims. This webinar was hosted by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on April 14, 20222

This presentation briefly discusses the current state of skeletal sex estimation in forensic anthropology. The primary focus of this presentation is on the MorphoPASSE: Morphological Pelvis and Skull Sex Estimation database and program for skeletal sex estimation. The presentation details the revised trait descriptions and scoring procedures, with examples, and demonstrates how to use the MorphoPASSE graphical user interface and interpret the output.

The National Institute of Justice’s Terrestrial LiDAR Scanning (TLS) Working Group was convened to create consensus-based best practices that standardize and improve the use of TLS in criminal justice applications. This webinar is intended to serve as a general overview of the technology, its use in scene documentation and reconstruction, and key takeaways of the resulting best practice guidelines.

This webinar was hosted by the Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on  May 3, 2022.

With the rise of illicit fentanyl, fentanyl analogues, synthetic cathinones, xylazine, and other substances adulterating many traditional street drugs, users often have no idea what they are consuming, leading to overdose and death.  This further complicates toxicology testing and death determination.  This presentation will cover interesting postmortem case studies from Ohio, Denver, and Miami from the scene perspective through autopsy and toxicology testing.

Fractography is a tool for studying material failure. Analysis of cracks and fractures can reveal information about how, why, and where a fracture initiated and how a crack traveled, providing insight into the cause of failure. This webinar provides a basic introduction to forensic fractography of bone, which represents a new model for skeletal trauma that emphasizes understanding the cause of material failure rather than simply classifying fracture patterns.

This webinar was hosted by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on November 2, 2022.