Dear kathy6-ga;
I’m glad to see you made it back and that you are making progress with
your book. I admire your tenacity in collecting these necessary facts.
They often make or break a good story. It also sounds more intriguing
with each visit.
Let’s first talk about human remains. As you might recall from our
earlier encounter, I’ve spent a considerable time in the field of law
enforcement (for the last number of years as an evidence technician)
and I’ve had occasion to see human remains dating as far back as one
hundred years. I base most of my information on more than 20 years of
experience in both personal discoveries and investigation and in more
recent years from my current position as a technical processor of both
forensic and trace evidence. However, I am providing you with some
informative links that might answer these and other questions you
might have in the future:
Human skeletal remain will stay largely intact for decades
particularly if the body was packaged in some way (tarp, bag, rolled
in a blanket, rug, etc). Unless the body has been ravaged by wild
animals and scattered about, the only real threat to the remains would
be the elements and insects. If the body was not packaged, but was
fully clothed, this could provide some protection as far as keeping
the skeletal remains intact provided the body was buried fairly deep
in firm soil, but it would do little against the other forces of
nature. Over time, the fluids in the body will absorb into the soil
creating somewhat of a drying effect, or mummification of the body. If
the body is not disturbed for 25 years, there may still even be some
leathery remnants of the epidermis that was not consumed by insects;
by this time of course it would be devoid of its original texture and
pigment and (at the risk of sounding gross) would very much resemble
dirty beef jerky. However, in situations where skin is found and a
tattoo was present forensic experts have on occasion been able
“reconstruct” the image using ultraviolet light and a number of other
methods because of the permanent inks that are used. In some cases
hairs may even be found still attached to the patches of skin that
remain, particularly in areas where hair was once thick or where
natural folds of the skin might have protected it (armpits, nape of
the neck, scalp, inner buttocks area, etc). These often prove to be
excellent places from which to take hair samples for DNA purposes.
Why would we care to take hair samples for DNA purposes when we have
the whole skeleton? Simple. A body in the ground for 25 years would be
very contaminated and possibly damaged (by DNA standards) by the
naturally occurring minerals, bacteria, fungi found in soils. Since
the blood, marrow and other fluids needed for extraction are often
long since evaporated or consumed or have been too terribly fouled by
extraneous forces, hair is a common source. Another good source for
aiding in the DNA tests would be the pulp of the teeth. But again, if
the head is not present, hair from other areas will often do.
Now let’s discuss the bones themselves. Skeletal remains, particularly
those entombed in rich, moist soil where an abundance of minerals are
present, tend to take on the color of the soil itself. A 25-year-old
skeleton would most definitely look this way if it is not packaged
almost to an airtight state if the conditions are right. Buried in red
clay the bones would become a rusty color, and would look very much
like muddy or dirty sticks at first glance. In rich loamy soil the
skeleton would turn a very dark, moldy gray, brown or even black.
Bones that we see on display (or on TV) are usually bleached to
cleanse them which results on their chalky white appearance but this
doesn’t occur naturally unless the bones had been exposed to
relatively intense or sustained sunlight for a long, long time (like
in a desert). The bones will often be chipped in areas where there
were sharp contours or pitted on large smooth surfaces such as
shoulder blades, and bone ends. This occurs after death as the
moisture of the body decreases. When these fragile areas become
unstable they tend to flake off, get gnawed away by insects or forced
away by shifting soil (or the mere weight of it). Pitting is common as
there is a translucent covering over our bones similar to enamel on
our teeth. This decomposes rather quickly and once it is gone it
leaves behind the actual topography of the bone, which is actually
quite porous and not at all smooth underneath. The weight of the soil
or the shifting that occurs can often crack bones once they become
brittle. These breaks are almost always jagged and in some instances
the bone may become detached exposing the pithy interior once occupied
by the marrow. These chambers in the bones can be best compared to
that of a hard loofa sponge. The marrow of course would no longer be
present in any visibly measurable amount.
Now for the clothing: As with all clothing, dyes tend to fade over
time. Depending on how the fabric is dyed, what kind of fabric it is
and what the fabric has been exposed to, if the boy was packaged the
clothing may very well be intact. If the body was not packaged and was
simply dumped into a grave a buried, the fabric will react in the same
was as any other material that is buried. That is to say that it will
break down over time (like mulch) and take on the appearance of its
surroundings. Evidence of its presence however will likely remain
(fibers, hardware like zippers, snaps, buttons, buckles). Leather
articles and jeans survive better than most anything else, and of
course vinyl is resistant to just about anything except fire and can
even retain its original color for many years.
My experience is that an unpackaged body dumped into a 3-foot deep
grave (killers don’t make good grave diggers by the way) where rich
loamy soil was present, in the southern United States, where no
remarkable environmental hazard or catastrophe would otherwise disturb
it could be described approximately this way:
On the initial disturbance of the grave at first contact with the
body, there might be a faint pungent odor, but it will not be
intolerable. This may be more remarkable if the body is packaged
however (even after 25 years). After removing the dirt you will find
that the body is oddly flattened by the weight of the soil and very
dirty if not muddy. The bones would be mostly exposed and they would
be dark, moist, mildewy and brittle. A pile of hair would lie just
under the skull, which would have irregular seams across its surface
(these are naturally occurring sutures of the skull, not breaks). The
skull would be mostly, if not entirely devoid of skin, except maybe
for the back of the scalp or a small portion of a leathery ear. The
jaw would be detached from the skull exposing the lower teeth; the eye
sockets would be empty. Sparse, dried tissues would be found perhaps
on the back of the skull, the backs of the hands (this dries quickly
and stretches out across the bone in a parchment-like fashion), the
soles of the feet near the heel where the skin was thick, the buttocks
under the pelvis, and other places where the body had large volumes of
skin or thick, callused skin which would have been compressed. The
remnants of the trousers would likely contain the pelvis and the long
bones of the legs. It would be impossible for an untrained observer to
determine the gender of the deceased. The remnants of the shirt likely
be open and mostly rotted, enhanced by destructive bacteria. The body
might lie on some remainder of the shirt, which by now would be black
or very dark in color due to the draining of bodily fluids. Exposure
to these fluids will cause the fabric of the thin shirt to decompose
as if it were flesh so only small portions of the shirt (perhaps the
hems, collar, cuffs, etc) would be identifiable as fabric to the naked
eye. The rib cage would lie down as if it were dominoes, on rib on top
of another. The abdominal cavity would be visibly empty but one might
extricate small portions of dried organs on further forensic
examination. Shoes, or in some cases socks, would contain most of the
bones of the feet if they are still intact. Leather, rubber or vinyl
shoes (perhaps even canvas shoes), would still be identifiable. Some
heel tissue might be evident in the shoes on closer examination. The
soles of the shoes and the eyelets would probably be there even if the
shoe uppers had disintegrated. Small bones of the hands, feet, and
spine which were once held in place largely by tendons, cartilage, and
muscle might be scatter about the grave, forced out of place by
shifting soil or burrowing insects. Roots might even be entangled with
(or through) the skeleton making the exhumation difficult. Accessories
such a jewelry, wallet, dentures, etc could be found on closure audit
of the grave.
As for the “marks” on a nearby tree, I assume you are referring to
spade marks into the root of the tree. These too might still be
visible if they were deep enough wounds into the tree. I’ve seen marks
like the ones you are speaking of that appears years after they were
caused. Twenty-five years, however is a long time and roots grown into
the ground might have long since carried such marks into the ground
with them and far away from the actual grave. Unless this is paramount
to your story, and unless the marks on the tree were made to a portion
of the tree that was (and still is) above the ground, I don’t see this
as a significantly important or feasible detail for the sake of
solving the crime.
Below you will find that I have carefully defined my search strategy
for you in the event that you need to search for more information. By
following the same type of searches that I did you may be able to
enhance the research I have provided even further. I hope you find
that that my research exceeds your expectations. If you have any
questions about my research please post a clarification request prior
to rating the answer. Otherwise, I welcome your rating and your final
comments and I look forward to working with you again in the near
future. Thank you for bringing your question to us.
Best regards;
Tutuzdad-ga
INFORMATION SOURCES
HUMAN DECOMPOSITION AFTER DEATH
http://www.bbc.co.uk/health/ask_doctor/death_body.shtml
CASE HISTORIES INVOLVING FORENSIC ENTOMOLOGY
http://folk.uio.no/mostarke/forens_ent/casehistories.shtml
DECOMPOSITION RESOURCES
http://www.deathonline.net/decomposition/body_changes/index.htm
SEARCH STRATEGY
SEARCH ENGINE USED:
Google ://www.google.com
SEARCH TERMS USED:
HUMAN DECOMPOSITION
SKELETAL REMAINS EVIDENCE
FORENSIC EVIDENCE FABRIC |
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