Medicolegal assessment of bone findings at the Institute of Legal Medicine in Giessen

Introduction Findings of bones or bone fragments can be of historic interest or of interest to law enforcement authorities. A forensic osteological expertise can help to classify the significance of the find. The aim of this study was to obtain an overview of the circumstances and nature of the findings as well as the extent and results of the examinations and assessment by retrospectively evaluating bone findings examined at the Institute for Forensic Medicine Giessen. Material and methods For the period from 2005 to 2019, all osteological expert reports archived at the Institute of Legal Medicine Giessen were analyzed and data on the site, circumstances of discovery, human specificity, postmortem interval, signs of violence and the results of further investigations were evaluated. Results Of the 172 examined bone findings, 40% were found in forest and meadow areas. In 58% the findings contained human bones, in 32% a forensically relevant postmortem interval was not excluded. Signs of perimortem violence were found in 6% of the human bone findings. Supplemental DNA testing was performed in 20% of all bone findings, 62% of which were successfully typed with human STRs and in 41% the STR profile obtained could be matched to an antemortem profiles. Nonhuman bones sent for assessment were most commonly from deer or stags (32%), pigs (29%), and cattle (14%). Discussion The assessment of bone findings enables the investigating authorities to classify the (criminal) legal relevance. The macroscopic examination is of great importance for this. For the identification of human bones, comparative DNA analyses are of great importance and were responsible for 81% of successful identification in cases involving human bones.

Automated summary

The study analyzed bone findings in the Institute for Forensic Medicine Giessen from 2005 to 2019, finding that 40% were discovered in forest and meadow areas. Human bones were found in 58% of the cases, with 32% having a forensically relevant postmortem interval. Sign of perimortem violence were found in 6% of human bone findings.