Introduction
It was a really depressing incident that occurred in late September in Central Texas when a utility worker was inspecting the power lines in a distant wooded region when the worker saw a dead body that appeared like a protrusion of a human arm from a disturbed soil. More tragically, while excavation was taking place, another little body of a fetus was also recovered, making the total number of bodies found two. The employee didn't think twice about telling the police about this incident, which was thought to be a probable murder. As the suspects were being tried, the authorities wanted forensic anthropological analysis to determine the precise cause of the death. The medical examiner carried out some medical test to establish the identity of the murdered, but the authorities suggested for more research to be conducted so that enough evidence could be documented. This anthropological research analysis is therefore purposed to investigate the possible cause of the death and bring out the identity of the deceased.
Inventory
In the adult skeletal remains, various observations were made. The skeleton had a left hand, radius and wrist missing. These body parts were absent on the remains suggesting that they might have been cut off the body at the time of death. In the cranium, all its elements were present and not tampered with in any way. For instance, the mandible and frontal bones were all found. Parietal bone was present, and it was not subjected to any single damage. Temporal, zygomatic, maxilla, palatine, nasal, nasal concha, lacrimal and ear ossicles were also seeable both on left and right of the cranium. The clavicle, humerus, scapula, and ulna of the entire skeleton were also observed even though the ulna had its distal end missing with some punctures. These punctures were so immense and were perceived to have been so severe. Carpals, metacarpals, and phalanges were found detached from the body suggesting that they may have been chopped off the deceased's body.
The sternum was found separately from the ribs. The ribs were absent from the skeleton, and they were not intact. They appeared torn at their ends and seemed to have been separated from the sternum forcefully before the incident of death. The ribs were absent and were therefore separated at the junction where they meet the sternum. Manubrium was found linked separately to the sternum off the ribs cavity. Xiphoid also separated from the thoracic cavity together with the sternum, and manubrium. Ribs 1-12 were all absent both left and right. The thoracic cavity holding the ribs together could not be traced. The teeth were dislocated and some went on missing. The dental formula could not apply successfully in determining the number of teeth of the murdered. The premolars, incisors, molars and the canines were less both in the upper and lower jaw bones.
On the other side, the fetus was found with both of its lower limbs missing. The fetus was determined to be a human being through the x-ray of its skull which gave a result of deciduous teeth similar to those of human beings.
Final report
According to the anthropological research carried above, there was a lot of likelihood that the skeleton was of a murdered woman. The investigation though had its challenges, was successfully carried out with a specific objective of determining the exact cause of the death. The skeleton was used to give the identity of the murdered in terms of gender, sex, and age and the parts that suggested some trauma that might have left the victim lifeless.
Findings
Firstly, the skeleton was missing the left hand, radius and wrist suggesting that the deceased was struggling for defense when these parts were eliminated from the body before death. The murdered might have been involved in the fight with the murderer showing evidence that this was a murder case. Secondly, the skeleton had no thoracic cavity insinuating that the thoracic must have been cut and removed when the victim was being killed. A further strong support to this truth is that the fetus was found out of the womb. Therefore, it is clear that the murderer cut off the thoracic, removed the fetus and buried them away from the thoracic which could not be found at the scene.
Additionally, the eruption of the teeth in the adult yielded another strong feeling that the victim was murdered. The teeth were dislocated. Moreover, some teeth were missing, an indication that the dead were beaten terribly on the jaws thereby uprooting some teeth. Notably, the fetus lacked the lower limbs. The limbs might have been cut off with the thoracic and disposed together with the thoracic. The manubrium, xiphoid and sternum might have also been separated from the thoracic during this violent time. Ultimately, the case can be perceived as murder because the phalanges, metacarpals, and carpals were separated from the skeleton, something that draws much attention as far as this crime is concerned. These parts were probably cut during the murder time.
Biological profile
The murdered person had a pelvis with wide sciatic notch showing that the murdered was a woman. This evidence can be more true and valid because of the fetus which was found with the skeleton in the same grave. The fetus might have been abducted from the woman's womb.
The skeleton was a quite tall person. The length of the humerus which is 35.44 centimeters justifies the height. Therefore, the deceased is an adult who had reached the reproductive age since she was nine months pregnant when she was murdered. The trauma noticed is evidenced by the separated body parts like the thoracic, phalanges and the metacarpals bringing a feeling that the murderer used a sharp object to kill the victim.
Recommendations
From the findings above, it is clear that the authority should adopt these results to handle this case appropriately because it has been proved to be a murder case. The relevant authority should stand tall and exercise their power to ensure that the individual or the group that committed this crime are found and convicted under the laws of the land demand. This conviction will serve as an example to those who engage in such inhuman acts in the society. By doing so, people will believe in the work of forensic anthropologists. Additionally, they will believe that through forensic anthropology justice can be found.
