• Question: Have you ever mis-identified a body and what were the consequences?

    Asked by anon-346353 on 4 Jan 2023.
    • Photo: Ray Evans

      Ray Evans answered on 4 Jan 2023:

      Thankfully, I don’t have to identify dead bodies, I only work with the living…but, there have been times when I have been asked to comment on the possibility of found remains belonging to a missing person.
      In the case I am thinking of, it was not actually a person, but some vegetation debris found on the moors.

    • Photo: Lorna Dawson

      Lorna Dawson answered on 5 Jan 2023:

      It’s not my role to identify a body. That’s the role of the forensic anthropologist! Like Sue!

    • Photo: Amy Rattenbury

      Amy Rattenbury answered on 5 Jan 2023: last edited 5 Jan 2023 9:13 am

      Misidentification would be very problematic. The main reason is the upset and stress it unnecessarily causes to the families involved. The family of the person you thought it was has to find out that you were wrong and that their loved one’s whereabouts are still unknown. The family of the person it actually is have had their period of not knowing and being unable to get closure extended. Thankfully as far as I am aware, misidentifications in forensic anthropology are very rare because practitioners hold themselves to very high standards and have a systematic approach that ensures as much information is collected about the remains before any identification is made.

      In my experience all the remains I have worked on have either proven to be historical, and so no definitive identification was possible beyond a biological profile (age, sex, stature, trauma and pathology), or could later be confirmed by another identification method. The biological profiles we produce are not 100% unique; there may be multiple people who fit the criteria. For example: 30-40 years old, Male, approximately 5ft 11 with a previous fracture to the left distal radius (wrist) and no evidence of disease. This is when we turn to other experts to help with ‘primary identification methods’ such as fingerprints, DNA or odontology (teeth) because these have been shown to be 100% unique. Previous medical work can also be helpful as most pacemakers, hip replacements, surgical screws etc. have reference numbers on them and so can be traced back to the patient

    • Photo: Caroline Wilkinson

      Caroline Wilkinson answered on 5 Jan 2023:

      When we produce facial depictions from human remains they are used as a tool for recognition rather than as a method for identification. Identification is usually achieved through DNA analysis or dental comparison, once names are provided to the police through recognition. Mis-identification from visual recognition of the body by family members is common, especially in mass disasters, which is why more rigorous comparison methods are utilised to confirm identity.

    • Photo: Katy Bruce

      Katy Bruce answered on 5 Jan 2023:

      Unfortunately I’m not a pathologist (I’m not clever enough to be a doctor!) so I don’t identify bodies, I only look at trace evidence – so that’s things rather than people. I can imagine the consequences of misidentification would be quite serious though, for the reasons that Amy has already stated.

    • Photo: Richard Case

      Richard Case answered on 5 Jan 2023:

      Fingerprints are often used to identify bodies, especially when visual identification by friends or family may be traumatic or problematic.
      It is still the best and most efficient way to identify those persons where fingerprints are still retrievable from the body.
      The skin on the hands (or even the feet) is quite resilient and can often still prove fruitful for prints even in advanced stages of decomposition, or in fire scenes where the victim can often clench their hands in the foetal position and protect that area of skin.
      I have attended mortuaries on many occasions to retrieve prints from deceased persons, and I have also participated in the identification process… and delivered witness testimony to coroners courts to confirm identification.
      I have never mis-identified a body, or have ever heard of such a case in fingerprints.
      The processes are rigorous to ensure that the likelihood of that happening is as low as humanly possible, as the consequences to the victim, the friends & family, and the justice system would be considerable.

    • Photo: Rachel Armitage

      Rachel Armitage answered on 5 Jan 2023:

      Fortunately I don’t work with bodies, so have not had to identify one. I look more at trace evidence and identify what samples could be or not be as sometimes is the case.

    • Photo: Bryan Williams

      Bryan Williams answered on 6 Jan 2023:

      I’m a researcher and most of my work is in the lab. So, if I mis-identify someone, I know about it before anyone else. I focus on developing identification techniques via artificial intelligence, and a large part of this is not only developing ways to identify people but also to determine whether the evidence available is (or isn’t) sufficient for identification.

    • Photo: Alex Bytheway

      Alex Bytheway answered on 6 Jan 2023:

      It is unlikely that a body would be mis-identified. We work on the facts and if we don’t have enough evidence to identify a body with certainty, then we admit that we cannot be certain of our identification

    • Photo: Jessica Liu

      Jessica Liu answered on 6 Jan 2023: last edited 9 Jan 2023 10:02 am

      Facial depictions or skull face superimpositions are not considered primary methods of identification. However, these methods can be used to generate further investigative leads to identify the deceased. When there is a suspected match, the identity of the individual should be confirmed by a primary method such as fingerprint, DNA or dental records to avoid misidentification.

    • Photo: David Bryson

      David Bryson answered on 11 Jan 2023:

      No, body identification is not in my area of expertise though I know the principles and teach aspects to do with implants and their use in identification.

Comments

  • Photo: Sue

    Sue commented on :

    Should we misidentify a body then we do not make one mistake – we make at least two as it would result in the wrong body being returned to the wrong family leaving one other family incorrectly identified. This is uppermost in our minds during identification and it is what we strive to avoid. For this reason it sometimes seems to take a very long time for an identification to be confirmed and that is because we are dotting all our i’s and crossing all our t’s.