Is It Old Age, Abuse or Homicide? Using Forensic Markers and Technology To Detect Elder Abuse and Neglect - Panel discussion at the 2009 NIJ Conference

• NCJ Number: 234712
• Author(s): Aileen Wiglesworth; Barry Daly; Cherie Hill; Carrie Mulford
• Date Published: June 2009
• Length: 2 pages
• Agencies: NIJ
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical); Report (Study/Research); Presentation (Multimedia); Conference Material

Annotation

This audio and transcript from the 2009 NIJ Conference cover a panel presentation on the use of forensic markers and technology to detect elder abuse and neglect.

Abstract

Panel member Aileen Wiglesworth - Assistant Clinical Professor of Family Medicine at the University of California, Irvine - discusses her research team's findings from a comparison of bruises on elderly persons known to have been caused by accidents and those with bruises from physical abuse. In this comparison, bruises from physical abuse were more likely to be located on the face, neck, arms, or posterior torso compared to the location of bruises from accidents. The bruises from physical abuse also tended to be larger than those caused by accidents. In addition, abused elderly persons were more likely to remember the event that caused the bruise. Panelist Barry Daly - Professor of Radiology and Vice Chair for Research at the University of Maryland School of Medicine - discusses his research on the capabilities of computed tomography (CT) imaging in postmortem detection of elder abuse and neglect. This research is currently underway and has thus far not found any signs of abuse or neglect among the elderly decedents involved in the study. Cherie Hill - a detective in the Anaheim Police Department - discusses how the research being conducted on the differences in injuries from accidents and from physical abuse can be applied in the investigation of suspected elder abuse.