NCJ Number
210766
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 50 Issue: 4 Dated: July 2005 Pages: 777-784
Date Published
July 2005
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This study examined the difference in age assessment by means of epiphyseal closure (bone development) timings using Bosnian skeletal material of known age at death compared to a well-documented sample of North-American origin.
Abstract
The International Commission on Missing Persons has established that one of the major limitations in a DNA-led identification program is the inability of DNA to positively discriminate fraternal identity should neither sibling have offspring. The inability to differentiate between siblings presented a particular problem in identifying the deceased from the "fall of Srebrenica," in which an estimated 8,000 Bosnians died. The majority of those killed were males in families with two or more sons only a few years apart in age. In examining an alternative identification method, the current study used a Bosnian sample of 114 males of known identity between the ages of 17 and 30 at the time of death. McKern and Stewart's data on American soldiers killed in the Korean War was useful for comparison with the Srebrenica sample, since both had a similar profile of young males. The American sample consisted of 325 males between the ages of 17 and 30 with known dates of birth and death. Stages of epiphyseal closure were recorded for 10 bones in each of the Bosnian samples. Initial examination of the data found that each of the 10 bones under consideration reached complete fusion in 100 percent of the population 1 to 3 years earlier in the Bosnian sample than in the American sample. Statistical tests also confirmed that complete fusion occurred significantly earlier in the epiphyses of the proximal humerus, distal radius, ischial tuberosity, and the acromion process. Implications are drawn for identification procedures in the Bosnian investigation. 14 tables and 36 references