NCJ Number
225592
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 53 Issue: 6 Dated: November 2008 Pages: 1308-1312
Date Published
November 2008
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This article reports on an unusual case of a possibly undiagnosed craniofacial abnormality in a set of identified skeletal remains in a homicide case in North Carolina.
Abstract
In August 1992, the partially skeletonized and mummified remains of a White, 31-year-old female were discovered in a vacant, dilapidated house in North Carolina. At autopsy, cause of death was determined to be blunt force trauma to the left lateral portion of the skull, and manner of death was reported as homicide. Examination of the dry skull indicated perimortem fracturing of the left zeugmatic, the left maxillary region, the nasals, and the upper left and right central and lower right lateral incisors, consistent with blunt force trauma. The decedent was positively identified from antemortem dental records; however, the atypical cranial features and the postcranial anomalies were not documented by the medical examiner. The absence of postcranial deformities usually associated with syndromic craniosynostosis suggests a probable sporadic nonsyndromic form of metopic synostosis as an explanation for the atypical frontal and facial narrowness observed in this case study. These results suggest that the identification of and differentiation between related craniofacial abnormalities in skeletal remains is difficult, requiring further research. Despite the infrequency of these conditions among the human population, geometric morphmetric and traditional morphmetric analyses of skulls that exhibit craniofacial abnormalities and comparison to normal skulls would be helpful to forensic anthropologists in identifying individuals who may otherwise remain unidentified. 2 tables, 4 figures, and 41 references