Autopsy Report - UCF Osteological Analysis-Duct Tape Info

http://www.wftv.com/pdf/19801867/detail.html

Page 3, third paragraph discusses the covering of the nose and mouth apertures with grayish tape.

PH, apologies if you were going to post this. Hadn't seen it yet.

Mods, please move if repetitive info.

Just wanted a handy link quickly. TY.

The following representation is that of an adult, but it gives a good idea of just how intricately the facial bone structure works together, being held in place by the integumentary ( skin ) structure. On a smaller mandible/maxxila, depending on if the duct tape is the standard 2 inches or 3, both airways would easily be covered with layered tape. Without the tape clinging to the remaining hair, it could not have held in place. I also speculate that perhaps the clumps of hair matted beneath the skull, might have done so from body fluids & being in a dependent position.

http://ebsco.smartimagebase.com/generateexhibit.php?ID=3535

The facial skeleton serves to protect the brain; house and protect the sense organs of smell, sight, and taste; and provide a frame on which the soft tissues of the face can act to facilitate eating, facial expression, breathing, and speech. The primary bones of the face are the mandible, maxilla, frontal bone, nasal bones, and zygoma (see Image 1). Facial bone anatomy is complex yet elegant in its suitability to serve a multitude of functions.

Mandible

The mandible is a U-shaped bone (see Images 2-3). It is the only mobile bone of the facial skeleton, and, since it houses the lower teeth, its motion is essential for mastication. It is formed by intramembranous ossification. The mandible is composed of 2 hemimandibles joined at the midline by a vertical symphysis. The hemimandibles fuse to form a single bone by age 2 years. Each hemimandible is composed of a horizontal body with a posterior vertical extension termed the ramus. http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/835401-overview

Definition of aperture, just so we're clear.

''an opening, as a hole, slit, crack, gap, etc.''

celticthyme said:

The following representation is that of an adult, but it gives a good idea of just how intricately the facial bone structure works together, being held in place by the integumentary ( skin ) structure. On a smaller mandible/maxxila, depending on if the duct tape is the standard 2 inches or 3, both airways would easily be covered with layered tape. Without the tape clinging to the remaining hair, it could not have held in place. I also speculate that perhaps the clumps of hair matted beneath the skull, might have done so from body fluids & being in a dependent position.

http://ebsco.smartimagebase.com/generateexhibit.php?ID=3535

The facial skeleton serves to protect the brain; house and protect the sense organs of smell, sight, and taste; and provide a frame on which the soft tissues of the face can act to facilitate eating, facial expression, breathing, and speech. The primary bones of the face are the mandible, maxilla, frontal bone, nasal bones, and zygoma (see Image 1). Facial bone anatomy is complex yet elegant in its suitability to serve a multitude of functions.

Mandible

The mandible is a U-shaped bone (see Images 2-3). It is the only mobile bone of the facial skeleton, and, since it houses the lower teeth, its motion is essential for mastication. It is formed by intramembranous ossification. The mandible is composed of 2 hemimandibles joined at the midline by a vertical symphysis. The hemimandibles fuse to form a single bone by age 2 years. Each hemimandible is composed of a horizontal body with a posterior vertical extension termed the ramus. http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/835401-overview

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Beautiful description, thank you.

As I understand your post, even if the duct tape was 2 inches wide and not 3 inches wide, on a toddler, it would cover the nasal gap, or, more likely, the nostrils as well, on a tiny face.

eta: when I look at the drawings with an untrained eye, the distance between the maxilla and the nasal aperture looks like far less than two inches on an adult face. This makes me think that even a two inch piece of duct tape would cover the nostrils on a toddler, hard as that is to say.

sc2714 said:

Definition of aperture, just so we're clear.

''an opening, as a hole, slit, crack, gap, etc.''

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I understand this to be the hole that is left after the skin decomposes.

I have standard duct tape here, I measured it, 2 inches wide, if it was wrapped and overlapped it definitely covered her nose when she was alive

I just started reading. On the bottom of page three of this document, under the heading of OPINION, I read:

"Based on the position of the tape and mandible, it can be inferred that the mandible remained in this position because the tape held it in place prior to the hair forming into a matt on the base of the skull."

What does this mean?! Is this being discussed elsewhere?

I've thought of the multiple pieces of duct tape being placed mostly over Caylee's mouth, one on top of another over her mouth, sort of in horizontal layers. But after reading these posts, I wonder if the tape was placed more like one piece over the mouth, then another overlapping piece placed over her nose, so the tape had a more vertical overlap.

So the tape might actually have been wider than 2 or 3 inches.

Does anyone recall any info. on the placement?

I hate to be so graphic Caylee's autopsy reports, but justice for her makes me reach past being sick.

Thanks.

Neptunian said:

I just started reading. On the bottom of page three of this document, under the heading of OPINION, I read:

"Based on the position of the tape and mandible, it can be inferred that the mandible remained in this position because the tape held it in place prior to the hair forming into a matt on the base of the skull."

What does this mean?! Is this being discussed elsewhere?

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I'm not exactly sure, but the fact that this note exists in the report is important. Do you think it suggests a struggle? (hence the matting of the hair)

Tuffy,

I'm horrified to think so, but I don't have any experience with autopsy reports. I am hoping that there is a different way that a hair matt can be formed after death.

Tuffy said:

I'm not exactly sure, but the fact that this note exists in the report is important. Do you think it suggests a struggle? (hence the matting of the hair)

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Sorry to quote myself, but I think that actually, it sounds more like this is an explanation of why the mandible is still in position on the skull without the presence of connective tissue.

Neptunian said:

Tuffy,

I'm horrified to think so, but I don't have any experience with autopsy reports. I am hoping that there is a different way that a hair matt can be formed after death.

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I agree that it is a horrifying thought. I think my first answer isn't the reason for note though. I don't think it is meant to imply a struggle.

I suppose the hair matt doesn't necessarily mean the hair was tangled. It could also be matted due to dirt and debris.

Tuffy said:

I agree that it is a horrifying thought. I think my first answer isn't the reason for note though. I don't think it is meant to imply a struggle.

I suppose the hair matt doesn't necessarily mean the hair was tangled. It could also be matted due to dirt and debris.

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Or leaking decomp fluids possibly from the ears (so awful to think of) which would mean the tape came before decomp/death?

:furious::furious:
There is NO words that can describe the rage, complete & total rage I feel.
I want someone to paint KC a very graphic picture of exactly what happened to her childs body after she threw it out like trash.
The needle is to kind. KC should suffer the same fate her daughter met. Duct tape her mouth, nose many many times over. Let her see your eyes as you do it, just like Caylee must have seen her mothers eyes. Then let her know as graphically as you can how the animals will come one by one to tear her apart, little by little. There is no punishment either on this earth or in hell that is enough for KC. I want her to suffer, I mean really really really suffer & I want her to suffer for years.

Maybe a combination of all? dirt, debris, reaction of body fluids with hair. So probably the Dr. is saying that the tape was there holding the mandible in place before major decomp. took place?

So sad.

So now they were saying that the autopsy report combined with the report from the body farm really do prove that she was driving around with little Caylee in her trunk. How hideous. KC is truly a monster. :furious:

LeLe1953 said:

:furious::furious:
There is NO words that can describe the rage, complete & total rage I feel.
I want someone to paint KC a very graphic picture of exactly what happened to her childs body after she threw it out like trash.
The needle is to kind. KC should suffer the same fate her daughter met. Duct tape her mouth, nose many many times over. Let her see your eyes as you do it, just like Caylee must have seen her mothers eyes. Then let her know as graphically as you can how the animals will come one by one to tear her apart, little by little. There is no punishment either on this earth or in hell that is enough for KC. I want her to suffer, I mean really really really suffer & I want her to suffer for years.

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i dont think i could have said it any better myself.

I'm just not managing to grasp any logical reason for the multiple pieces of tape to have been placed on a live child in the manner that they apparently were.

If the purpose of the tape was to silence Caylee, one strip directly across her mouth would have achieved that, in which case I can't think why it would be necessary to place the tape under her jaw as well. It seems, from the information released, that it must have been at least partly under the jaw bone, otherwise once the flesh of the lips/cheeks/chin had gone then IMO the jaw would have dropped.

If the tape was used to cover her mouth and nose in order to suffocate her, it seems to be to an over-complicated and unnecessarily tricky and time consuming way of suffocating a small child. Caylee would have been struggling and fighting with both her arms and legs during this period of unrolling, tearing and applying multiple strips of duct tape, unless she was bound. If she was, that would mean binding, unrolling, tearing, applying, unrolling, tearing, applying.........then unbinding her limbs again when she was gone (because no evidence of binding materials were found). This seems nonsensical to me when a pillow or an adult hand could do the deed with much less effort!

If the pieces of tape were applied to both her mouth and nose - she couldn't then have been chloroformed.

If she was chloroformed first, there would have been no need to go through the multiple taping exercise - a pillow or hand would be much less bother!!

It's possible that the tape initially covered not only the chin, mouth and nose, but also the eyes. The eye sockets of a small child are incredibly close to the nasal bone and it's possible that the multi-strip covering of tape may have shrunk/contracted over time due to heat or water-shrinkage and that it originally covered a larger area.

Maybe KC wanted to cover up all of Caylee's face.

Elley Mae said:

I have standard duct tape here, I measured it, 2 inches wide, if it was wrapped and overlapped it definitely covered her nose when she was alive

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My son is exactly Caylee's age when murdered. 2 years, 10 months. Just looking at him, I know that if there was duct tape over his mouth and not just on the mandible, but also on the maxilla as stated, then yes, it's going to cover the nose as well. That area is so tiny. I mean, if you put several pieces of duct tape on a toddlers mouth, then why leave the nose free? So of course she covered everything. Just horrifying, really.

Excuse me, I have to go hug my son now.