The Forensic Investigation

[Doralima]

Not necessarily true, Spam. Shannan Gilbert's body was very bady decomposed. She was identified by a metal plate in her jaw. There could have been any number of things that made AJ's identification easy, despite the fact that she was badly decomposed. Clothing, unique piercings, unique tattoos, unique bone breaks or scars, any number of things.

JMO

her Harry Potter necklace

 

[runninglowonbananas]

Whatever they did...it was BEFORE she was cremated.

 

[Mountain_Kat]

her Harry Potter necklace

Yep. Or any number of other things.

 

[skibaboo]

Google the University Of Tennessee "Body Farm" when you have a chance. Fascinating reading. There is ALOT of online info about the work they do there, but "Death's Acre" is a must read if you are interested in the subject.

I 2nd this. I became fascinated with forensic anthropology after reading Kathy Reichs first novel. I 'attempted' studying it a little at one point too. Often gruesome, but fascinating and truly remarkable stuff!

 

[Doralima]

BBM

Not necessarily true, Spam. Shannan Gilbert's body was very bady decomposed. She was identified by a metal plate in her jaw. There could have been any number of things that made AJ's identification easy, despite the fact that she was badly decomposed. Clothing, unique piercings, unique tattoos, unique bone breaks or scars, any number of things.

JMO

I'm curious to know if they will they be able to tell if she was sexually assaulted. Would they be able to test for the presence of semen at that point of decomposition?

 

[spamelope]

BBM

Not necessarily true, Spam. Shannan Gilbert's body was very bady decomposed. She was identified by a metal plate in her jaw. There could have been any number of things that made AJ's identification easy, despite the fact that she was badly decomposed. Clothing, unique piercings, unique tattoos, unique bone breaks or scars, any number of things.

JMO

I thought about that after I hit post. lol Dental records crossed my mind, too.

 

[Mountain_Kat]

I'm curious to know if they will they be able to tell if she was sexually assaulted. Would they be able to test for the presence of semen at that point of decomposition?

Highly unlikely. A lot depends on the conditions the body were located in. Water, heat, cold, insect activity, animal predation, etc. etc. Any body opening (mouth, nose, vagina,open wounds, etc) is prone to decompose faster. And DNA from sperm, under those conditions, is likely to have been too degraded to be of any value. IMO

 

[RubyJuno]

Not sure if anyone has been back to the page but Ms. Lee clarifies her statement a bit in the comments below..
https://twitter.com/13jemielee/status/590164434015911936

This helps, from the link Jena just gave: "I should have been more precise in saying they *are using an anthropologist, instead of *will... thank you!"

So such a professional has been involved with the case and may have had access to the body in situ as well as at the morgue.

 

[Eileen730]

Generally, forensic anthropologists do not do any of the following:

•Collect trace evidence (hair, fibers)
•Run DNA tests
•Analyze ballistics or weapon evidence
•Analyze blood spatter
•Conduct autopsies


What a forensic anthropologist does do to aid in a case:
•Goes to a crime scene to assist in the collection of human remains
•Cleans up the bones so that they may be looked at
•Analyzes skeletal remains to establish the profile of the individual
•Looks at trauma evident on the bones to establish the pathway of a bullet or the number of stab wounds
•Works with a forensic odontologist (dentist) to match dental records
•Testifies in court about the identity of the individual and/or the injuries that might be evident in the skeleton.


http://allaboutbones.wikifoundry.com/page/Forensic+Anthropology

 

[Damarna]

I felt certain that today - during the morning actually - there would be an announcement from LE about an arrest. It would seem not.

The disclosure of the anthropologist being involved may be LEs way of letting the publuc know the case moves forward? I suspect many awaited some type of more revealing news.

 

[DanceCard]

The disclosure of the anthropologist being involved may be LEs way of letting the publuc know the case moves forward? I suspect many awaited some type of more revealing news.

I hope so.

 

[kimi_SFC]

I believe there are many different fields in forensic anthropology. It is not just the study of bones, from what I understand.

http://www.itsgov.com/forensic-anthropology.html

Forensic anthropology includes archaeological excavation, as well as examination of hair, insects, facial reproduction, medicine,

Thank you for posting this, Mountain_Kat!

From your link:

(snip)

Forensic anthropologists are commonly portrayed in the media as forensic scientists and/or crime scene technicians, but this is not accurate. Forensic anthropologists deal strictly with the human remains. While some people trained in forensic anthropology are also trained in evidence collection techniques, most forensic anthropologists only specialize in techniques related to analysis of the remains or bones only.

Generally, forensic anthropologists DO NOT do any of the following:

Collect trace evidence (hair, fibers)
Run DNA tests
Analyze ballistics or weapon evidence
Analyze blood spatter
Conduct autopsies

What a forensic anthropologist DOES do to aid in a case:

Goes to a crime scene to assist in the collection of human remains
Cleans up the bones so that they may be looked at
Analyzes skeletal remains to establish the profile of the individual
Looks at trauma evident on the bones to establish the pathway of a bullet or the number of stab wounds
Works with a forensic odontologist (dentist) to match dental records
Testifies in court about the identity of the individual and/or the injuries that might be evident in the skeleton

ETA: I'm catching up on the thread & just seeing Eileen730's post :blushing:

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[jennipow]

Please bear in mind that the ME would have taken many samples from the remains. So even if they have released AJ's remains to the family for burial or cremation, there would still be samples (evidence) available for other professionals to examine.

Thanks Mountain Kat, I was just getting ready to say this. Hair samples, tissue samples and the like can still be investigated. Also, they could have already been using an anthropologist before cremation, as there is no time line as to when/what they were doing. Also, that person will need to testify in court.

 

[grammy56]

Nice use of Ali G

Is it possible she was cremated but 'something' was kept for further analysis? Can they do that?

Maybe she hasn't been cremated they can still have a memorial service without ashes or body. That wouldn't surprise me one bit. To each his own.

 

[Happyshoes]

Whatever they did...it was BEFORE she was cremated.

I love that your have your degree in anthropology! You will be a big help to this group. Thanks for your thoughts.

 

[runninglowonbananas]

I love that your have your degree in anthropology! You will be a big help to this group. Thanks for your thoughts.

Any time. I'm chock full of random info about archaeology, bone forensics, as well as the origins of zombies and vampire folklore [emoji12]

 

[zapped]

Nice use of Ali G

Is it possible she was cremated but 'something' was kept for further analysis? Can they do that?[/QU

Maybe she hasn't been cremated they can still have a memorial service without ashes or body. That wouldn't surprise me one bit. To each his own.

I highly doubt she was cremated

Why you ask?

Because this is an ongoing criminal investigation where foul play is suspected. To complicate matters even further we have a VERY unusual family dynamic at work along with one family member in jail for charges related to the case.

There is also the strong likelihood, given all the circumstances, that someone known to AJ harmed her. Statistics regarding missing persons tend to back this assertion up as well.

For LE to release the body, for cremation no less, this early and under these circumstances, would be criminally negligent and a violation of their sworn oaths.

I think it FAR more likely that this an instance of bad reporting....and theres been plenty of that here.

AJ's family may have already PAID for cremation but I think even that would have raised red flags to detectives and that LE would have given an unequivocal "No!" in that regard.

 

[runninglowonbananas]

I highly doubt she was cremated

Why you ask?

Because this is an ongoing criminal investigation where foul play is suspected. To complicate matters even further we have a VERY unusual family dynamic at work along with one family member in jail for charges related to the case.

There is also the strong likelihood, given all the circumstances , that someone known to AJ harmed her. Statistic tend to back this assertion up as well.

For LE to release the body this early and under these circumstances would be criminally negligent and a violation of their sworn oaths.

I think it FAR more likely that this an instance of bad reporting....and theres been plenty of that.

I agree with you. Chances are the ME did not rush and would like further assistance in another area of expertise. I hate to bring this up but remember the eye witness of the crows in the yard? Crows don't care about preserving crime scenes and they can mess it up pretty terribly imo

 

[jennipow]

I highly doubt she was cremated

Why you ask?

Because this is an ongoing criminal investigation where foul play is suspected. To complicate matters even further we have a VERY unusual family dynamic at work along with one family member in jail for charges related to the case.

There is also the strong likelihood, given all the circumstances behind the case ,that someone known to AJ harmed her.

For LE to release the body this early and under these circumstances would be criminally negligent and a violation of their sworn oaths.

I think it FAR more likely that this a case of bad reporting....and theres been plenty of that during the course of this case.

Hi Zappped,

I had the pleasure of speaking with one of our very prominent local reporters here today because he was interviewing me about an issue that took place on my college campus. AJ has been cremated, and the COD hasn't been determined yet because no matter what the COD, a toxicology report has to be completed to be sure that nothing is left out.

 

[iamnotagolem]

I highly doubt she was cremated

Why you ask?

Because this is an ongoing criminal investigation where foul play is suspected. To complicate matters even further we have a VERY unusual family dynamic at work along with one family member in jail for charges related to the case.

There is also the strong likelihood, given all the circumstances , that someone known to AJ harmed her. Statistics regarding missing person tend to back this assertion up as well.

For LE to release the body this early and under these circumstances would be criminally negligent and a violation of their sworn oaths.

I think it FAR more likely that this an instance of bad reporting....and theres been plenty of that here.

I really hope it's a case of misreporting, like maybe the reporter asked the plans and the family said "cremation" and the reporter just assumed it'd been done already.

BUT in the Celina Cass case she was cremated right away, there has never been an arrest, the family dynamic in that case makes AJ's family look so normal. They have also never released autopsy results with COD. So hopefully we don't have another case like that or I might just lose my mind.