A couple of months ago, I stumbled across this case. I was drawn in by the hi-res photos of the skull. While looking at them, it appeared to me that it was more typically Asian than Caucasian. I have no formal training in forensics, but I have read a considerable amount of material on it, mostly journal articles. Here's my basis for thinking this:
1. Rounded orbitals, or eye sockets, Asian bone structure tends to have rounded orbitals while Caucasians tend to have rectangular orbits with rounded corners.
2. Minimal brow ridge. Caucasians tend to have a moderate to pronounced brow ridge.
3. Rounded nasal aperture, or opening, Caucasians tend to have elongated nasal apertures.
4. Nasal index, which is a comparison of nasal length beginning at the nasal root to the width of the aperture. In this case it's approximately 51, which is within the typical range for Asians (48-53).
5. The base of the nose opening, the nasal sill, appears to be rounded, while Caucasians tend to have a sharp sill with a defined, rough edge.
6. Tented nasal bridge. Caucasians tend to have a have a steepled bridge. This refers to the upward angle of the bridge. Think of it as a comparison of the roof of a church steeple and the roof of a tent.
7. The zygomatic arch appears to angle outward, while it has little angle in Caucasians.
Based on this, I created the following reconstruction.
Using bony landmarks, some knowledge of anatomy, and standard facial proportions, I painted over an image the skull. Focusing on how muscle, and fat overlay the bone, rather than standard tissue depths, I think the result should be more accurate than other methods. But, the ultimate test will be finding a match.
