Vault sutures have proven their low reliability for estimating age at death in individual forensic science cases. We broke down the palatine sutures of 134 skulls (with known sex and age at time of death) into 15 subparts and 5 stages of fusion to obtain a mean coefficient of obliteration (Cp) which was then linked to five age classes. We completed this study with multiple regression equations of total palatine suture scores. We compared our results with those obtained using the Mann method on the one hand and classically segmented and scored ectocranial suture age determination methods on the other. Palatine sutures generally do not estimate age at death any better than cranial vault sutures. Despite the partly subjective aspect of suture study, palatine suture observation contributes additional information to age-range estimation, especially in old and very old subjects where other methods lose their effectiveness.

One of the most important reasons to identify unknown persons is because non-identification may result in numerous issues at emotional and legal level for the surviving family members and friends. To reach a level of scientific supported positive identification, which can withstand international legal scrutiny, the identification process of mass disaster victims requires a well-structured and pre-planned management based upon the international Interpol DVI Standing Committee guidelines. The handling of the December 2004 Tsunami disaster, affecting people of different nationalities and ethnic origins, will be used as an example to illustrate this methodology and standard operating protocols which can be used under similar circumstances. The activities of the Belgian DVI Team in the Khao Lak area, as part of the multinational help force bringing assistance to the local Thai law enforcement agencies, is discussed. Taking part in the first operations of identification, we were confronted with the hard reality of the hugeness of this planetary tragedy having made on the whole more than 200,000 victims. Differences in composition of the teams and their working philosophies are illustrated, based on the experience of the Belgian multidisciplinary team including scientific forensic experts (pathology, anthropology, odontology), police officers, members of the civil protection (with their technical capabilities in particular working conditions), but also a physician, a nurse and a stress team. Some of the applied methods and techniques used in the identification process were reviewed and suggestions given about how improvements can be made for future reference.

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The Belgian disaster victim identification (DVI) team is involved in many investigations in our country. Indeed, this specialized team of the federal police oversees searching for and investigating criminally buried dead bodies, identification of unknown putrefied corpses, and more. The Belgian DVI team also assists with the identification of victims of mass disasters (natural, accidental, and mass murders). In this article, we consider the contributions of different teams (forensic pathology, anthropology, and odontology, federal police, and crime scene investigation) both on the scene of the attack at the Brussels National Airport (Zaventem) and in the laboratory work (autopsies, sample studies).