Forensic Identification of Unidentified Corpses From Tattoos: A Case Report

Abstract

Introduction: In the forensic identification of unidentifed corpses, several technological clinical tools are used in order to obtain data that may be relevant in the judicial investigation. One of them is the registration and documentation of tattoos. Tattoos are body modifications with marks on the skin made by impregnating the epidermis with various pigments forming diverse figures. Their presence plays a very important role in our society, as it is also in the study of forensic sciences. Case report: The naked corpse of an unidentified female was located in a sewage stream, in an advanced process of putrefaction, with no soft tissues on the face due to cadaveric anthropophagy. In the external inspection, several tattoos were located that made positive forensic identification possible. Discussion: Biometric features, scars, marks on the body and tattoos have been especially important at a legal and forensic level, their state of conservation persists even after an advanced state of cadaveric decomposition, they remain even after the loss of the superficial layers of skin Conclusions. With this report we demonstrate the usefulness of the exterior study of the corpse and inspection of tattoos in the identification of unidentified corpses.