Human Remains in Marine Environments: Challenges and Future Developments

Ribéreau-Gayon, Agathe; Rando, Carolyn; Morgan, Ruth M.

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-94397-8_9

Cited by 7 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 93 publications

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“…The abortion of the attack may be explained by the thin density of flesh on the thorax, compared with fleshier areas on the body, such as the calves where the swimmer in question exhibited a complete deep cookiecutter bitemark [20]. A large-scale study conducted on the victims of the 2009 Yemenia airplane crash in the Indian Ocean identified the thorax area as the most frequently bitten by cookiecutter sharks (29.1% of the 560 bitemarks analysed) [9, 39]. As a complementary argument in favour of the involvement of I. brasiliensis in the bitemark analysed here, the species has been reported a few times in Hawaii, where the present case occurred [20, 33].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

New evidence of predation on humans by cookiecutter sharks in Kauai, Hawaii

Ribéreau-Gayon

Carter

Regan³

2018

Int J Legal Med

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The feeding patterns of species of large sharks on human corpses are well documented in the literature however, that of smaller sharks are less known. This may introduce uncertainty in the medicolegal conclusions. For that reason, accurate identification of patterns of shark predation is very relevant, specifically in areas bordered by the sea. In the case described here, an unidentified lesion was noted on the body of a victim of a scuba diving accident off the island of Kauai, in Hawaii. The aim of this study was to identify the origin of the lesion and investigate its potential to inform on the context of death and/or decomposition. The original outline of the lesion was digitally reconstructed to enable the collection of measurements which were compared with the literature and interpreted with an interdisciplinary approach. This approach permitted to determine that the macroscopic appearance and dimensions of the lesion (major axis = 3.53 cm) were consistent with a bitemark of a cookiecutter shark (Isistius brasiliensis). It was further determined that the bitemark was incomplete and that the specimen involved had a total length of about 24 cm and was likely to be a juvenile. This is the second report in the published literature of cookiecutter bitemarks on humans in the Hawaiian waters. This study brings new evidence-based insights into the interactions between cookiecutter sharks and human remains in marine environments and provides a valuable contribution to the knowledge base on the topic.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

New evidence of predation on humans by cookiecutter sharks in Kauai, Hawaii

Ribéreau-Gayon

Carter

Regan³

2018

Int J Legal Med

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“…As such, these two main categories of patterns may have the potential to indicate whether the remains are more likely to be within relatively ‘shorter PMIs’ (≤25 days) or ‘longer PMIs’ (>25 days). These indicators within the decomposition process could constitute a helpful triage phase in the midst of a forensic investigation involving human remains [10].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[27][28][29][30][31]. Under certain conditions, decomposition can be slowed down or even 'halted', including due to freezing, desiccation and/or adipocere [10,12,25,[32][33][34][35][36][37]. These phenomena yield an overall preservation of the remains which may introduce uncertainty in the evaluation of the extent of decomposition and the estimation of PMI.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Decomposition processes can serve as evidence in their own right in forensic investigations [7,8]. In recent years, the truly interdisciplinary nature of forensic taphonomy is becoming more and more acknowledged [9,10], thus potentially migrating towards a more 'standalone' field of research, and not necessarily as part of a parent discipline such as forensic anthropology.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Developing a new scoring method to evaluate human decomposition in a humid, continental (Dfb) climate in Quebec

Ribéreau-Gayon

Carter

Forbes

2023

Journal of Forensic Sciences

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The published literature shows a lack of methods to evaluate the patterns and extent of decomposition of human remains and to estimate the post‐mortem interval (PMI) in humid, continental (Dfb) climates such as Quebec. The aim of this study was to address this gap in the current knowledge base by providing the first observations from human corpses studied under controlled conditions in Quebec. A 12‐month study was conducted at the site for Research in Experimental and Social Thanatology; the first human taphonomy facility in Canada. Six human donors with known time of death were deposited across spring (n = 1), summer (n = 3), and autumn (n = 2) 2021. The lack of suitability of the total body score method to evaluate the extent of decomposition at the facility prompted the development of a new scoring system based on the macromorphoscopic changes observed. The scoring system was applied to the donors to evaluate decomposition throughout seasons. All donors followed comparable decomposition trajectories, regardless of the season of deposition. Eighty‐five percent of taphonomic patterns appeared in the first 25 experimental days or 5000 Kelvin accumulated degree days (350 ADD). Extensive desiccation of tissues was observed at a median of 21 experimental days across donors, resulting in a plateau within decomposition with no extensive skeletonization. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first published report of experimentally observed desiccation in such a form in a Dfb climate. This study provides new data on the types of decomposition patterns to expect in forensic investigations in southern Quebec and comparable climates.

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“…Water-related deaths in outdoor water environments can occur for multiple reasons, including unintentional drowning [1][2][3], suicide [4,5], and homicide [6,7]. Drowning alone is the third leading cause of accidental death globally [8], and many of these people are either never recovered or never identified [9][10][11][12][13][14]. Recovery of decedents from the water is necessary for identification, determination of cause and manner of death, and return of the remains to the family.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Water‐related fatalities: An examination of body displacement and recovery patterns in British Columbia, Canada

Martlin,

Bell

2023

Journal of Forensic Sciences

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Early recovery of human bodies from the water requires an understanding of how a body acts in the water. However, there is currently a lack of baseline data surrounding body movement in British Columbian (B.C.) waters. This study aims to assist Canadian response agencies with understanding and predicting body movement in outdoor waterbodies in B.C. One hundred and eighty‐six water‐related fatalities in B.C. waters, including lakes, rivers, and the coastal Pacific Ocean, were examined to determine the recovery times and displacement patterns of submerged decedents. Cases between 2010 and 2021 were extracted from the Police Records Information Management Environment (PRIME‐BC) for analysis. Most deaths were unintentional, followed by suicide and homicide, and most often occurred in rivers, followed by lakes and the ocean. Regardless of waterbody, the first day was the most successful recovery period, with decedents most often recovered close to the incident location. Nearly 16% of individuals in this study were not recovered. Recovery success was greatest in lakes, followed by rivers and the ocean. Body displacement was the least in lakes, while rivers resulted in the furthest and most variable displacement. Low recovery success in the ocean is likely due to decedents being quickly displaced out of the search area, never to be found. The results of this study suggest that knowledge of body movement in outdoor aquatic environments remains incomplete. Further empirical research based on known data is necessary to continue improving prediction of body movement and increase early recovery success.

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Human Remains in Marine Environments: Challenges and Future Developments

Cited by 7 publications

References 93 publications

New evidence of predation on humans by cookiecutter sharks in Kauai, Hawaii

New evidence of predation on humans by cookiecutter sharks in Kauai, Hawaii

Developing a new scoring method to evaluate human decomposition in a humid, continental (Dfb) climate in Quebec

Water‐related fatalities: An examination of body displacement and recovery patterns in British Columbia, Canada

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