Identification of War Victims from Mass Graves in Croatia, Bosnia, and Herzegovina by the Use of Standard Forensic Methods and DNA Typing

Abstract

The postmortem remains of sixty-one war victims were excavated from 6 mass graves in Bosnia and Herzegovina one and a half years after interment. Using standard identification methods, including the matching of medical and dental records, the recognition of distinguishing characteristics such as the use of clothing and belongings, and video superimposition, 35 persons were identified. For the remaining 26 persons identification efforts continue. DNA typing was performed at the HLA DQA1 locus and five PM system loci. Results from DNA typing were confirmed by other methods. DNA profiles of family members of 150 missing persons are now being developed using the 6 loci. These DNA profiles will then be compared with those generated from the bone and teeth remains of the unidentified victims.

Identification and analysis of human remains recovered from wells from the 1991 War in Croatia

“…The most simple are visual recognition and fingerprint analysis. In poorly preserved remains, or in the absence of useable dermatogliphics, the identification team tries to narrow the range of possible matches using basic data such as age-at-death, sex, and stature, and then to establish or reject positive identification based on forensic DNA testing [5,28], dental records [3,4,29,30], or comparisons of antemortem and postmortem X-rays [31][32][33][34].…”

“…The process of recovering and identifying human remains from individual and mass graves has proven to be the most effective method of resolving the fate of missing individuals in the former Yugoslavia [1][2][3][4][5][6][7]. The primary objective of these efforts is two-fold: first, to identify and determine if possible the manner of death of the recovered individuals, and second, to bring closure to living family members, thus supporting the human rights of both the living and the deceased.…”

Preliminary DNA Identification for the Tsunami Victims in Thailand

“…The forensic value of mt-DNA relies on the sequence variability of the D-loop between individuals, and the maternally inherited nature of mitochondria makes it suitable for matching blood relatives of maternal inheritance. In addition to skin, blood, semen, saliva, and the usual body remains for forensic DNA identification, mt-DNA has also been extracted from teeth and used for such purpose 6., 7.. Because the tooth specimens of the tsunami victims were badly degraded and could not be used to obtain satisfactory nuclear STR profiling, we decided to sequence mt-DNA from the tooth specimens to salvage as much information as we can.…”

Interaction of humic acids with human DNA: Proposed mechanisms and kinetics

“…The problems that forensic scientists are most often faced with while working with DNA extracted from bones and teeth samples recovered from mass graves or mass disaster sites, are low DNA quantity, high DNA degradation, DNA contamination, and presence of inhibitors [1,2]. Humic substances are ubiquitous in soil and water and can contaminate any exposed material, which in turn renders false-negative results [3].…”