ISSN: 0022-1198
CODEN: JFSCA
Page Count: 7

Human Osteology: Key to the Sequence of Events in a Postmortem Shooting
Owsley, DW
Forensic Anthropologist and Curator/Forensic Anthropologist, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, DC

Mann, RW
Forensic Anthropologist and Curator/Forensic Anthropologist, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, DC

(Received 21 November 1991; accepted 10 February 1992)

Abstract

Forensic anthropologic examination of human skeletal remains found when a field was plowed provides evidence of both perimortem trauma, suggesting cause of death, and of subsequent shooting of the disarticulated skeleton. The case exemplifies the application of the specialized skills and knowledge of the physical anthropologist to determination of the postmortem sequence of events.

Keywords:
physical anthropology, osteological evidence, premortem/postmortem trauma, postmortem interval, gunshot

Paper ID: JFS13329J
DOI: 10.1520/JFS13329J
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