Disposal of a Homicide Victim by Dismemberment and Burning

Burning can have a profound effect on the appearance of bone and increase its susceptibility to mechanical damage. In criminal cases where there has been a deliberate attempt to dispose of human remains in this way; there is also often a need to distinguish between damage caused by heat, ante-mortem and peri-mortem trauma, and post-mortem damage. This case demonstrates how the forensic anthropologist and archaeologist contributed to a complex investigation where a homicide victim had been dismembered, burned and concealed. The use of archaeological and anthropological techniques at the scene, in the mortuary and the laboratory, provided evidence that enabled the sequence of events surrounding the disposal of the deceased to be reconstructed. The expert witness testimony given in court showed the benefits of employing these skills and assisted in securing the conviction of the offenders who are both serving life sentences.

Emerging Narratives in the Wake of Homicide: Victim, Survivor and Transcender

This work draws upon participant observation of 96 victim-centred events, 36 intensive interviews with individuals who had lost loved ones to homicide (co-victims), and content analysis of a variety of written narratives. Using a symbolic interactionist framework, it presents three narrative types that were found to emerge in the wake of violent loss. Termed ‘victim’, ‘survivor’, and ‘transcender’ narratives, this paper demonstrates how each narrative type is distinct in terms of focus, tone and purpose. In doing so, it offers insight into the aftermath of crime as it relates to the victim experience.

Homicide and impunity: an ecological analysis at state level in Brazil

OBJECTIVE: To assess a new impunity index and variables that have been found to predict variation in homicide rates in other geographical levels as predictive of state-level homicide rates in Brazil. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional ecological study. Data from the mortality information system relating to the 27 Brazilian states for the years 1996 to 2005 were analyzed. The outcome variables were taken to be homicide victim rates in 2005, for the entire population and for men aged 20-29 years. Measurements of economic and social development, economic inequality, demographic structure and life expectancy were analyzed as predictors. An "impunity index", calculated as the total number of homicides between 1996 and 2005 divided by the number of individuals in prison in 2007, was constructed. The data were analyzed by means of simple linear regression and negative binomial regression. RESULTS: In 2005, state-level crude total homicide rates ranged from 11 to 51 per 100,000; for young men, they ranged from 39 to 241. The impunity index ranged from 0.4 to 3.5 and was the most important predictor of this variability. From negative binomial regression, it was estimated that the homicide victim rate among young males increased by 50% for every increase of one point in this ratio. CONCLUSIONS: Classic predictive factors were not associated with homicides in this analysis of state-level variation in Brazil. However, the impunity index indicated that the greater the impunity, the higher the homicide rate.