Personal property found on or
with the deceased may be of assistance in supporting a presumptive
identification, although it should be remembered that people may be wearing
clothing or jewellery belonging to someone else! Similarly, documents, such as
driver’s licence etc (that have survived the fire!) may not belong to the
deceased.
If there is only limited fire
damage to the body, it may be possible to obtain a visual identification of the
deceased; facial features may become distorted by heat/ fire, and such identification
may not be reliable or desirable.
Other personal characteristics include;
- Height/ weight - although there may be heat-related
shortening and weight loss (evaporation)
- Hair colour/ length
- Eye colour
- Skin colour/ tattoos
- Scars
- Surgical implants etc
- Fingerprints
- DNA
When there is marked fire
damage to the face, dental identification may be most appropriate; although
tooth enamel can survive extremes of heat, it may become friable and in such cases,
the pathologist can preserve the teeth prior to an odontological examination by
spraying them with hair lacquer/spray. If the jaws have not survived the fire,
the x-ray appearances of the frontal sinuses may be used for comparison with
ante mortem skull x-rays.
