This document discusses methods for establishing personal identity, both for living and deceased individuals. It covers parameters like physical characteristics, medical records, fingerprints, DNA, and other objective and subjective means of identification. For deceased individuals, it outlines how identity may be determined based on factors like the body's condition, belongings, and examination of remains. Methods like stature estimation from bone length and firearm wound analysis are also summarized. The document stresses the importance of personal identity determination in legal cases and investigations.

1. Establishment of individuality
of a person

2. Identity may be required in:

The living

The dead

Recently dead

Putrefied / decomposed bodies

Mutilated bodies

Remains – soft tissues / skeletal remains

3. LIVING

Computerized national identity card

Photographs – Front & profile

Permanent identification marks – moles /
scars / tatoos / birth marks

Signature / thumb impression

Identification by examination of Ires

4. IDENTITY MAY HAVE TO BE DETERMINED IN:
1. Mass disasters
2. Where C.N.I.C. Not available
3. Traffic accidents
4. Absconding soldiers
5. Mixed up babies in maternity ward
6. Lost memory patient
7. Wanted criminals
8. Impersonation

5. DETERMINATION OF PERSONAL IDENTITY

3rd party identification

Subjective methods

Objective identification

6. Parameters of Identification

Age, sex, stature , weight

Physical characters
Facial features

Eyes, nose, lips, chin, cheek, teeth, Iris – color and pattern

Secondary – sexual characters

Acquired characters e.g. scars, tatoos, fibroids etc.

Congenital characters e.g. moles

Gait, voice

Professional stigmas – water carriers, cleaners, photographers etc.

Belongings – watch, glasses, wallet

7. Personal Identity
Methods of Identification
1.
CNIC – Particulars / Photograph / Finger Prints/ Iris examination
2.
Finger Printing – Including Poroscopy
3.
Serology – DNA / Blood Grouping
4.
Cytology
5.
Osteology
6.
Radiology
7.
Examination of hair
8.
Autopsy / Post Mortem examination

8. 

3rd Party Verification Of Identity By Relatives /
Friends
Subjective :
Physical characters
 Facial features
 Height and weight
 Belongings


9. Subjective identification:
 Body as a whole:


Facial features:


Age, sex, stature , weight
Eyes, nose, lips, chin, cheek, teeth, Iris – color and pattern
Anatomical features
Primary shape of body
 Secondary – sexual characters
 Changes associated with degeneration – arcus-senalis, cataract,
osteoarthritic changes – Teeth – eruption / morphology / wear
and tear


10. 








stature = 12.67 + 2.09 x (femur length
+ sum of lumbar vertebrae)
• stature = 48.63 + 2.32 x (tibia length
+ sum of lumbar vertebrae
Adjustments to Stature
• Stature lost with increasing age
• Bone shrinkage
• Reported vs. Measured stature
• Age of individual

11. Estimation of stature (length /height)

Entire skeleton length +1½for soft tissues

Tip middle finger to tip middle finger

Length of arm x 2 + 13½ (Clavicle + Sternum)

12. Stature from long bone
Length of bone x Multiplication Factor
Bone
Humerus
Radius
Ulna
Femur
Tibia
Fibula
M.F
5.0
6.3
6.0
3.6
4.2
4.4

13. Objective methods

Morphological data – height – weight – peculiarities

Belongings

Non biological – clothes and stains , Watch, glasses, cell
phone, visiting cards etc.

Biological – hair, nails, bones [resist putrefaction]

Stains – blood / semen / saliva.

14. ANTHROPOMETRY

Anthropometry – Bertillon – after age 21 the
individual ceases to grow in size – measurement of
various parts of body remain unchanged – 14
measurements are to be taken:

Length and Breadth of Head, Length of Fingers, Size of
Feet and Toes Etc – Similarity Chances 1:286 – Tedious
Process – Replaced By:

15. Dactylography – Finger printing – Galton System

Ridges on finger tips make patterns peculiar to each
individual – Purkinje, Henry Faulds, Frances Galton,
Edward Henry – Chances of similarity 1:64000 million
Contd.

16. 
What comes out of the muzzle?

Flame – burning / singeing of hair – few inches (the gases heated
up to 5200oF)

Projectile – entry wound (bullets are never “red hot” – 69oC – 110oC)

Cone of compressed gases – tearing of skin & tissues

Soot – blackening in & around the wound

Powder grains – deposition in & around the wound – tattooing

Wad – In case of shot gun

17. Firearm Wound Complex

Wounding elements


Non wounding elements
Soot, powder grains and grease
TANDEM BULLETS
When the first bullet fails to leave the barrel, and is ejected
by the subsequently fired
bullets; the bullets are ejected one before the other and are
known as tandem bullets.




Flame, projectile, hot gases, wad

18. Firearm Wound Complex has four parts
1. Entry wound
2. Track of the wound –also grazing & gutter wounds
3. Place of resting of projectile
4. Exit wound

19. Entry Wound Complex – Depends upon:

Type of bullet – low / high velocity

Angle of fire – direction of fire – circular / oval

Tail wag effects – distance

Explosive effects – Distance of the muzzle from the
target

20. Entry Wound (Rifled Weapons) may be:

Firm contact wound

Loose contact wound

Short range

Medium range

Long range

21. Entry Wound
Firm Contact Loose Contact Short Range Medium Range Long Range

22. Firm Contact

In bony areas:

Muzzle imprint

Explosive appearance of wound – stellate (Arranged in a
radiating pattern like that of a star.)appearance – due to
discharge of compressed gases

Searing of wound margins

Soot, gases (red cherry appearance), powder grains inside
the wound – may be deposited on the underlying bone

26. 
Firm contact on the non bony areas:

Muzzle imprint – may not be obvious

Entry wound circular / oval equal to diameter of
the muzzle

Searing of edges of wound

Soot and powder grains inside the wound

28. 
Loose Contact

Entry wound with searing

Soot deposited around the wound – light zone near
the wound and dense deposition at the periphery of
the light zone (corona)

Hair burned (singeing) – blown away by gases

33. 
Short Range – 3 to 6 inches

Wound – round / oval

Soot deposition and powder grains around
the wound – Removed by wiping

Singeing / clubbing of hair

36. 
Medium Range – 12 to 18 inches

Wound

Tattooing (powder tattooing) – driving in of powder
grains into the skin – reddish brown – orange red
punctate lesions surrounding the entry wound
 Cannot be cleaned with wiping

40. 
Long Range

Wound – round / oval, inverted margins

Collar of abrasion round / oval – due to
spinning of the bullet

43. Track of the wound – Direction

From entry wound to place of resting of bullet or
exit

Grazing wound

Gutter wounds

46. Exit Wound

Great variations in appearance

Larger diameter than entry wound with averted margins

Shored exit – skin supported-abrasion collar may be seen

Pellets / shots rarely make exit

47. Age of Bruise
Color changes – due to changes in released
Haemoglobin
1. Red-fresh
2. Bluish – bluish purple / bluish black –
deoxygenated (few hrs to 48 hrs)




Brownish  Haemosiderin  4 – 5 days
Greenish  Haemotidin  5 – 7 days
Yellowish  Bilirubin  7 – 10 days
Normal color  10 – 15 days

48. 
Shotgun use cartridges having cylindrical body and
metallic base – having anvil

The cartridge holds primer – paper wad – propellant
mass – piston wad / mono wad – shots – terminal wad

Shots may be contained in a plastic cup / mono wad

Obturation achieved by wad

Dispersion of shots depends on the type of wad, size of
pellets & choking

50. Types of Wads:

Plastic hard disc

Hard board

Paper wad

Piston wad – felt or mono wad cup of plastic
holding shots – petals of wad crumpled down
to hold shots – petals open & leaves strike the
skin producing patterned abrasions

54. 
Wounding elements of shotgun are:


Shots – defect – cutting effect


Flame – searing / burning
Wad – abrasion / laceration
Non wounding elements include:

Smoke / soot

Powder grains

55. Firm Contact
 On bony areas





Large explosive wound of entry – wad inside
Searing of wound edges
Soot inside the wound
Bursting fractures of skull as exit wound
On soft tissues
Entry wound of the size of muzzle – wad inside
 Searing of wound edges
 Soot inside the wound


56. 
Loose contact



Entry wound – wad inside
Soot deposition around the wound
Short Range

Single wound

Wad inside / abrasion – laceration near the wound

Powder grains

57. 
Medium Range – Up to 3 feet

Single wound

Piston wad inside the wound

Tattooing

58. 
Long Range – Dispersion – pallets number / mono wad
 3 feet
 Single wound-wad inside
 Tattooing
 6 feet
 Large wound with one or two satellite pallet wounds
 Wad injury may be present
 9 feet
 Spread of pallets with a central hole
 12 feet
 Pallets making separate injuries
 Beyond 12 feet
 Spread of pallets
 Range – spread of pallets in inches = distance in meters
(depending on chocking)

59. Shaheen Pak Cartridges:

Velocity of shots – 30 m /sec

Spread of shots – 70 cm diameter at 35 meters

60. Exit Wound

Pallets rarely exit – may be lying under the skin

Billiard ball effect

The pallets arranged in groups come out in the same
group pattern

The 1st group of pallets hitting the target – retarded by
loss of velocity – hit on the back by the 2nd group of
pallets & consequently hit by the 3rd group

61. 
The 1st pallets round on one side and flattened on the
opposite side

The 2nd round of pallets flattened on both sides

The 3rd row flattened on front side and round on the
back

76. Medicolegal Importance of Firearm Injuries

Weapon – rifled / smooth bore – low velocity /
high velocity – recovery of projectile / wad

Range / distance – wound complex – never
commit on accurate range

77. Angle of fire / Direction

Shape of wound

Track – dissection / X-Rays

Join entry & exit (mind ricocheting)

78. Nature of injuries
Suicidal

Scene (locus) / selective sites / contact / direction
/ number / soot soiling – hand / weapon available
Homicidal

Vulnerable / any site / any range / direction /
varying number / weapon absent (present ?)

79. Accidental

Front of body / usually medium range / directed
from below upwards / weapon available
Self inflicted / Fabricated

Selective / easily accessible – non vulnerable site /
range contact – short / direction right to left above
downwards / cloth defect not corresponding

80. Cause of Death

W H O certification of cause of death

Cause directly leading to death

Antecedent causes

Contributing causes

81. Number of Wounds

Exact number of wounds with characteristics

Shape / margins / searing

Odd and even rule

One bullet producing multiple entries / exits

82. Recovery of Projectile

From lodging site – soft / rubber clad forceps

X-Ray may be used for detection of bullet

Recovery of wad in shotgun injuries &

Representative samples of pallets / shots