The Accuracy of the Biological Profile in Casework: an Analysis of Forensic Anthropology Reports in Three Medical Examiners’ Offices
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 5-2017 THE ACCURACY OF THE BIOLOGICAL PROFILE IN CASEWORK: AN ANALYSIS OF FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGY REPORTS IN THREE MEDICAL EXAMINERS’ OFFICES Hillary Renee Parsons University of Tennessee, Knoxville, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss Part of the Anthropology Commons Recommended Citation Parsons, Hillary Renee, "THE ACCURACY OF THE BIOLOGICAL PROFILE IN CASEWORK: AN ANALYSIS OF FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGY REPORTS IN THREE MEDICAL EXAMINERS’ OFFICES. " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 2017. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/4490 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a dissertation written by Hillary Renee Parsons entitled "THE ACCURACY OF THE BIOLOGICAL PROFILE IN CASEWORK: AN ANALYSIS OF FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGY REPORTS IN THREE MEDICAL EXAMINERS’ OFFICES." I have examined the final electronic copy of this dissertation for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, with a major in Anthropology. Amy Z. Mundorff, Major Professor We have read this dissertation and recommend its acceptance: Dawnie W. Steadman, Benjamin M. Auerbach, Darinka P. Mileusnic Accepted for the Council: Dixie L. Thompson Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official studentecor r ds.) THE ACCURACY OF THE BIOLOGICAL PROFILE IN CASEWORK: AN ANALYSIS OF FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGY REPORTS IN THREE MEDICAL EXAMINERS’ OFFICES A Dissertation Presented for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree The University of Tennessee, Knoxville Hillary Renee Parsons May 2017 Copyright © 2017 by Hillary Renee Parsons. All rights reserved. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Words alone cannot express my sincere gratitude to all the people who have supported me during the construction of this dissertation. I would like to take the opportunity to recognize the following mentors, friends, and family. First, I would like to thank my committee members for their efforts and guidance in my graduate education and their influence on this dissertation. I am forever grateful for the contributions of my advisor, Dr. Amy Mundorff who has provided much needed confidence, encouragement, and an unwavering commitment to my success. Her experiences as a forensic practitioner and as an accomplished academic have not only influenced my research, but have inspired me in my own career. I look forward to future collaborations and many years of friendship. I would also like to thank Dr. Dawnie Steadman for pushing me, challenging my perspectives, and encouraging me to find my own path. She is an exemplarily professional, someone I look up to, and I am honored to have had the opportunity to work with her. I met Dr. Benjamin Auerbach when I interviewed for a spot in the graduate program, and luckily, he got stuck with me to the very end! I have been significantly influenced by his teachings and it was an honor to be his anatomy TA for three years. I sincerely thank Dr. Darinka Mileusnic for her interest in my project and the unique perspective she brings to this work. Furthermore, her encouragement and enthusiasm will never be forgotten. I would also like to thank Dr. Graciela Cabana for her thoughtful insight and guidance that helped lead me to this topic. She has had a tremendous influence on my education particularly with complex topics of DNA, race, and ancestry and I am eternally grateful for everything she has iii taught me. I am honored to have had all these wonderful mentors and I cannot thank them enough. I would also like to take the opportunity to thank a number of professionals who helped make this dissertation possible. Many thanks to Dr. Barbara Sampson, Dr. Bradley Adams, and Dr. Benjamin Figueroa at the New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner; Dr. Luis Sanchez, Dr. Christian Crowder, Dr. Deborah Pinto, and Dr. Sharon Derrick at the Harris County Institute of Forensic Science; and finally Dr. Gregory Hess and Dr. Bruce Anderson at the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner. Many thanks for granting me access to the casework examined in this analysis and for answering the insufferable number of questions I have asked. Additionally, I would like to extend thanks for their hospitality and their genuine interest in my project. I am honored to have forged lasting friendships during my time in Knoxville and there is simply not enough space to properly thank everyone. To my friends and esteemed colleagues, thank you for all the good times and great laughs, may we always remain friends! Frankie West and Nicole Reeves, we have been together from the beginning and I cannot imagine what life in Knoxville would have been without you. We have been through so much and I can’t wait for more as we look forward to the next chapters of our lives. I also want to thank my hometown girls Brenda Vandyke Sweeney, Beth Orser-Clementich, and Noah Massey for being my lifelong friends. You girls have never given up on me no matter where in the world I am. I would also like to extend special thanks to my parents. I have always been the independent one, rarely seeking help or advice on many matters in my life; they let me iv do my thing, and they let me do it my way. But no matter what, they have been there for me and always believed I would accomplish my goals. Finally, to my partner Owen Lang who has had tremendous patience throughout this process. Thank you for your encouragement and endless support. v ABSTRACT This dissertation examines the accuracy of the biological profile from forensic anthropology reports among 204 resolved and 284 unresolved skeletal cases at the medical examiners’ offices in New York City, NY; Harris County, TX; and Pima County, AZ. Current forensic anthropological methods used to estimate the biological profile are developed from skeletal reference collections conferring variable degrees of accuracy. Evolving standards for evidence and expert witness testimony have ushered in an era of robust statistical validation for forensic methods, yet accuracy rates are unknown in anthropological casework. Considering 40,000 sets of unidentified human remains persist in medical examiner’s offices in the United States, the purpose of this project is to provide the medicolegal community with vital statistics regarding the accuracy of the biological profile and identify trends among unresolved cases. Ancillary to this goal is to identify inconsistencies between the antemortem reporting process and the results gleaned from the biological profile. Results suggest that antemortem descriptions of race are inconsistent with biological estimations of ancestry and efforts to improve antemortem descriptions of the missing should be pursued. Results of the present study suggest the biological profile confers varying levels of accuracy among resolved casework. First, estimations of sex were correct in 100% of cases, ancestry estimation were correct in 99% of cases, age was correct in 89% of cases, and stature was correct in 73% of cases. Second, FORDISC was incorrect in 64% of resolved cases with 93% of those cases involving the Hispanic category. Third, vi antemortem stature records were largely absent suggesting stature has limited importance in resolving missing persons cases. Results also revealed a significant difference between the amounts of skeletal remains available for analysis among resolved and unresolved cases. Overall, these results show that the biological profile performs well in resolved casework, but stature performs poorly for Hispanic individuals and also does not appear to be an important factor in identifications. Further, changes should be made in the missing persons reporting process to help accurately identify the race and ancestry of the missing. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION ................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER TWO BACKGROUND .................................................................................. 6 Missing in the United States ...................................................................................... 6 Missing Persons Statistics ........................................................................................ 6 Resources for Families ............................................................................................. 7 Demographics of the Missing .................................................................................... 9 Children ................................................................................................................... 10 Marginalized Populations ........................................................................................ 12 Forensic Anthropology in the Medicolegal System .............................................. 15 The Medicolegal System ......................................................................................... 16 A Brief History of Forensic Anthropology ................................................................ 17 Forensic Anthropology Today ................................................................................