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Analysis of false starts lesions on human bones produced by two hand saws with high TPI

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Abstract

Cases of criminal dismemberment are encountered in forensic pathology and forensic anthropology. Saw mark analysis aims to determine the type of saw that was used: hand saw versus electrical saw, crosscut and universal saw versus rip saw, size of the teeth (“teeth per inch” TPI), and set type. The goal of this study was to analyze using a stereomicroscope a series of 60 experimental false starts (30 lesions for each saw) produced on human bones by two different handsaws with a high TPI (15 and 32). The lesions caused by these high TPI saws have rarely been described in the forensic literature. Saw 2 (rip hacksaw with a 32 TPI and a wavy set) displayed classical features. In contrast, saw 1 (universal panel saw, TPI 15, alternating set) did not produce the expected characteristics: the minimum width of the kerf was weak, the kerf walls were straight, the striae were straight, and the kerf profile was very peculiar with a succession of peaks and dips that has not yet been described.

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Acknowledgments

We thank very much Marie-Catherine Francino for English editing and for her relevant advice.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut Universitaire d’Anthropologie Médico-Légale, Faculté de Médecine, Université Côte d’Azur, 28 Avenue de Valombrose, 06107, Nice Cedex 2, France

    Caroline Bernardi, Luísa Nogueira, Coraline Cabusat-Mailliet, Véronique Alunni & Gérald Quatrehomme

  2. UMR E4320 TIRO-MATOs CEA/DRF/BIAM, Université Côte d’Azur, Nice, France

    Caroline Bernardi & Georges Carle

  3. CEPAM (UMR CNRS 7264), 24 avenue des Diables Bleus, 06300, Nice, France

    Véronique Alunni & Gérald Quatrehomme

Authors
  1. Caroline Bernardi
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  2. Luísa Nogueira
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  3. Coraline Cabusat-Mailliet
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  4. Georges Carle
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  5. Véronique Alunni
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  6. Gérald Quatrehomme
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Correspondence to Caroline Bernardi.

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Highlights

- A stereomicroscopic study of false start lesions in human bones caused by two different handsaws with a high TPI (15 and 32).

- The rip hacksaw with a 32 TPI and a wavy set displayed classical features.

- The universal panel saw, TPI 15, and an alternating set did not show expected features.

- The kerf profile was very peculiar with a succession of peaks and dips that was not described before.

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Bernardi, C., Nogueira, L., Cabusat-Mailliet, C. et al. Analysis of false starts lesions on human bones produced by two hand saws with high TPI. Int J Legal Med 134, 613–618 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-020-02251-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-020-02251-x

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