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Twenty-five years of unidentified bodies: an account from Milano, Italy

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Abstract

The identification of decedents has always been a central issue in forensic pathology, for ethical, criminal, and administrative reasons, but today, it needs more attention due to issues related not only to migration but also to the weakening of family ties. This article presents a descriptive study discussing the Italian regulatory situation developed in the last decade to face the many identification issues, with all its improvements and flaws. Hence, data gathered in 25 years of at the Institute of Legal Medicine of Milan and the epidemiology of unidentified decedents are illustrated. Briefly, from 1995 to 2019, the number of unidentified human remains with no identity or requesting verification of identity amounts to 726, i.e., 3% circa of all autopsies performed at the Institute, with an average of 29 individuals per year. In total, 528 (72.7%) individuals were successfully identified, 100 (13.8%) remained without an identity, and 98 (13.5%) individuals remained with suspected yet unconfirmed identities. Percentages for each identification technique are displayed, with insight into the role of forensic anthropology and odontology compared to genetics, and into the misuse of non-scientific methods allowed by Public Prosecutors. All the data is compared, as much as possible, with the very few recent studies concerning the problem worldwide. Finally, the article aims to show the Italian experience in dealing with unidentified bodies, in order to provide food for thought for other countries toward a discussion regarding a global issue which is sometimes taken for granted and underestimated.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. LABANOF, Laboratorio Di Antropologia E Odontologia Forense, Istituto Di Medicina Legale, Dipartimento Di Scienze Biomediche Per La Salute, Università Degli Studi Di Milano, via Luigi Mangiagalli 37, 20133, Milano, Italy

    Debora Mazzarelli, Lorenzo Milotta, Lorenzo Franceschetti, Lidia Maggioni, Vera Gloria Merelli, Pasquale Poppa, Davide Porta, Danilo De Angelis & Cristina Cattaneo

Authors
  1. Debora Mazzarelli
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  2. Lorenzo Milotta
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  3. Lorenzo Franceschetti
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  4. Lidia Maggioni
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  5. Vera Gloria Merelli
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  6. Pasquale Poppa
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  7. Davide Porta
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  8. Danilo De Angelis
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  9. Cristina Cattaneo
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Contributions

Mazzarelli D. and Milotta L. equally contributed to this work. They devised the project and the main conceptual idea of the article, collected data, drafted the manuscript and performed literature research.

Franceschetti L., corresponding author, devised the project of the article and drafted the manuscript.

Merelli V.G. realized important contribution to the article’s review and editing.

Maggioni L., Poppa P., Porta D. and De Angelis D contributed to design of the study and collected data.

Cattaneo C., guarantor of the project, designed and directed the study, devised the main conceptual idea of the article.

All the authors discussed the results and commented on the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Lorenzo Franceschetti.

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This study was performed from data from human cadavers. This article does not contain any studies with (living) human participants or animals performed by any of the Authors. The data were acquired as part of a forensic judicial investigation and in accordance to Italian Police Mortuary Regulation.

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Not applicable.

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Mazzarelli, D., Milotta, L., Franceschetti, L. et al. Twenty-five years of unidentified bodies: an account from Milano, Italy. Int J Legal Med 135, 1983–1991 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-021-02560-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-021-02560-9

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