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Comparison of false starts by saw created on flesh and dry bones; as close as possible to the real conditions of criminal dismemberment

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Abstract

In most experimental protocols, false starts are produced on dry bones obtained through a maceration process for anthropological analyses, for the sake of reproducibility. Although this allows for controlled experimental conditions, the absence of soft parts when experimentally creating false starts does not correspond to the real conditions of criminal dismemberment. The main objective of this study was to determine if the results of experimental work on the characteristics of false starts were valid under medico-legal conditions. In this experimental study, a hand saw (rip saw, wavy set, TPI 32) was used. 240 false starts were produced on human and pig bones. Randomly, the false starts were either produced on a dry bone or on a flesh bone. The criteria for microscopic analysis included the shape of the walls, the shape and visibility of striae on the floor, the shape of the profile, and the minimum width of the false start. On human bone, 100% of the false starts produced on a bone that had previously undergone a maceration process for anthropological analyses (dry bone) allowed the definition of all the blade characteristics. This was the case for 78.3% on bone in the presence of soft tissue (flesh bone). The striae on the floor of the false start are in some cases less visible with flesh bones, implying that it may be more difficult to conclude on the characteristics of a saw under medico-legal conditions.

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No funding was received for conducting this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

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

    Caroline Bernardi, Luísa Nogueira & Véronique Alunni

  2. UMR E4320 TIRO-MATOs CEA/DRF/Institut Joliot, Université Nice Sophia- Antipolis, Université Côte d’Azur, Nice, France

    Caroline Bernardi & Georges F. Carle

  3. Service de Radiologie, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nice, Hôpital Pasteur 2, 30 Voie Romaine, Nice, 06000, France

    Nicolas Amoretti

  4. Laboratoire de Médecine Moléculaire, FRE CNRS 3472 Nice. iBV, Institut de Biologie Valrose, Université Côte d’Azur UMR7277 CNRS – UMR1091 INSERM, Nice, France

    Nicolas Amoretti

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  1. Caroline Bernardi
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  2. Luísa Nogueira
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  3. Nicolas Amoretti
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  4. Georges F. Carle
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  5. Véronique Alunni
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Correspondence to Caroline Bernardi.

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Bernardi, C., Nogueira, L., Amoretti, N. et al. Comparison of false starts by saw created on flesh and dry bones; as close as possible to the real conditions of criminal dismemberment. Int J Legal Med (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-024-03256-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-024-03256-6

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