Abstract
It is becoming increasingly difficult to detect homicide victims buried in unmarked graves using cadaver recovery dogs during forensic investigations because assassins now use chemicals to supress smell of victims before clandestine burial. Recently, geophysical surveys have been used to successfully recover bodies of homicide victims buried in unmarked graves during forensic investigations. This study presents and discusses the results of a geophysical study in an ancient graveyard in Nigeria where multiple-electrode resistivity surveys were undertaken to characterize the near-surface soil and rocks in the graveyard for potential forensic applications. Geo-resistivity data were acquired within and outside the graveyard. The data were processed to invert 2D resistivity models used to interpret subsurface features. The section dominated by old graves dated between 1994 and 2012 showed features of disturbed stratigraphy and geo-resistivity patterns associated with digging, excavation, and soil in-fills, while the area dominated by recent graves showed low resistivity anomalies associated with bodily fluids produced by the decomposing human bodies in the graves in addition to the signatures of digging, excavation, and soil in-fills within the top 4-m depth. The low resistivity anomalies and disturbed stratigraphic features were absent in the model of locations outside the graveyard. Findings from the study confirmed the appropriateness of the geophysical method for locating graves and human burials during forensic investigations. This study, being the first of its kind in the geological environment, is critical to the creation of a geo-forensic database in a country with the highest cases of missing persons in Africa.
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The authors are grateful to the unnamed community for permitting the publication of this study. The anonymous reviewers and the editorial members of this journal are gratefully acknowledged for useful suggestions that improved the quality of this paper.
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Raji, W.O., Addamah, M. & Suleiman, M. Subsurface characterization in an ancient graveyard with potential applications to forensic investigations. Bull Eng Geol Environ 82, 38 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-022-03054-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-022-03054-7