Recovery of fingerprints and identification of a dismembered body: A crime of passion

Abstract

The body of a young woman was dismembered and placed in several plastic bags and left on a public road. Her death was the result of a crime of passion. Upon medico-legal examination, no skin was found on the palmar side of the distal and medial phalanges of all finger pads on both hands (which were also dismembered). Through the process of finger pad recovery, it was possible to find tissues that had adhered to the body and reposition the exactly on each finger to recover fingerprints. Finally, the victim was identified using the conventional fingerprinting process.

Keywords

• Finger pads
• Dismemberment
• Identification of bodies
• Fingerprints
• Dermatoglyphics