Inside the intricate process of identifying human remains by “developing a DNA profile and reading interesting characters”

WHEN a person goes missing and a body is found, forensic experts begin the arduous process of identifying the remains.

Jennifer Shen, a retired crime lab director for the San Diego Police Department, exclusively tells The US Sun that she’s seen it all and worked on thousands of cases in her 32-year career.

5

5

She expertly explained to The US Sun earlier in the week that Oklahoma investigators had to take time to confirm that the remains of a child they found belonged to Athena Brownfield, who was allegedly murdered on Christmas Day 2022 for committing herself to had to be 100 percent sure. to avoid a “terrible” mistake.

And now Shen can reveal the rigorous methodology behind the processes and why everything must be done by the book to ensure the right outcome is delivered.

“So, the thing about recovering a body, there are two parts that are really important,” Shen told The US Sun.

“The first part is that the actual recovery of the body has to be done really well and very carefully, and consider the fact that not only are you trying to recover the body, but anything around the body or inside the burial site could do that help investigators determine the cause of death and who may have buried her.”

Just because a body was found doesn’t mean the job is done. In fact, it has only just begun.

“It’s a very lengthy process to actually do the excavation,” she said.

“You would be surprised how often when someone buries the body, they bury a bunch of stuff in it that they don’t want anymore like guns, belongings they love could also be dumped in that grave.”

5

Several people may be present at a crime scene: homicide detectives, someone trained in forensics, and a crime scene specialist who takes photos, collects evidence, and transports it to the investigation.

Meanwhile, the forensic scientist reconstructs the crime scene, looks at the evidence, and tries to understand exactly what happened.

“You have to make sure you’re getting everything out of the different sites in a very systematic way,” Shen said. “So that you have the evidence you need to proceed with an investigation.

“And sometimes it helps when trying to determine the cause of death. If someone was shot, you could find the metal bullet when the cartridge case is in the grave.”

Once everyone feels they have all the information they need without disturbing the body, a medical examiner is called to collect and remove the body.

5

“Once that’s done, other areas that need to be photographed often open up and more evidence can be gathered,” Shen said.

After the body is safely dug up, the coroners get to work.

“The second part is identifying the body,” she continued.

“And there are many ways to do that in general – certainly one way to look at the physical properties is when the body isn’t too decomposed.

“If it were wrapped and insulated – like the body was wrapped in plastic and placed in a grave and it’s very cold weather – the decomposition process might be slower.

“There’s a natural process of decomposition, but sometimes it’s someone who’s out in the open somewhere and it’s the animal and bug activity that has caused some real difficulty or identification.

“In the case of Athena Brownfield, I imagine the decomposition rate isn’t as high because I assumed it was pretty cold in the middle of winter.”

But what if the face were completely unrecognizable on the body?

“Traditionally, we’ve looked at the physical characteristics,” she said.

“The dental records are very important. If you have an individual who attended regular dental appointments and has records on file, this is a very traditional way of identification.

“If you don’t have that, certainly look at the medical records to see if there’s anything unusual about that person that you might be able to see in the body.

“Look for interesting signs like birthmarks that are very, very unique, but certainly jewelry or clothing. If none of that is an option, then look for fingerprints and DNA.

“If the body isn’t too decomposed, you can fingerprint the body and then use that to identify the person, and that’s done all the time.”

The pressure, particularly in high-profile cases that are garnering national or even global attention, is extraordinarily high as concerned family and friends desperate for answers.

However, Shen said people in their former positions and their teams need to stay calm and go through the processes methodically.

Someone would be sent to the coroner’s office to bring evidence to the crime lab staff – hair samples, saliva, photos of limbs, scratches under fingernails, and possibly a sexual assault kit if needed.

Anything else that could be used in the investigation would be sent back to Shen and her colleagues.

“A technician will go to the autopsy, take fingerprints from our victim and then read what’s on the system to see if they can figure it out. And if that doesn’t work, then you’re going to look for DNA,” said the San Diego-based expert.

“With a body that’s a couple of weeks old, you might be able to use traditional methods to examine blood, bone marrow, hair samples — DNA that isn’t typically seen at a crime scene.

“And then, by developing a DNA profile, you can compare that DNA to something in that victim’s world: a favorite hairbrush, toothbrush for example — something that would have DNA on it.

“We had a very notorious case in San Diego many years ago. Three months later we found our child’s body and she was wearing a very, very distinctive necklace and choker that she never took off – it was all over her pictures.

“So when we found the body and the body had the collar around its neck, it was clear who it was.

“Everyone knows what she looked like – the body found is about the right age, she has blond hair, you can’t make out the facial features, but she wore the same necklace, so your automatic assumption, which is largely correct, is that maybe this is it the child you are looking for.

“But that needs to be more specific.

“You have to do the work to back up your assumptions. It takes a while and it’s frustrating, but they have to do all the real work to prove what they know.

“It’s a choreographed process.”

5