the accuracy of the biological profile in casework

279 Pages·2017·1.48 MB·English

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Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School
5-2017
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Hillary Renee Parsons
University of Tennessee, Knoxville, [email protected]
Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss
Part of the Anthropology Commons
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Parsons, Hillary Renee, "THE ACCURACY OF THE BIOLOGICAL PROFILE IN CASEWORK: AN ANALYSIS OF
FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGY REPORTS IN THREE MEDICAL EXAMINERS’ OFFICES. " PhD diss., University
of Tennessee, 2017.
https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/4490
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[email protected].
To the Graduate Council:
I am submitting herewith a dissertation written by Hillary Renee Parsons entitled "THE
ACCURACY OF THE BIOLOGICAL PROFILE IN CASEWORK: AN ANALYSIS OF FORENSIC
ANTHROPOLOGY REPORTS IN THREE MEDICAL EXAMINERS’ OFFICES." I have examined the
final electronic copy of this dissertation for form and content and recommend that it be
accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, with a
major in Anthropology.
Amy Z. Mundorff, Major Professor
We have read this dissertation and recommend its acceptance:
Dawnie W. Steadman, Benjamin M. Auerbach, Darinka P. Mileusnic
Accepted for the Council:
Dixie L. Thompson
Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School
(Original signatures are on file with official student records.)
THE ACCURACY OF THE BIOLOGICAL PROFILE IN
CASEWORK: AN ANALYSIS OF FORENSIC
ANTHROPOLOGY REPORTS IN THREE MEDICAL
EXAMINERS’ OFFICES

A Dissertation Presented for the
Doctor of Philosophy
Degree
The University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Hillary Renee Parsons
May 2017
Copyright © 2017 by Hillary Renee Parsons.
All rights reserved.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Words alone cannot express my sincere gratitude to all the people who have
supported me during the construction of this dissertation. I would like to take the
opportunity to recognize the following mentors, friends, and family.
First, I would like to thank my committee members for their efforts and guidance
in my graduate education and their influence on this dissertation. I am forever grateful
for the contributions of my advisor, Dr. Amy Mundorff who has provided much needed
confidence, encouragement, and an unwavering commitment to my success. Her
experiences as a forensic practitioner and as an accomplished academic have not only
influenced my research, but have inspired me in my own career. I look forward to future
collaborations and many years of friendship. I would also like to thank Dr. Dawnie
Steadman for pushing me, challenging my perspectives, and encouraging me to find my
own path. She is an exemplarily professional, someone I look up to, and I am honored
to have had the opportunity to work with her. I met Dr. Benjamin Auerbach when I
interviewed for a spot in the graduate program, and luckily, he got stuck with me to the
very end! I have been significantly influenced by his teachings and it was an honor to
be his anatomy TA for three years. I sincerely thank Dr. Darinka Mileusnic for her
interest in my project and the unique perspective she brings to this work. Furthermore,
her encouragement and enthusiasm will never be forgotten. I would also like to thank
Dr. Graciela Cabana for her thoughtful insight and guidance that helped lead me to this
topic. She has had a tremendous influence on my education particularly with complex
topics of DNA, race, and ancestry and I am eternally grateful for everything she has
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taught me. I am honored to have had all these wonderful mentors and I cannot thank
them enough.
I would also like to take the opportunity to thank a number of professionals who
helped make this dissertation possible. Many thanks to Dr. Barbara Sampson, Dr.
Bradley Adams, and Dr. Benjamin Figueroa at the New York City Office of Chief
Medical Examiner; Dr. Luis Sanchez, Dr. Christian Crowder, Dr. Deborah Pinto, and Dr.
Sharon Derrick at the Harris County Institute of Forensic Science; and finally Dr.
Gregory Hess and Dr. Bruce Anderson at the Pima County Office of the Medical
Examiner. Many thanks for granting me access to the casework examined in this
analysis and for answering the insufferable number of questions I have asked.
Additionally, I would like to extend thanks for their hospitality and their genuine interest
in my project.
I am honored to have forged lasting friendships during my time in Knoxville and
there is simply not enough space to properly thank everyone. To my friends and
esteemed colleagues, thank you for all the good times and great laughs, may we always
remain friends! Frankie West and Nicole Reeves, we have been together from the
beginning and I cannot imagine what life in Knoxville would have been without you. We
have been through so much and I can’t wait for more as we look forward to the next
chapters of our lives. I also want to thank my hometown girls Brenda Vandyke
Sweeney, Beth Orser-Clementich, and Noah Massey for being my lifelong friends. You
girls have never given up on me no matter where in the world I am.
I would also like to extend special thanks to my parents. I have always been the
independent one, rarely seeking help or advice on many matters in my life; they let me
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do my thing, and they let me do it my way. But no matter what, they have been there
for me and always believed I would accomplish my goals. Finally, to my partner Owen
Lang who has had tremendous patience throughout this process. Thank you for your
encouragement and endless support.

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ABSTRACT

This dissertation examines the accuracy of the biological profile from forensic
anthropology reports among 204 resolved and 284 unresolved skeletal cases at the
medical examiners’ offices in New York City, NY; Harris County, TX; and Pima County,
AZ. Current forensic anthropological methods used to estimate the biological profile are
developed from skeletal reference collections conferring variable degrees of accuracy.
Evolving standards for evidence and expert witness testimony have ushered in an era of
robust statistical validation for forensic methods, yet accuracy rates are unknown in
anthropological casework. Considering 40,000 sets of unidentified human remains
persist in medical examiner’s offices in the United States, the purpose of this project is
to provide the medicolegal community with vital statistics regarding the accuracy of the
biological profile and identify trends among unresolved cases.
Ancillary to this goal is to identify inconsistencies between the antemortem
reporting process and the results gleaned from the biological profile. Results suggest
that antemortem descriptions of race are inconsistent with biological estimations of
ancestry and efforts to improve antemortem descriptions of the missing should be
pursued.
Results of the present study suggest the biological profile confers varying levels
of accuracy among resolved casework. First, estimations of sex were correct in 100%
of cases, ancestry estimation were correct in 99% of cases, age was correct in 89% of
cases, and stature was correct in 73% of cases. Second, FORDISC was incorrect in
64% of resolved cases with 93% of those cases involving the Hispanic category. Third,
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antemortem stature records were largely absent suggesting stature has limited
importance in resolving missing persons cases. Results also revealed a significant
difference between the amounts of skeletal remains available for analysis among
resolved and unresolved cases.
Overall, these results show that the biological profile performs well in resolved
casework, but stature performs poorly for Hispanic individuals and also does not appear
to be an important factor in identifications. Further, changes should be made in the
missing persons reporting process to help accurately identify the race and ancestry of
the missing.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION ................................................................................... 1
CHAPTER TWO BACKGROUND .................................................................................. 6
Missing in the United States ...................................................................................... 6
Missing Persons Statistics ........................................................................................ 6
Resources for Families ............................................................................................. 7
Demographics of the Missing .................................................................................... 9
Children ................................................................................................................... 10
Marginalized Populations ........................................................................................ 12
Forensic Anthropology in the Medicolegal System .............................................. 15
The Medicolegal System ......................................................................................... 16
A Brief History of Forensic Anthropology ................................................................ 17
Forensic Anthropology Today ................................................................................. 20
Employment in Medical Examiners’ Offices ............................................................ 21
Evidentiary Standards for Forensic Anthropology and Historic Court ............... 23
Decisions ................................................................................................................... 23
Frye v. United States (1923) and the Federal Rules of Evidence (1975) ............... 24
Daubert v. Merrill Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (1993) .............................................. 25
General Electric v. Joiner (1997) ............................................................................ 26
Kumho Tire Company, Ltd v. Carmichael (1999) .................................................... 27
Implications for Forensic Anthropology ................................................................... 28
Presumptive vs. Positive Identification .................................................................... 32
The Biological Profile ............................................................................................... 35
Reference Collections ............................................................................................. 35
Influential Skeletal Collections ................................................................................ 37
Special Considerations for Reference Collections .................................................. 46
Sex Estimation ........................................................................................................ 48
Age Estimation ........................................................................................................ 53
Juvenile Age Estimation .......................................................................................... 53
Adult Age Estimation ............................................................................................... 55
Ancestry Estimation ................................................................................................ 62
Stature Estimation ................................................................................................... 83
Utility of Forensic Methods ...................................................................................... 86
Chapter Summary ................................................................................................... 88
CHAPTER THREE BACKGROUND ............................................................................. 90
Race and Ancestry ………………………………………………………………………..90
History of Racial Classification in Forensic Anthropology ....................................... 91
Ancestry and Race .................................................................................................. 95
Ambiguous Terminology ....................................................................................... 102
Ancestry and Race in Forensic Anthropology ....................................................... 104
Racial Self-Identification ....................................................................................... 107
Chapter Summary ................................................................................................. 110
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