Identifying a corpse doesn’t work like in the movies – now the forensic experts find out how it works in real life.
– They are out cycling in Beck, they state in Nyhetsmorgon.
The police identify 400–500 deceased persons per year. Many may think that it happens like in a movie. But it’s a myth that forensics technicians Anna Jinghede and Lena Ljungdahl want to dispel.
– On TV, a detective walks into the scene in a crisp trench coat, goes under the tape, with freshly manicured nails and then they put their foreheads to the corpse and say: “16:38, cyanide poisoning”. Then you turn off the TV, says Lena Ljungdahl, former detective and preliminary investigation leader, now crime expert, in Nyhetsmorgon.
This is where the TV usually goes wrong
When it comes to the identification of bodies, it usually gets wrong in TV shows and movies.
– When it comes to establishing the identity, they are out cycling in Beck. For the first, it is directly inappropriate to allow a relative to visually identify a deceased person. Mainly because there is a risk of it being wrong, but also for ethical reasons. It’s a method you want to avoid as far as possible, says Anna Jinghede, forensic dentist.
But how does it happen when a person is found dead and no one knows who it is?
– There may be ID cards or other markers on a person that can be assumed. But we know that the body changes quite drastically when the heart stops beating and putrefaction sets in. It can be difficult to start from a loose identification document. One embeds a risk of inaccuracies or mistakes.
The most common methods
The three primary methods of identification are: Fingerprint, DNA and ignition identification. The methods are proven and safe. One method is enough, but regardless of which method you use, you must have comparison material.
Then there are secondary methods that can complement the primary methods. Such as, for example, names in a wedding ring or the serial number of a pacemaker.
– Tooth identification is the method we most often use, says Anna Jinghede.
One of the most common myths they want to dispel is the dental cards. They no longer exist.
– There is no such thing as a dental card. It’s a holdover from the 30s and 40s, she says, emphasizing that it’s called a dental record these days.