title: [A hopeless case?].
abstract: In a hollow covered with earth, a herb gatherer discovered a severely decomposed corpse mutilated by scavenging animals. Only small areas of the skin had remained intact. A conspicuous tattoo could still be distinguished on the left upper arm. Despite concrete evidence of violence (fracture in the occipital bone, subdural hemorrhage with a volume of 20 ml), the exact cause of death could no longer be established. Police enquiries identified a person in whom such a conspicuous tattoo had been photographed in an earlier criminal case. Eventually, the deceased person could be identified by DNA analysis of a stored blood alcohol specimen. Considered together, the autopsy findings and the results of the investigation of traces of blood on the putative tool used in the crime indicated that the man had been struck dead and the body had afterwards been buried in the wood. Although the prospects of success had been initially slight, it was not only possible to identify the victim, but also to reconstruct the crime.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Rechtsmedizin der Universität Halle.
authors.forename: Steffen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Heide
authors.forename: Volker
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Schmidt
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wiegand
authors.forename: Manfred
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kleiber
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001329:Autolysis / Q000473:pathology; D001801:Blood Stains; D016172:DNA Fingerprinting / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D005819:Genetic Markers / Q000235:genetics; D006708:Homicide / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009777:Occipital Bone / Q000293:injuries* / Q000473:pathology; D011180:Postmortem Changes; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012867:Skin / Q000473:pathology; D012887:Skull Fractures / Q000473:pathology*; D020080:Tandem Repeat Sequences / Q000235:genetics; D013653:Tattooing; D014949:Wounds, Nonpenetrating / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D005819:Genetic Markers