Forensic examination of cremated remains of an infant: a case report

This article describes a case of forensic identification of skeletal remains discovered in the firebox of a wood-burning kitchen stove. According to the investigation materials and the mother’s confession, the body of her child had been burned in the stove. The relevance of this case lies in the limited specialized data on thermally destroyed pediatric remains, as well as in the difficulty of determining species and age when bones are reduced to an ash-like state. The article presents the process of expert examination of 190 bone fragments in the stage of white and gray calcination. Using visual, metric, photographic, anatomical-morphological, and comparative anatomical methods, the specimens were sorted, allowing identification of fragments of the skull, vertebrae, ribs, and long bones. The analysis found that the remains belong to a human child. Taking into account ossification centers and the absence of synostoses in the bones of the skull base, vertebrae, and foot bones, the estimated age was under one year. Sex and height could not be assessed due to the lack of valid methods. This case report demonstrates the possibility of successful identification of species and age using anatomical-morphological and comparative anatomical methods, even in cases of remarkable thermal destruction of bone tissue.