ABSTRACT
UNLABELLED: The aim of the study is the identification and forensic-medical and anthropological evaluation of the remains of soldiers of the National Armed Forces murdered by the secret police in September 1946 in the Opole region. The remains were located during the search for mass graves of victims of the Communist regime carried out by the Institute of National Remembrance (IPN). MATERIAL AND METHODS: In June 2012 and April 2013, in the area of the Hubertus clearing between the villages of Barut and Dabrówka, 41 human bone fragments were revealed in the course of archaeological works carried with use of the open pit method at the probable site of the liquidation of one of the groups of soldiers from the unit of Captain Henryk Flame, aka "Bartek". In the vicinity of the ruins of the former Scharfenberg manor, in a forest of the Lambinowice commune, a mass grave was discovered containing the remains of at least 25 individuals, mostly young men. The grave was damaged and bore traces of subsequent interference. The forensic-medical-anthropological examination procedures were carried out, the biological profile of the victims evaluated, the minimum number of individuals (MNI) determined and the injuries interpreted. RESULTS: A portion of the remains discovered near the village of Barut bore traces of trauma associated with a great force. On the remains from the mass grave in the Lambinowice commune, numerous traces of injuries of the perimortem trauma nature were disclosed, including gunshot damage, both within the skulls and in post-cranial skeletons. CONCLUSIONS: The activity of the Institute of National Remembrance led to the confirmation of archival data regarding the site of liquidation of one of the partisan groups of the National Armed Forces in the vicinity of the village of Barut in the Opole region. The research did not allow unambiguous determination of the origin of remains discovered in the mass grave in the Lambinowice commune. The archival data indicate that the remains may be those of victims of Communist terror.
ABSTRACT
AIM OF THE STUDY: Assessment of the usefulness of intravital lesions in the proximal attachment of the sternocleidomastoid muscle and the mastoid process of the temporal bone in medico-legal evaluation of death by hanging. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study material was obtained from the bodies of 35 people who died by hanging. The control group comprised specimens collected from 30 people who died of non-traumatic causes. The structures under study were examined macro- and microscopically. The basic change which could be recognized as a marker of intravitality of hanging was the presence of a macroscopically extensive blotchy area of abundant ecchymosis in the proximal muscle attachment, similar to that found in the distal attachment, and the presence of abundant diffuse intraosseous ecchymoses in the mastoid process. RESULTS: None of the cases revealed any ecchymoses in the proximal attachment of the muscle that would be similar to those present in the distal attachment. Discolourations within the mastoid processes, macroscopically suggestive of extensive intraosseous effusions arising from the mechanism of stretching, were not confirmed by microscopic evaluation and occurred at the same frequency as in the control group. Limitations of the study were related to the method which involved sample collection by means of bone chisels, decalcification and preparation of specimens, which had an effect, for example, on the measurable evaluation of the degree of congestion. CONCLUSIONS: The study has failed to provide convincing and unambiguous data on the usefulness of examining mastoid processes and proximal attachments of the sternocleidomastoid muscles during autopsy to determine the presence of intravitality features of hanging. A description of research methodology and its associated difficulties, e.g. with the interpretation of results, can also be useful for the planning of similar studies by other researchers.
