The outcome of the forensic triage preceding disaster victim identification in the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight 17.

Malaysia Airlines flight 17 crashed on 17 July 2014 while flying over an area of armed conflict in eastern Ukraine. The first forensic trace evidence was collected after the human remains were transferred to a safe location in the Netherlands for identification and repatriation. Disaster victim identification processes were therefore undertaken in concert with the forensic investigation. Prior to these processes, X-ray and computed tomography scanners were used to reveal foreign objects in the human remains, and a large number of these fragments were recovered after the forensic triage. A distinct group of metal fragments was identified as being potential remnants of high-energy foreign objects. Forensic analysis revealed that they were explosively deformed unalloyed steel fragments, some of which had shapes consistent with pre-formed metal fragments found in a 9N314M warhead used in Buk SA-11 missiles. Furthermore, thin film deposits of cockpit glass and aluminium were identified on the most heavily deformed side of some of the explosively deformed metal fragments, suggesting they came from outside the airplane. These findings supported early suspicions that Malaysia Airlines flight 17 was struck by a Buk SA-11 missile. KeypointsA multidisciplinary approach for combined identification and forensic investigation of human remains after a mass fatality incident.The combined use of complementary X-ray techniques for detection and provisional characterization of foreign objects in human remains.The use of sensitive and highly discriminative state of the art techniques for analysing foreign objects recovered from human remains.

Microscopic residues of bone from dissolving human remains in acids.

Dissolving bodies is a current method of disposing of human remains and has been practiced throughout the years. During the last decade in the Netherlands, two cases have emerged in which human remains were treated with acid. In the first case, the remains of a cremated body were treated with hydrofluoric acid. In the second case, two complete bodies were dissolved in a mixture of hydrochloric and sulfuric acid. In both cases, a great variety of evidence was collected at the scene of crime, part of which was embedded in resin, polished, and investigated using SEM/EDX. Apart from macroscopic findings like residual bone and artificial teeth, in both cases, distinct microscopic residues of bone were found as follows: (partly) digested bone, thin-walled structures, and recrystallized calcium phosphate. Although some may believe it is possible to dissolve a body in acid completely, at least some of these microscopic residues will always be found.

Quantitative comparison of striated toolmarks.

A comparison of striated toolmarks by human examiners is dependent on the experience of the expert and includes a subjective judgment within the process. In this article an automated method is presented for objective comparison of striated marks of screwdrivers. The combination of multi-scale registration (alignment) of toolmarks, that accounts for shift and scaling, with global cross correlation as objective toolmark similarity metric renders the approach robust with respect to large differences in angle of attack and moderate toolmark compression. In addition, a strategy to distinguish between relevant and non-relevant spatial frequency ranges (geometric details) is presented. The performance of the method is evaluated using 3D topography scans of experimental toolmarks of 50 unused screwdrivers. Known match and known non-match similarity distributions are estimated including a large range of angles of attack (15, 30, 45, 60 and 75°) for the known matches. It is demonstrated that the system has high discriminatory power, even if the toolmarks are made at a difference in angle of attack of larger than 15°. The probability distributions are subsequently employed to determine likelihood ratios. A comparison of the results of the automated method with the outcome of a toolmark comparison experiment involving three experienced toolmark examiners reveals, that the automated system is more powerful in correctly supporting the hypothesis of common origin for toolmarks with a large difference in angle of attack (30°). In return, the rate of toolmark comparisons that yield incorrect support for the hypothesis of common origin is higher for the automated system. In addition, a comparison between estimating known match and known non-match distributions using 2D and 3D data is presented and it is shown that for toolmarks of unused screwdrivers, relying on 3D is slightly better than relying on 2D data. Finally, a comparison between estimating known match and known non-match distributions for two different types of screwdrivers suggests, that the method may be used for comparing marks of other tools as well.

Interaction of bullets with intermediate targets: material transfer and damage.

In complex shooting incidents, it is not always clear which bullet hit or eventually killed the victim and who fired it. The examination of traces of foreign material embedded in or adhered to bullets provides critical information in the trajectory reconstruction of spent bullets. Such a reconstruction can have considerable legal implications because it can prove that it was not someone's intention to kill. However, the microtraces that remain on spent bullets are often ignored. Microtraces on bullets, around bullet-holes and on ricochet marks were investigated using SEM/EDX for two different types of bullets: a relatively hard, full metal jacket (FMJ) bullet and a relatively soft, lead round-nose (LRN) bullet. A total of 179 bullets were fired into intermediate targets, sheets of 5 different materials (MDF, greenboard, gypsum fibreboard, glass and steel), at approximate incident angles of 90°, 10° and 5°. Of the 144 bullets fired at incident angles of 90°, 130 bullets perforated one of the materials, and 14 bullets perforated two of the materials. The 35 bullets fired at incident angles of 10° and 5° ricocheted off the intermediate targets, producing ricochet marks. In the majority of cases, traces from the target materials were found on the bullet, both after perforation and ricochet. The only exceptions were (1) the perforation of 9-mm sheets of MDF by FMJ bullets and (2) ricochet off glass when the glass did not break. Steel targets transfer small, but still detectable traces of iron to the bullet. The order in which targets are hit was reflected in the traces found on the bullets, i.e., materials from a secondary target were deposited on top of deposits from the primary target. This result implies that it is possible to determine the order of impact from the stratification of the material analysed. Traces from the bullets were found around all the bullet holes. Wipe-off from lead bullets is sometimes visible by the naked eye. Ricocheting bullets produce remarkable traces on glass. The combination of sliding and flattening action leaves a trace of the bullet's surface material in the form of tiny droplets and other evidence of liquid formation. In general, softer LRN bullets are more susceptible to the transfer of material than harder FMJ bullets. For perforation, trace materials are preferentially deposited in a ring-shaped area around the (flattened or unflattened) nose of the bullet.

Morphology and composition of pyrotechnic residues formed at different levels of confinement.

Post explosion residues (PER) are residues from pyrotechnic compositions or explosives that are generated during an explosion. In the recent past SEM/EDX was used several times to analyze PER from pyrotechnic compositions. The results from these studies suggest that there might be a difference in morphology and composition of pyrotechnic residues formed at different levels of confinement. Also because of general thermodynamic principles it is believed that at higher levels of confinement the final pressure and temperature during the explosion is probably (but not necessarily) higher, eventually resulting in smaller and more spherical particles and a more homogeneous elemental composition. If there is a relation between morphology and composition of pyrotechnic residues and the level of confinement at which these are formed, it would be possible to draw conclusions about the conditions at which pyrotechnic residues were formed and the kind and construction of the device used. This may aid forensic scientists not only in the determination of the original explosive composition, but also of the explosive device. To perform controlled experiments with pyrotechnic charges at, at least, two pre-set levels of confinement a test vessel was built by TNO Defence, Security and Safety. For this study, three different flash powder compositions and black powder were selected. The generated residues were sampled on collecting plates and Nucleopore filters connected to a pump system in the immediate vicinity of the venting area for further analyses by SEM/EDX and XRD. From the results it follows that in the pressure range studied, the level of confinement seems to have a minor effect on the features of the generated residue particles. Because passive sampling by means of collector plates seemed doubtful and because the number of experiments had to be limited it is impossible to draw definitive conclusions. In addition to the level of confinement several other variables may affect size, shape and composition of pyrotechnic residues. More experiments and improved sampling methods are necessary to determine what variables have the most pronounced effect on shape size and composition of pyrotechnic residues.