An interdisciplinary forensic approach in a mummified child with evidence of abuse and neglect.

Abstract

Mummification of corpses with partial skeletonization is not an uncommon occurrence in daily forensic work. Cooperation between different forensic fields is important in these cases in terms of obtaining the most accurate and forensically relevant results, especially when child abuse and neglect is suspected. In Central Europe, up to 21% of children are exposed to physical and psychological harm, which is mostly perpetrated by family members. This report describes a case of subadult female mummified remains in which interdisciplinary forensic pathology, forensic anthropology, and entomology input was needed to obtain legally relevant results. Entomological analysis of the fly and beetle species present served primarily to estimate the postmortem interval. External examination confirmed advanced postmortem decomposition of the body. The anthropological findings based on radiographs and analysis of selected bones confirmed various antemortem fractures and post-traumatic changes involving the ribs, the distal portion of the humerus, the nasal bones, and the anterior portions of the maxilla and mandible. Furthermore, non-specific findings of growth arrest (Harris) lines in the distal metaphysis of the right tibia indicated growth retardation and, overall, child neglect. The autopsy findings confirmed subdural blood coagulum, part of which formed a clearly moulded plaster mass that had originally been attached to the cranial vault up to the internal lamina. The findings indicated a post-traumatic condition as the underlying cause of death in this child. Interdisciplinary forensic analyses confirmed that the child had been repeatedly exposed to violent assaults throughout her lifetime.

Key points: If mummified remains with partial skeletonization of a subadult are found, collaboration among forensic experts is requiredIn this case, dried subdural blood coagulum indicated post-traumatic, non-spontaneous subdural haemorrhagePeriosteal reaction present on the facial bones and distal portion of the humerus was a suspicious findingAnalyses of female subadult remains based on an interdisciplinary approach revealed a syndrome of child abuse and neglect.