Legally Interred and Unlawful Burials: A Retrospective Study of Exhumation Cases in the Province of Quebec, Canada

Abstract

Exhumations cases have been the focus of very few retrospective studies. In fact, no study ever described un- lawful burials, while exhumations of legally interred bodies were only described by German studies. In the present study, exhumation cases of legally interred and unlawful burials performed over a six-year period (2000-2005) in the province of Quebec, Canada, were retrospectively analyzed. A total of 8 cases were found, representing 0.2% of all forensic autopsies and 0,0024% of all deaths. Of those, 5 were unlawful burials (62.5%), whereas the remaining 3 (37.5%) were legally in- terred bodies. Overall, the time of interment ranged from 2 weeks to 2 years. Forensic pathologists participated in 5 of the 8 (62.5%) exhumation cases. Exhumations rates in different populations are discussed, as well as reasons to conduct an exhumation and if the forensic pathologist must be present on the scene.