The Conclusion of the Facial Reconstruction

This weekend at Rancho Cucamonga's Forensic Science Academy Club between 11:00-14:30 I finally completed and presented on the skull which I performed a cranial reconstruction. A job well done! Here are the three main points I have covered when I completed the reconstruction:

Frontal view of the finished skull that can actually be placed together with  an abundance of glue!

Adolescent Caucasian female within the age of 12-14 year of age based on the dental structure the cranium shows. Cause of death was the frontal lobe blunt-force trauma caused by the steel wrench, which is extremely sensitive and caused an immediate death due to the brain damage and trauma. The individual was not reported missing so I was unable to create an accurate estimate of who the identity belongs to.

• Determining if the skeletal remains are in fact of forensic significance based on the presence of trauma.

Yes, the skeletal remains, of the little portion that we have, are in fact of forensic importance! First off it is rather clear the this individual was a victim of a crime specifically because the posterior ossipetal bone area of the skull appears to be shattered. I initially thought that it was a gunshot entrance wound, but the evidence suggests that it was something much more effective in terms of the entire back being absent. Then I came into another conclusion, the individual may have fallen face backwards in the way that they were given a slight push. This can be derived as evidence since part of the mandible is still stuck to the skull in the way that a strong force of pressure actually made it stay. Usually the mandible is the first thing that falls out of the skull since it is connected with tendons and flesh, but in this case, part of the mandible stayed which suggests that the fall did occur. That's not the end of the story. Post-mortem, which means after death, the criminal wanted to confirm that this individual was dead so they beat them in the most sensitive part of the skull region, known as the anterior fontanelle, with a tool-like blunt force weapon. How was I able to tell that? Near the regions of what I call "the three rivers meet" that appear in the top center of the cranium, this particular individual had continued to have more striations in the bone and cracks to continue in the frontal lobe of the skull. It is extremely certain that this skull was of forensic importance! If I were barely identifying the skull, I would ensure a full investigation would take place.

• Determining the horizontal excavation layer in which the remains were found in order to determine the possible time of death

I was unfortunate enough to not be presented with soil samples or a basic archaeological principle of the forensic anthropology aspect, so I am to assume ( aww :( ) that the individual was left exposed on top of the Earth, rather than buried. There was no evidence of any soil or dirt to be present so this factor cannot be determined further.

• Matching a weapon or natural component that was left as a striation of the remains because of the fact that DNA or lethal vectors need to match to an object used to succeed in the cause of death and match trauma-mortem.

The weapon of death appeared to be a steel tool, a particular tool that had two open ridges and a narrow handle which allowed for a maximum range of blunt-force trauma. After long hours of trying to uncover the pattern and possible goemetric factors, I have finally came to the conclusion that it was a a wrench! It took me what I thought was forever to unravel this particular mystery! When I placed a wrench near the skull it was a perfect match; so happy! ...Not for the result of the victim, of course! The blunt force trauma that showed large cracks and opening within the skull pin-pointed the exact locomotion of a wrench! There was no DNA found, since it was professional cleaned from the basic decomposition oils and dirt, so no match can be made from something.

The murderer is not yet found. 

Blog 25: Service Learning

1. LIA Response to blog:
Literal

• Log of specific hours with a total and a description of your duties:  Forensic Science Academy Club Log
• Contact Name & Number: Ashlee Enriquez &  1(323) 365-8826

Interpretive
What is the most important thing you gained from this experience? Why?

The most important thing I have gained from this experience was being able to placed in an applied real-life simulation of what it is to be a Forensic Anthropologist. I am surrounded by individuals who are in their adult years and this continues to fuel how I am young and so well-interested in this particular field of science. So I would say that the most importance thing I have gained from this experience was being appreciated for my work because I am making doctorate (Ph.D) credentialed professionals, who actually work in the field that I want, ooh-ing and ahh-ing to the presentations and comments that I have to say. The knowledge I have gained is never going to be forgotten, I continue to read articles in the Economist and the Financial Times that feature Anthropology-based interviews, international spotlights, or crime mysteries that I have been able to interpret and understand. For my hard work, I was even given the privilege to use a National Institute of Justice software program known as the Visualization Science Group VSG.

"Hello,

I just wanted to touch base with you to see if there was anything I can do to help with your evaluation of the VSG software that you are using for Forensic Anthropology purposes, please let me know.

We have offered you Beta and Pre-Alpha licenses so you can try our software. By offering this service, we feel that we reducing any risks that may be associated with the purchase.

We want be able to demonstrate to you that our software will work with your data and provide you with the results you desire.

If needed, please contact Ming Lei at Ming.Lei@vsg3d.com for any technical assistance you may need.

We have found that with over 5,000 VSG software licenses in use all around the world, you have become our biggest asset in spreading the word about our applications. We hope hear from you soon!

Best regards,
Bill Henderson
Account Manager, Academic & Government
V S G - Visualization Sciences Group "

Applied
How did what you did help you answer your EQ? Please explain.

What the Forensic Science Academy Club offered allowed me to answer my essential question of, "What is the most important factor of a skeletal remain in a criminal investigation" by implementing hands-on individuals to facilitate simulations, group work with other forensic potential scientists, giving me resources that were government established for my use, field trips to the Los Angeles Coroners Office and Museum of Death, and allowing me to express my knowledge through presentations in front of my peers.

For example, my first answer was "determining if the skeletal remains are in fact of forensic significance based on the presence of trauma." The Forensic Science Academy Club challenged me by taking away that assumption that as soon as I see a bone or a remain I will automatically thing that it is human and try to name or locate where in the human skeletal system it belongs. It was more of a scientific practice to determine the locomotion of the presented remain and being able to draw conclusion by what has been presented to me. It helped me answer my EQ since determine if the bone or remain was of forensic importance would be the most importance factors of a criminal investigation, since after all it is what starts the establishment of an investigation to actually occur! We don't want anyone to get away with it!

Finally, my third answer was "matching a weapon or natural component that was left as a striation of the remains because of the fact that DNA or lethal vectors need to match to an object used to succeed in the cause of death and match trauma-mortem." Now altought this was a tough one, the Forensic Science Academy took me to field trips to the Museum of Death, Los Angeles Coroner's Office, which allowed me to have expert source analysis that determined that this was the most importance factor of a skeletal remain in a criminal investigation. The hands-on application such as the Technology National Institute of Justice Forensic Anthropology Week that allowed me to study, review, and apply matching a weapon or natural component that was left as a striation of the remains because of the fact that DNA or lethal vectors need to match to an object used to succeed in the cause of death and match trauma-mortem and part of the forensics workshop had a lesson about "Tissue & Bone Measurements" and "Forensic Resource Reference on Genetics (FROG) Demonstration and Hands-on Exercise" which allowed me to use impressive government-funded software programs that allowed me to input measurements of bone structures, I applied it with my Service Learning Cranial Reconstruction Project that allowed me to have a computerized version of what I was simulating. Tissue & Bone Measurements program allowed me to know exactly how to measure and be able to apply it in mathematical formulas in order to compute stature and ancestral background, whereas FROG software allowed me to compare skeletal structure caused by DNA in order to compile it with an ancestral background or native origin of the individual I was identifying throughout the entire program.

2. Confirmation of Contact Person, Contact Phone Number, and 50 hours completed

Contact: Ashlee Enriquez & Number: 1(323) 365-8826

Ms. Enriquez was also an interview which has been scanned and placed here for your convenience. 

Refer to Forensic Science Academy Club Log along with blog post evidence:

• Cranial Reconstruction Project
• Human Osteology Locomotion
• What's Wrong with the Skeleton?
• Roman World
• Los Angeles Coroner's Office
• Student Body & Job/Internernships
• Museum of Death
• Joining the Forensic Science Academy Club
• 10 Hour Evidence Blog
• Conclusion to Facial Reconstruction

Cranial Reconstruction of a Victim

This weekend at Rancho Cucamonga's Forensic Science Academy Club between 10:00-15:30 I attended a lecture that focused on cranial reconstructions and using 3D imaging in order to compute a phenotype more appealing "face" of an individual once the complete facial reconstruction has been glued together. Yes, all of these small pieces of artificial bone will be glued like Forensic Anthropologists do it: Elmer's Glue.

 My Mother commented on what my service learning mentors wanted me to do with these cranial bones, "good luck!" I'll need it for sure! It's my first time doing such an experiment, and I will keep in touch on my progress to show how difficult and time consuming this process really is.

This was the skeletal catalog I received, it can easily be suggested that the cranial I received is not necessarily the same size of a normal Homo sapiens sapiens individual since it contains a much smaller cranial capacity and contains smaller teeth which suggest a more youthful age range.

My main goals with this cranial reconstruction is being able to estimate ancestral background by using the cranial landmarks on the posterity angle of the cranium. By using the intermediate/straight/ or projecting face profile of the remains, I will be able to determine if the individual is of Asian/African/or White (including Latin-American descent).

To pose more of a challenge I will be using my EQ of "What is the most important factor of a skeletal remain in a criminal investigation?" I will be using my answers and attempting to apply them in this situation.

• Determining if the skeletal remains are in fact of forensic significance based on the presence of trauma.
• Determining the horizontal excavation layer in which the remains were found in order to determine the possible time of death
• Matching a weapon or natural component that was left as a striation of the remains because of the fact that DNA or lethal vectors need to match to an object used to succeed in the cause of death and match trauma-mortem

I will update my blog accordingly as I pose a "challenge considered" and "challenge accepted" to this cranial reconstruction.

Forensic Science Academy Club Meeting

The Forensic Science Academy Club held a meeting between 8:00AM-3:00PM on both Saturday and Sunday. In this week of FSAClub we teamed up in coming up with teaching methods in teaching the human skeletal anatomy in a long-term memory manner.

This is the perfect time to do it since I'm going to execute my 20 minute presentation. Before we begin we wanted to focus the room into thinking on what the best way is to help one in understanding the  human skeleton. It is rather important for learning about human and nonhman primate anatomy to compare and contrast their fundamental values. Some of the defining characteristics for humans include our

height and our skeletal adaptations for bipedalism By presenting an outline of an adult human standing 187 ½ cm tall (or 6’2”) and compare it with that of modern humans average a height of 162 centimeters (or 5’3”) tall for female, and 175 centimeters (5’7”) tall for males. 

Some rather simple ideas of doing this included: discussing the functions of the bones - for example, legs are for walking, hands are for grasping, ribs are for protecting organs. Labeling all the bones, just kidding! This would be quite the challenge for someone who doesn't even know higher-level thinking. Coming up with activities to describe how does a skeleton work is rather difficult so bringing in a plastic disarticulated skeleton that is puzzle-like can allow students to think cooperatively and build the exoskeleton of a human. As this is being done, there should be a discussion on paired bones, anatomical position, right versus left, and how joints work.

Using Appendix 1 in Bass' Human Osteology: A Laboratory and Field Manual, teach some basic anatomical terms that someone would use in a criminal investigation court case testimony. Using the categorical bone structures found in the lateral/medial, superior/inferior, anterior/posterior, work accordingly.

Categories: condyle, boss, and malleolus are all large, rounded processes. Basically, solicit their help in making up acronyms to learn bones.

Using a plastic disarticulated skeleton , create a forensic murder mystery by using markers stickers/colored tape on the skeleton to stand for things like cut marks, projectile trauma from a bullet, and broken bones.

After that has been completed, state the result and professional terminology: a person was attacked from the front , then suffered blunt force trauma to the head, was dismembered, and the evidence that led you to that particular decision. I was also unaware of the fact that you can get some bones from your local butcher. It's pretty easy (and often free) to get bones from non-choice cuts of meat - several FSAClub members got free pig joints and skulls just by asking. Very enlightened week!

Forensic Science Academy Club Meeting

The Forensic Science Academy Club held a meeting between 8:00AM-3:00PM on both Saturday and Sunday. During this week we had the discussion question: Is anatomy different in foreign countries such as Latin America's Peru? The director once again had the idea for her favorite game: "What's wrong with this skeleton?" Today's contestant comes from an NPR piece "Finders, Not Keepers: Yale Returns Artifacts to Peru".

My group pretty much carefully and precisely computed the following conclusions:

The femurs of the human are on the wrong sides! The ribs are presented in the wrong order;  it is suppose to go from to small to big and small again! 1-3 ribs are usually small, 4-10 are big, and 11-12 are small once again. We were also bespectacled on why the fibulae of the remains are bent! The criticizing doesn't end here! There are 6 left metatarsals, the tibiae look much younger than the rest of the bones, and I'm not sure what's going on with the left tarsals.

In addition to what is been said so far, it is showing the posterior side of the scapula and they are on the wrong arms, same with the femurs. They don't know their right from their left, or front to back for the manner. It looks like one of those 6 metatarsals is actually a second metacarpal. The inferior portions of the ribs are actually pointing upward, when they should be pointed downward! The radii look like they're flipped as well, proximal to distal. The radial heads are pointing at the carpals when they should be pointed at the humeri.

With this presented evidence we can suggest that the radius and ulna should be reversed, since the radius is lateral when laid out in proper anatomical position, whereas it is shown to be medial. It looks like the olecranon fossae are pointed up in the anterior manner when they should be down in the posterior manner. Tibiae possibly don't go with this individual. Both have clear epiphyseal lines that aren't even close to closed at both ends making this a 12-15 year old adolescent. There might be a line of fusion evident in the proximal humeri, but there are no epiphyseal lines evident on the femora.

Finally, the pathologies are odd too. How is it that the left fibulae is significantly bowed without any notable changes to the left tibia! At the rate that we were going through, we were fairly convinced that these bones come from 2 or more people. And I'm definitely convinced that whoever laid out this skeleton knows precious little about human osteology, what a great disappointment Peru!

Forensic Science Academy Club Meeting

 

The Forensic Science Academy Club held a meeting between 8:00AM-3:00PM on both Saturday and Sunday. During this weekend, we were given a brief look at some of the uses of lead  in the Roman world, including the hoary hypothesis that rampant lead poisoning led to the downfall of Rome.

The fact the Romans loved their lead isn't in question. There is plenty of textual and archaeological sources that inform us of the use of lead - as cosmetics, ballistics, sarcophagi, pipes, jewelry, curse tablets, utensils and cooking pots, and, of course sapa and defrutum(wine boiled down in lead pots) - but what almost all stories about the use of lead in ancient Rome miss is the osteological evidence. Metabolic disorders can be caused by a lack of nutrients - a lack of vitamin C gives you scurvy, and a lack of vitamin D gives you rickets - but they can also be caused by an abundance of  too much fluoride, mercury, arsenic,or lead.

Lead is found in the environment naturally, so we do expect to find some amount of lead in the skeleton of every person, ancient or modern. But, because of the physical properties of lead - it can be made into hard, sharp things - people have been using it for millennia and thus have been exposed to heavy metal toxicity for millennia as well. The dangers of lead actually weren't well known until the second half of the 20th century, which was when lead was taken out of things like paint and gasoline.

In modern society, lead poisoning is diagnosed through a blood test to determine the level of lead in the body. We don't have blood in ancient remains, so we have to investigate lead through the levels we can measure in bone and enamel. Humans should not have more than 1 mg/kg of lead in their bones (or 10 ug/dL measured in blood). What is clear, though, is that lead poisoning is not something you'd want to have. People with very severe lead poisoning tend to have major neurological changes - brain swelling leading to seizures and headaches, aggressive behavior, loss of short-term memory, and slurred speech - and a host of other problems, like anemia and constipation.

Now in order to answer the EQ for the week, we had to look at the evidence and conclude if lead poisoning caused the fall of the Roman Empire? Probably not. Yes, there was increased lead production in the Roman Empire, which we know from histories, ecological sources, artifacts, and now skeletons. But the data - few as they are - simply don't support a conclusion of high lead concentration in the entire population.

Dr. Aufderheide and FSAClub assistants did test 20 skeletons from Italy, including a few from the greater Rome area. However, this was not an in-depth study, in that the skeletons were from various places. They further note that they could not control for lead diagenesis, which may have thrown off their measurements and caused a large percentage of error. Twenty years later, the technology for identifying lead concentration in skeletons is greatly improved. Aufderheide and colleagues found that skeletons from the Roman period had much higher lead levels than in the previous centuries, which is consistent with our study and the understanding that lead working increased in this time period.

Blog 12: Service Learning

1. Where are you working for your service learning?

I am receiving my service learning at the Forensic Science Academy Club in Rancho Cucamonga. 

2. What is your contact?

My contact is the current president of the Forensic Science Academy Club which is Ashlee Enriquez.

3. Summarize the services you have performed to complete the 10 hour requirement.

The services that I have performed in order to complete the ten hour requirement for service learning included a wide variety of opportunities and educational experiences. Click for the Forensic Science Academy Club Log

• On September 17, 2011 - Introduced into the Forensic Science Academy Club for the first time and was told to share-out about myself and my long-term goals within the FSAC. Given job opportunities and the ability to fully receive the complete membership within the FSAC. Click for Detailed Explanation of Event
• On September 24, 2011 - Field trip to Hollywood's Museum of Death where the FSAC received a private tour of the forensic files of famous individuals such as JFK and Marilyn Monroe coroner files. Phyisical evidence and forensic computation of computation was throughly presented. Click for Detailed Explanation of Field Trip
• On October 15, 2011 - Group-cooperation was introduced to solve a rather simple crime using forensic evidence and support. We then went to the new FSAC facility where we were given training conference opportunity and were presented to the complete board of staff in the Forensic Science Academy. Click for Detailed Explanation of Co-Op Event
• On November 20, 2011 - Field trip to the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office and were given a tour of what their motto and functioning system works within the forensic community. It was a fun and interesting experience that made me more dedicated to continue to pursue a career within forensic anthropology. Click for Detailed Explanation of Coroner's Office Trip

Forensic Science Academy Club Field Trip to the LA County Coroner's Office

The Forensic Science Academy Club had a field trip to the Los Angeles Depertment of Coroner! This inspirational experience occurred during 12:00PM to 5:00PM in Los Angeles! I show up fashionably early to these events, especially because it shows the President of the FSAC that I'm highly interested in my field. Greeted with open arms, the FSAC were told to go inside and listen to a brief presentation of what the Coroner does, history of the LA Coroner origin, as well as why this is important for us to know.

It was a rather intriguing presentation which I have noted to keep everyone awake. This is relatively good observation since I will now be applying those "ooh-ahh" moments in my presentation that will make my audience linger for more information on forensic anthropology. Basically, the coroner is in the uppermost part of the triangle in the forensic field which pretty much represents the lab authorship and has the "final-say" power. The office isn't relatively old and is a fully functioning! I was astonished by the high amount of reward, badges, as well as emblems that the LA Coroner's Office were acknowledged with! This is rather inspirational since I want to leave my mark in this world by pursuing forensic anthropology.

Continuing with the tour, we were shown the LA County Coroner truck and its nifty compartments and abilities! It was rather interesting to see a few inches away! Finally, we were given these plastic garments to wear over our clothing, to dress-up and simulate what an actual coroner and forensic scientist have to do in order to conduct research in a crime scene; regardless of location!

I really enjoyed this tour and I believe that I have now gained more sources to detail forensic anthropology from! Can't wait to see what the future has in store!

Forensic Science Academy Club Meeting

In this meeting with the Forensic Science Academy Club, we were given the welcome of the new facility location! With a hand-to-hand agreement with a Latin-American organization, National Latino Peace Officers Association, their cooperation has allowed for this educational experience come to life! We were greeted to the panel of the hard working people that make the Forensic Science Academy Club possible: the President Ashlee Enriquez, Public Relations representative Noelle Miranda, the Secretary Raymond Ruiz, and the Advisor Terri Armenta!

We were introduced to the upcoming Forensic Science Academy Club board elections, which is a big deal and a rather skill intuitive job. Meeting was between 12:00 to 2:30 PM.

As in every meeting we were granted educational opportunities such as the West Coast Coroner Training Conference, as well as the Chicano Correctional Workers Conference that has high perks if you are an existing member of the Forensic Science Academy Club. 

We were given a brief explanation from a Class #13 alumni of the importance of carrying your resume with you at all times! You never know when a job opportunity is available for you. You might meet people who have connections, or simply find a recruiter on the spot! She showed us her hand-held resume briefcase that contained her resume and many other free forensic-volunteer documents. There is so much hype for this forensic conference that we will be preparing for! I can't wait to find out what's in store for this club!

Forensic Science Academy Club Field Trip

The Forensic Science Academy Club had a meeting during 12:00PM to 4:00PM at Hollywood's Museum of Death! Greeted by the president of the FSA with open arms, I was presented by familiar faces of the previous  club meeting and with newcomers who have been interested in joining the Forensic Science Academy Class #27.

To my dismay, I was unable to take further pictures of the Museum of Death since the owners did not want photography of any kind inside. However, it was a very enjoyable experience inside.

There were a variety of themed rooms that contained archived files of serial killers, pop art and highly detailed and professional dedicated art for the museum based on the criminals. Nothing was censored in this museum, every body part was shown! To my excitement, there was a room dedicated to skeletal remains, including a variety of various animal skulls that were being compared with that of a humans.

As you continue to view the museum, you start to develop a sense of sickness of how disgusting people can be in order to commit these crimes to these innocent people. Visual representations such as videos were played in almost every room such as assassinations, forensic pathological instructional, and news footage of the serial killers being trialed.

What I thought was the most important and most fascinating part of the museum was the evidence! The tools that were used during these murders as well as photographs that showed these gruesome details were shown throughout the entire museum!

In the last room, were historical figures such as John F. Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe who had autopsy photographs presented to use showing their innings and brain matter all over the table. We had a great time bonding together and sharing our personal stories of what we know about the cases, murders, and other nifty information that we wanted to share with the group. It was a very interesting experience someone like myself, who is interested in the forensic field to experience!

Forensic Science Academy Club Meeting

The Forensic Science Academy had a club meeting that was held in front of Victoria Garden's Cold Stone Creamery that was held from 1:00PM to 2:10PM. I was presented to Ashlee Enriquez, the president of FSA, and Terri Armenta, the academy coordinator who were delighted to see a young student so interested about the forensic field. After the small meet-and-greet and delightful compliments, they decided to begin the meeting.

I enjoyed the fact that the meeting was held like a court-like system by making club members motion to process and adjourn the meeting. During this meeting the location of the Forensic Science Academy was revealed as well as the dates of registration and the first day of class. Handouts were presented by public relations which had opportunities to be a security guard, crime scene investigator, law enforcement official, and many other justice field careers.

Workshop openings, professional guest speaker meetings, as well as field trips were reminded and introduced to the meeting. Next week, on the 24th of September, I have signed up to attend the field trip to the Museum of Death in Hollywood where we will have a complete tour and have an amazing experience with the club!

Since I was a new member I had to present a little bit about myself and the reason I want to join the Forensic Science Academy and Club. Being the only teenager at the club, I feel that I have impressed the members with my high interest in the field and was given compliments.

The meetings were clear, concise, and professional and being given an overview of how the club system works, I was granted the opportunity to second the motion to adjourn the meeting.

After the meeting, I was given the opportunity to interview Ashlee Enriquez and explained more about the way I-Poly's senior project works, why I'm so interested in forensic anthropology, and what I wanted to get out of the academy modules.