As a result of social changes there have been subtle and gradual changes to our skeletal make-ups, making the work of a forensic anthropologist difficult. Those once clearly defined markers on the skull (as well as the rest of the body) are becoming less definitive. It is the responsibility of scientists to grow with the times and expand their arsenal of examination in light of these events.

For many years, it has been posited that the frontal sinus pattern in the human skull is unique to an individual, similar to the idea that fingerprints and DNA are unique. In 2008, a study was published in the Journal of Forensic Science by Roberto Cameriere and colleagues, that sought to test the accuracy of this position. They also sought to measure the rate of false positives between persons that were closely related (kin) to better understand the strengths of using sinus patterns to truly identify human remains.

Cameriere x-rayed skulls of 99 individuals from 20 families between the ages of 15 and 74 (from Northern Ireland). This enabled the scientists to test the effect of closely related persons for false positives. After all the skulls were radiographed and digitally imaged with both anterior (front) and posterior (back) views, they were then statistically analyzed. They used functions and probability to measure the rates of false-positives within their sample.

The results showed that even when examining individuals from the same family group the probability of falsely identifying is very small. They also posited the rate for a false positive did not change significantly when family relation was a factor. This research and its results can be helpful when trying to solve cases [especially with=”” closely=”” related=”” kin=””][/especially] where other heavily relied upon identifying methods (DNA fingerprints, etc.) are inconclusive. These results can provide a level of comfort to the scientist(s) attempting to make identification and serve to improve accuracy in tough cases.

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November 24, 2011 will be the 40th anniversary of the time a man calling himself Dan Cooper (D.B. to the press) hijacked an airplane and managed to get $200,000 and parachutes in exchange for the passengers’ lives. Since he parachuted into the night no one has knowingly seen or heard from him, and the case is still unsolved–the only unsolved skyjacking in US history.

If the newest D.B. Cooper lead pursued by the FBI pans out, D.B. may actually turn out to be a Cooper. D.B. may have plotted the hijacking within earshot of his 8-year old niece Marla–as Marla Cooper herself claims.

The difficulty in proving the claim is the same as any cold case: there is very little physical evidence available. It’s made more difficult by the fact that, according to the family, Cooper’s been dead for over a decade. The FBI is working on matching his fingerprints to some found on the plane. While D.B. touched a number of items on the plane that maintained fingerprints, he was not the only person to do so, and separating the hijacker’s prints from the rest has been difficult, even with the family’s cooperation in providing items owned by the new suspect.

For more on the developing story, see here.

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Despite the fact that the operation went seamlessly, the Bin Laden raid was not an easy one.  His compound was surrounded by 8 feet of barbed wire.  There were also additional 7 foot security walls within the compound. So what factors contributed to Bin Laden’s defeat you may ask? US officials say that inside information was an integral part of the operation’s success. The Bin Laden family was also the only family that burned trash, and the only million dollar home that was without phone or internet connections; a giveaway that the compound was ideal to hide someone of great significance.  Administration said that the raid was kept so secretive that no foreign officials were told in advance, and very few within the US government were privy to prior knowledge of the history that was about to unfold a world away.

On September 11, 2001, over 3,000 lives were lost in the worst attacks of terrorism on American soil. On May 1, 2011, the man responsible for this horrific amount of innocent bloodshed was finally brought to justice. Bin Laden’s capture sent throngs of cheering Americans in to the streets in both Times Square, and in front of the White House. Gordon Felt, president of the Families of Flight 93, issued a heartfelt statement saying, “This is important news for us, and for the world. It cannot ease our pain, or bring back our loved ones. It does bring a measure of comfort that the mastermind of the September 11th tragedy and the face of global terror can no longer spread his evil”.

Please check back soon for updates on the forensic discoveries relating to Bin Laden’s capture and killing. For more information, please click here or here.

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