Personal identification of cold case remains through combined contribution from anthropological mtDNA and bomb–pulse dating analyses*

摘要

In 1968, a child’s cranium was recovered from the banks of a northern Canadian river, and held in trust until the ‘cold case’ was re-opened in 2005. The cranium underwent re-analysis at the Centre for Forensic Research, Simon Fraser University, using recently developed anthropological, ‘bomb-pulse’ radiocarbon analysis and forensic DNA techniques. Craniometrics, skeletal ossification and dental formation indicated an age-at-death of 4.4 ±1 years. Radiocarbon analysis of enamel from two teeth indicated a year of birth between 1958–1962. Forensic DNA analysis indicated the child was male, and the obtained mitochondrial profile matched a living maternal relative of the presumed missing child. These multi-disciplinary analyses resulted in a legal identification 41 years after the discovery of the remains, highlighting the enormous potential of combining radiocarbon analysis with anthropological and mtDNA analyses in producing confident personal identifications for forensic cold cases dating to within the last 60 years.