Free Essay. Forensic Anthropology- Season 11 Episode 5: Bones: Resurrection in Remains

Bones Season 11 Episode 5 is a Halloween investigative episode that provides both archaeological and supernatural moments. The episode provides a mix of spooky fun moments, flatlining, and witchcraft. The episode also provides a wide range of forensic investigation methodologies for establishing individual identities. The main investigative team also referred to as the Jeffersonian team, managed to use a mix of biological forensic investigation techniques to establish the identity of the decomposing body left in the church as Sarah Lippman, who was aged 26 years old and was a medical student.

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The team also established that the headless corpse was William Howe, a former British commander. This paper is focused on forensic anthropology based on the forensic investigation series Bones. Episode five of the eleventh series reveals forensic-related information to explain a mix of biological forensic investigation techniques. However, the episode has also been accepted and reviewed differently, but in the context of this paper, the emphasis is on the forensic investigation methodologies adopted. Below is a summary of episode five of the eleventh series and forensic anthropology methodology adopted as well as gaps identified during the forensic investigation.

Summary of the Episode

Bones is a crime drama investigative series inspired by real-life forensic anthropologists and novelist Kathy Reichs. Dr.Temperance, also known as 'bones' Brennan, a forensic anthropologist, specializes in reading clues that are left behind on the bones of victims. She is then called in to assist with the murder investigations because the remains were badly decomposed and destroyed to the extent of rendering standard identification methods useless. In the fifth episode of the eleventh series, some college students who were hosting a Kegger in a church find a decomposing body. An investigation team, also referred to as the Jeffersonian team arrived, and Saroyan, one of the Jeffersonian team members, identifies little blood that suggests the victim had died somewhere else and then later dumped at the church premises. Hodgins, also a Jeffersonian team member, had the thought that the person has been dead for two to three days basing on the presence of Staphylinidae. Brennan, another Jeffersonian team member, did an investigation that led to establishing that the victim was likely female after conducting small mastoid processes. According to Saroyan, the elasticity of the epidermis shows that the victim is in her late 20s.

The team also discovers a second dead headless body, and Wendell estimates that the body was for a man and was nearly 6' tall. An analysis of sternal ribs deterioration led to an estimate that the man was 50 years. Saroyan did a tox screen on the bones and finds evidence of arsenic and mercury, which were common embalming elements of the 18th century. The female victim was found to have nasal bones and zygomatic. Angela attempted to reconstruct the face and got a magical hint of the person on the database after matching the hair and earrings - it was Sarah Lippman. Booth and Aubrey did a background check as Sarah at the medical school and interrogated Sarah's boyfriend and the chief resident, John Cruz. The Jeffersonian team introduced FBI agents Abbie Mills and Ichabod Crane. Crane had the thought that the man was Abraham Van Brunt. Brunt was a man who participated in the 1781 battlefield and was decapitated then. Angela did a facial reconstruction match and said the dead person is not Van Brunt but appears to be William Howe, a former British commander. In the investigation, Saroyann found some injection vials, and the skull popped up. This led to a further revelation that when Sarah died, she had drags prescribed by an attendant, Dr.Cruz. He then admits to giving Sarah the drug because she had blackmailed him. The skull reconstruction portrays that the killer held onto the splanchnocranium. Holdings found out that the porcelain canine in the medical waste and cells traced to Sarah's boyfriend, JoelBrown. JoelBrown was coaxed by Sarah into trying to do a cross over but realized there was nothing. He lashed out at her because it shook his faith. He caught the skull she was holding and smashed her face leading to the death of Sarah.

Details on Methods, Tools, and Techniques Adopted

The forensic investigation depicted in the fifth episode of the eleventh season of the Bone series reveals the use of a mix of biological forensic investigation techniques. Below is a detailed discussion of the methodologies adopted in the episode.

Who did what?

The Jeffersonian team members and the FBI used different methodologies to establish the identities of the two bodies. Below is a brief of the different methodologies used by the Jeffersonian team members and the FBI in the forensic investigation.

Soroyan: Saroyan identifies little blood that suggests the victim had died somewhere else and then later dumped at the church premises. She also analyzed the dead body elasticity of the epidermis and established that the victim was in her late 20s. Saroyan also conducted a tox screen on the man's bones and found evidence of arsenic and mercury, which were common embalming elements of the 18th century, while for the female victim, it was established that she had trauma in her nasal bones, sphenoid, and zygomatic. It is also Saroyan who noted the pieces of earrings and made remarks that the victim's hair was blonde, prompting the magical realization that the victim would be Sarah.

Hodgins: Hodgin did an investigative analysis and established the presence of Staphylinidae. This led to the thought that the person has been dead for two to three days ago.

Brennan: Brennan conducted small mastoid processes, which led to the realization that the victim was female by sex.

Wendell: Wendell examined the second dead bodies' length of the femur and subpubic angle. From the analysis, Wendell estimated that the body was for a man and was nearly 6 feet tall. Wendell did a further analysis of sternal ribs deterioration, which led to an estimate that the man was 50 years.

Angela: Angela used a face reconstruct methodology to establish the facial identity of the dead bodies. Angella was not able to reconstruct the face of the female body but got a magical hint of the person on the database after matching the hair and earrings. For the male body, Angela was able to come up with a match.

Crane: Crane was a forensic investigator from the FBI and used historical information to form an opinion that the headless body belongs to Abraham Van Brunt.

The Condition of the Remains

The first body was decomposing, and it is estimated that the victim would have died two to three days ago, and the body moved from the death scene and damped at the church. The second body was an archaeological body which was also headless. The archaeological body was mainly bones without any flesh on it, and the ribs had deteriorated from the analysis of sternal ribs. Other remnants used in the investigation were the post-canal teeth and the wool broadcloth uniform that belonged to the second body and earrings that belong to the first body.

How the Remains were found

The first body was found by some college students who were in an abandoned church premise hosting a kegger. The college students fell through the flow and found the dead body. The second body was discovered by the Jeffersonian team members as they did an investigation of the first body in the premises where the first body was found by the college students.

Methods used for the forensic analysis

There were many forensic analysis methods used in the episode. Below is an analysis of the different forensic analysis methods used.

Observation: Observation involves the use of eyes to identify different possible items and leads at the crime site and on the item being investigated (Algee-Hewitt, 2017). The method was used by Sorayan to identify some blood remains at the scene leading to the conclusion that the victim had died somewhere else and then later dumped at the church premises. In another instance, Hodgin did an investigative observation analysis of the body and established the presence of Staphylinidae. This led to the thought that the person has been dead for two to three days ago.

Elastosis: Elastosis is the analysis of skin elasticity to determine the age of an individual. Forensic investigators use the premise that as a person grows old, the skin becomes clear, thinner, and pale while the skin for young is thick; thus, the more elastic skin is, the more older the person. Elastosis was performed by Sorayan in the forensic investigative episode to establish the age of the first body.

Tox screening: this analysis methodology is also referred to as toxicology, and it involves determining the existence of any drugs, either legal or illegal, and their approximate amounts in the body of a sample under investigation. It is a relatively quickly done process, and forensic investigators use tox screening to establish drug intoxication. In the context of the episode, tox screening was conducted on the man's bones and found evidence of arsenic and mercury, which were common embalming elements of the 18th century, while for the female victim, it was established that she had trauma in her nasal bones, sphenoid, and zygomatic.

Mastoid processes: The mastoid process is an investigative process that entails the observation of the anterior and posterior of the ear canals. Traditional, the mastoids appear pyramidal or conical in shape, and for females, they are relatively small compared to those of men (Blau, 2016). This is one of the methods used for sex determination for archaeological bodies or badly decomposed bodies. In the context of the episode, Brennan conducted a small mastoid process, which led to the realization that the victim was female by sex.

Sternal Ribs Deterioration Analysis: for archaeological bodies, the age of body under investigation can be established by sternum phase analyses where the rate of rib deterioration is established. In a normal case, ribs deteriorate towards the sternum as they become thinner and brittle. In the investigative episode, Wendell did an analysis of sternal ribs deterioration, which led to an estimate that the man was 50 years.

Face Reconstruction: face reconstruction entails reconstructing the face of a deteriorating or decomposed body to establish the facial identity of the victim under investigation. Face reconstruction experts establish the original face features of the victim to assist in establishing the facial features of the victim. In the investigative episode, Angela used face reconstruct methodology to establish the facial identity of the dead bodies. However, Angella was not able to reconstruct the face of the female body, but for the male body, Angela was able to come up with a match.

Historical Information Analysis: Forensic investigations utilize the use of historical information to establish leads for the establishment of archeological body identity. In the forensic investigative episode, Crane used historical information to form an opinion that the headless body belongs to Abraham Van Brunt.