Forensic Identification: Putting a Name and Face on Death

About 4,000 unidentified deceased persons are discovered in the United States every year. But forensic experts are successful in identifying about 3,000 of those bodies within a year. In Forensic Identification: Putting a Name and Face on Death, forensic anthropologist Dr. Elizabeth A. Murray takes readers into the morgues and forensic labs where experts use advanced technology to determine the identities of dead bodies whose names are not known because the bodies are mutilated, decomposed beyond recognition, or cut into pieces. She also explores what happens to the bodies and remains that belong to people who have been missing for so long that law enforcement and forensic files are no longer active.

Through a wide range of fascinating scientific methods—including DNA testing, facial reconstruction, dental records, blood analysis, fingerprinting, and X-rays—forensic specialists work to piece together the stories that will give names back to the unknown dead and missing. Come along to watch the experts do their amazing work.

"From watching CSI and Bones, kids know all about forensics, don't they? Well, sort of.... Murray's exposition will help fill the gaps left by a 60-minute format. Using a framework of 'case files' (printed in white on black pages), the author covers the obvious--skin, hair, scars, tattoos, fingerprints, and bones--and goes on to the presence of certain isotopes, soft tissue, and the favorite of all cop shows, DNA. The explanations are clear and to the point: this is how the unknown dead are identified, and these are the tools the scientists use in the identification process. Written by a board-certified forensic anthropologist, the book contains color photos (some quite graphic), diagrams, and X-rays. One minimal carp: some captions, printed in red on a black background, are difficult to read. Team this with Sally M. Walker's authoritative Their Skeletons Speak (Carolrhoda, 2012) and Lorraine Jean Hopping's engrossing Bone Detective (Watts, 2005) for a solid exploration of a currently hot science. Intriguing and informative." --School Library Journal

"If one were to judge from the slate of current television shows, it would seem that there is no limit to this topic's popularity. In a straightforward, no-nonsense manner, this focuses on how forensic scientists are able to solve the mystery of human remains that are not easily identifiable. While the text is detailed, it is contained to four brief chapters. Meanwhile, plenty of illustrative photographs and diagrams lead readers through the minutely detailed techniques that forensic anthropologists, artists, odontologists, and pathologists use, often working with only skeletal remains, to uncover the identities of individuals. Each chapter opens with two real-life, attention-grabbing 'case studies, ' which set the scene before actually delving into the specific steps taken by specialists. The resolutions of the case files at the end of each chapter provide a satisfying wrap-up while demonstrating how the process explained in that chapter is used to solve the case. A smart and interactive introduction to the CSI field." --Booklist Online