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Lab reveals truths hidden in bones
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It's not quite like `CSI,' expert says
By Jim Buynak
Sentinel Staff Writer
February 14, 2005
GAINESVILLE -- A case number written on a human skull identifies when it
was found in the Everglades.
Anthony Falsetti picks it up, turns it over in his hands.
The skull's size tells him it is a woman's.
The color is gray except for a brown area.
"See the dark part on the back," Falsetti said, pointing to the back of
the skull. "That shows she was lying face up."
Falsetti, a nationally recognized forensic anthropologist, goes through
box after box of bones to identify race, sex and age of what in many
cases are victims of violent crimes.
And along the way, he often helps police determine the cause of death.
"It really is more a visual process than most people know," said the
43-year-old director of the C.A. Pound Human Identification Laboratory
at the University of Florida.
"You look for certain signs that can tell you almost immediately whether
it is a man or woman, an adult or a child."
Popular television shows such as CSI have generated more interest in the
field of forensic anthropology, but the real thing is quite different,
he said.
"It's not like on CSI when someone runs in and says, 'Here's the DNA,' "
Falsetti said. "It's a slow, methodical process. And DNA, in particular,
can take months, sometimes years, to get positive results."
Falsetti's reputation goes far beyond Central Florida, where he is often
called to testify in criminal trials.
He was asked to help identify remains at Ground Zero after the 9-11
terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center in New York City. Just days
after the towers fell, Falsetti was at the site combing through the
minute remains that could be found. He also assisted in investigations
after the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995 and the crash of Flight 800 on
Long Island, N.Y.
At the Gainesville lab, Falsetti and his staff of nine anthropology
graduate students and doctoral candidates each year examine as many as
180 human remains that are sent from around the state.
Dr. Steven Cogswell, the District 5 medical examiner in Leesburg, said
the lab has created a wealth of researchers for authorities.
"Now, thanks to the lab, there is a whole network of medical examiners
and forensic anthropologists that we can turn to for help," he said.
While law enforcement turns to the lab to help identify remains and
pinpoint the cause of death, prosecutors also need Falsetti's expertise
in the courtroom.
In December, Falsetti was asked to make a sworn statement in the Michael
Collins murder trial. Collins was convicted in the killing of Philip R.
Ragins, whose skeletal remains were found outside Eustis in July.
Falsetti and his staff positively identified Ragins' remains, a finding
not questioned in court.
"The defense attorneys didn't even challenge his findings," said Bill
Gross, the assistant state attorney who prosecuted the case. "That
facility is world renowned. We are very fortunate to have them here in
Florida."
The laboratory, a plain, green-tin, nearly windowless building
resembling a storage shed, sits in the middle of a former experimental
garden. It is surrounded by large oak trees and 15-foot-high bamboo
shoots.
Human remains arrive in cardboard boxes, mostly hand-delivered but
sometimes by mail.
Sometimes Falsetti and staff members are called to a scene where the
bones are found.
"We have to be invited in," Falsetti said. "We do the mapping; we
photograph everything. We remove it very carefully because sometime down
the road, if there is a trial, we need to be able to re-create the
scene."
Typically, the lab will conduct the meticulous, painstaking process of
identifying remains. Falsetti assigns two of his staff members to each
case.
Each bone -- the human body has 206 of them -- must be identified with a
case number using indelible ink. The skeletal remains are then laid out
on a table and the visual examination begins.
It's simply an elimination process, Falsetti said.
A quick look at the pelvic bone could easily show if it is a man or
woman: "Women have wider hips and their pelvic bones are wider."
The skull is another clue: "Generally, women have smaller skulls than
men."
Once the gender is determined, that eliminates half the population, he
added.
Ethnicity or race is classified by three groups -- European (Caucasian),
African and Asian. Racial characteristics are easily found in the skull,
particularly the orbital lobes (eyes) and the nasal area, he said.
Age may be determined by the size of the bones or the size of the teeth.
Once Falsetti gets the specifics of the remains narrowed down, the
agency that sent in the bones can research its records for a match.
Broken bones can be compared or gunshot wounds examined.
Not all the remains can be identified right away.
"It's frustrating when you can't identify a person, the immediacy I
mean," he said. "I always think we will eventually learn who it is."
The identification process, from start to finish, usually takes from 10
days to two weeks, he said. But not all the cases are easy to solve, and
that is probably the most frustrating part of his job, Falsetti said.
He pointed to the back of the lab where about 50 boxes of yet
unidentified remains were stacked to the ceiling.
"We know so much about the people in those boxes," he said, "except who
they are."
Jim Buynak can be reached at
jbuynak@orlandosentinel.com
or
352-742-5917.
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