Abstract
The analyses of physical evidence recovered from clandestine single and mass graves have been demonstrated to be of significant evidential and/or investigative value for both court purposes and humanitarian investigations. The detection of these types of graves is, therefore, pivotal to forensic investigations. This article reviews different remote and ground-based methods that have been used to attempt to detect deliberately concealed burial sites and summarizes the experimental research that has, to date, been undertaken in order to improve grave detection. The article then presents the preliminary findings of research being undertaken at the Australian Facility for Taphonomic Experimental Research (AFTER). This research, the first of its kind to be undertaken in the southern hemisphere, is based on experimental single and mass graves using human cadavers. The research is centred on current remote sensing methods and techniques combined with the analysis of the effects of below-ground temperature and moisture and ground-based weather data. It is hoped that identifying successful sensors and detectors will be beneficial to national and international agencies that are involved in forensic as well as humanitarian investigations that require the detection of deliberately concealed gravesites.
Highlights
Perpetrators of crime involving murder potentially employ a variety of methods, including burial, to dispose of their victims [1]
While the analysis of all the combined data will be constantly updated until the final exhumation, the results of the research to date, a period of 1.5 years from initial burial, are promising
While the experimental and control larger graves and the single control grave remained visible from the air over time, it is interesting to note that the single burial was not detected
Summary
Perpetrators of crime involving murder potentially employ a variety of methods, including burial, to dispose of their victims [1]. Locating sites may be difficult and complex for a number of reasons: often there is a time lag between the killing event/s and burial and the ability of investigators to gain access to suspect areas This time lag may be in the magnitude of months or years, with further complications arising from the deliberate concealment of the gravesite location both at the time of grave construction and following burial. Vegetated environments such as forests or jungles may add to the difficulties associated with locating graves. Increasing attention is being given to undertaking research exploring the effectiveness of different detection techniques in a range of environments
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