Exhumation 1

Exhumation:
A Forensic Analysis

Daisy Doan

Forensic Science
Ms. Neal
March 15, 2015

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Exhumation:
A Forensic Analysis
Forensic analysis is significant in the field of Forensic Science for work in labs, research,
criminal cases, court cases, investigations, autopsies, medical requests, legal aspects, and
other branches. Forensic analysis requires a wide variety of techniques in order to accomplish
these tasks. One important technique that relates to the process of an autopsy or body
examination is an Exhumation. Exhumation, a forensic procedure, is the authorized digging
of a dead person out of their grave in order to establish certain areas such as their cause of
death or identity for civil and criminal cases.
Exhumation requires reasons such as Civil, Criminal, and Unusual in order to be executed.
For Civil reasons, Exhumation is useful in order to identify the body for fraud or the settling
of inheritance (Aggrawal, 2001). There are also historical reasons that allow a forensic
pathologist to look at diseases from the persons past generations to figure out medical issues
and/or causes of death. Personal reasons that are under the civil branch are family requests
to relocate their family member to another location (Aggrawal, 2001). Criminal reasons for
an Exhumation to be called is for cases to establish the deceased persons cause of death,
manner of death, or to retrieve an important item that could be used on a case, such as a bullet
from a dead body (Aggrawal, 2001). Unusual reasons for an Exhumation consist of family
requests for reburials due to emotional attachment, checking the process of postmortem
decay, or to reinvestigate an accuseds story.
Sometimes Exhumation is carried out on a cultural basis (Rani, 2012, P. 363). In
Southern Chinese culture, graves are opened after a period of time to have the bones

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removed, cleaned, dried, and placed in a ceramic pot for reburial or in a smaller coffin to be
brought home to the family (Kumar, 2012, P. 363). This cultural reason brings about an
emotional and spiritual impact upon the family because it allows them to preserve, remember,
and keep their family members presence close to them. Although this reason may send chills
down many peoples spines, this Southern Chinese culture is a highly respected and
honorable method for the deceased and their families. In Hong Kong , corpses are disinterred
after six years under exhumation order for real estate and government reasons.
Exhumation can only be followed through when there is a written order from appropriate
authority. Examples of such authorities are the First Class Magistrate (judicial or executive)
and coroners (Rao, 2013). During the procedure, the magistrate or the coroner and the
doctor should be present at the site. The grave is then properly identified and dug up. The
condition of the burial clothes and the surface of the body should be noted along with the
collection of any fluid or debris in the coffin. Some parts of the coffin and burial clothes have
to be removed in order to prevent the possibility of contamination of external sources (Rao,
2013). The body is finally removed from the grave and should be identified by relatives and
friends. A report is then required to be filled out which includes the information of the order,
examiner, and the details of the body. These details include a description of the clothing, sex,
age, stature, identification of marks, post-mortem time, and approximated time of death, date,
and location. A conduction of an autopsy is made along with notes of all findings. For
example, Medgar Evers was exhumed after more than 20 years so that more evidence could
be obtained to find his alleged killer, a suspected Beckwith (Press, 1991). The murder
weapon, a rifle found near where Evers was slain, had Beckwith's fingerprint on it, but he
maintains the weapon was stolen from his home (Press, 1991). Medgar Evans exhumation
was significant and very useful to reinvestigate and determine the true suspect. Through

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careful examination, testing of fingerprints, and a thorough autopsy, Beckwith was found to
be the culprit and was convicted of murder.
Exhumation serves several important purposes, including recovery of the remains for
physical examination and analysis for their identification (Olumbe, 2002). Exhumation also
serves the purpose of releasing the body to relatives for funeral arrangements and emotional
healing; documentation of injuries and other evidence for legal and criminal aspects, and to
search for clues for research, evidence, and historical reconstruction. Exhumation plays a
major role in forensic analysis and can benefit both professionals and the community.

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References
Aggrawal, A. (2001, September 26). Anil Aggrawal's Internet Journal of Forensic Medicine
and Toxicology. Retrieved February 9, 2015, from
http://www.anilaggrawal.com/ij/vol_002_no_002/ug002_002.html
Claridge, J. (2014, September 16). Exhuming a Corpse For Forensic Analysis. Retrieved
February 9, 2015, from http://www.exploreforensics.co.uk/exhuming-a-corpse-forforensic-analysis.html
OLUMBE, A., & YAKUB, A. (2002, December 1). Management, exhumation and
identification of human remains: A viewpoint of the developing world. Retrieved
February 9, 2015, from
https://www.icrc.org/eng/assets/files/other/irrc_848_olumbe.pdf
Press, A. (1991, June 5). Medgar Evers' Body Exhumed for Autopsy. Retrieved March 30,
2015, from http://www.apnewsarchive.com/1991/Medgar-Evers-Body-Exhumedfor-Autopsy/id-59e3f6e8ca4a1817ade08994c6fc724f

Rani, M., Kumar, P., Kumar, M., & Rani, Y. (2012, December 1). Exhumation and
Identification: A Case Report. Retrieved February 9, 2015, from
http://medind.nic.in/jal/t12/i4/jalt12i4p361.pdf
Rao, D. (2013, January 1). Exhumation | Forensic Pathology Online. Retrieved February 9,
2015, from http://www.forensicpathologyonline.com/e-book/autopsy/exhumation