selliot Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 Is there anyone out there who knows what would eventually happen to the unidentified body of someone who the police think may have died in suspicious circumstances? In my story, the identity of the body comes to light 30 years later when a relative is discovered, and I need to know whether the remains would have been disposed of (and how). Anyone know the answer? Thanks in advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjjf Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 Could'nt really tell you a definate answer but i'm pretty sure they would be buried or cremated after a certain amount time and investigation.I would persume when all evidence such a dna dental records etc have been properly recorded for future reference and if no one "claims" the body then it is laid to rest but thats just a guess. found a few links but not sure what good they are. http://www.ehow.co.uk/info_8536799_happens-unidentified-bodies.html http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071030061152AAbdNla http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/Docs/CR/htm/CR.49.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teddybare Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 Long term refrigerated storage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harleyman Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 Is there anyone out there who knows what would eventually happen to the unidentified body of someone who the police think may have died in suspicious circumstances? In my story, the identity of the body comes to light 30 years later when a relative is discovered, and I need to know whether the remains would have been disposed of (and how). Anyone know the answer? Thanks in advance! Finger printing, photographing, physical details including any abnormalities recorded including injuries, stomach contents removed, DNA taken and dental details noted. Body eventually buried after a certain amount of time... perhaps 3-4 months Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hopman Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 Could you give the medico legal centre a ring and ask them? Telephone: (0114) 273 8721 Fax: (0114) 272 6247 Email: medico-legalcentre@sheffield.gov.uk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badlittlepup Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 Buried after a few months when all the forensics are done and they have failed to identify. I remember a few weeks ago there was a story on Look North or Calendar about the body of a baby where exactly that happened. It wasn't a newborn it was quite old. The villagers in the area it was found all attended the funeral. They're not cremated if they are unidentified. Also, it wasn't suspicious but the man in this story was not identified for 15 years after he died in the King's Cross fire. He was buried in an unmarked grave. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2004/jan/22/transport.uk They don't deep freeze them long term, they show respect for the deceased by giving them a proper burial. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
selliot Posted June 26, 2012 Author Share Posted June 26, 2012 Thanks so much for these replies, everyone - this is really helpful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mantaspook Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 Hi Selliot, Assuming the police are aware at the outset that the person died in suspicious circumstances they would gather evidence at the scene of the crime including photographs, blood samples, fingerprints etc. The police inform the local coroner because it a legal requirement that an inquest is held to determine the cause of death, a post-mortem is usually ordered and the autopsy report is submitted to the coroner and the police. If the body remains unidentified it is up to the local council to dispose of the body, a public health funeral consists of a simple service after which the deceased is either cremated or buried in an unmarked 'paupers grave' which could potentially be reused three or four times. Sometimes the graves are shallow and gruesome things happen. You imply that a relative turns up and is identified by familial DNA, if this is the case then one thing you will have to watch in your story is the DNA fingerprinting timeline. If your fictional murder took place 30 years ago in 1982 the police wouldn’t be looking for DNA samples then as the DNA database was set up in 1985, do a google search on ‘Colin Pitchfork’ which should give you an insight into the early days of DNA profiling. In the UK it is left to the individual police force to determine when evidence is taken out of storage and destroyed, in the case of unsolved murders this could be decades as demonstrated by ‘cold case’ reviews that analyse the evidence from old cases and identify criminals by their DNA long after the crime was committed. Probably the most famous one to research would be James Hanratty who commited a murder in 1961 and despite a vocal campaign by his family and others in 2002 the DNA evidence confirmed he was the killer. Another more recent case was John Humble AKA the Yorkshire ripper hoaxer, convicted after his DNA was retrieved from an envelope he had licked over 25 years earlier. Good luck with your novel. Please note this post was prepared despite interruptions from nosy, noisy, crisp-chomping children that kept asking “Whatcha doin’ dad?” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
selliot Posted July 4, 2012 Author Share Posted July 4, 2012 Thanks so much for this, Mantaspook - only just seen it. Have PM'd you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.