expert witness

Question 1

what date, what lab, and what bench?

Answer 1

10th april, lab 03009, bench 1

Question 2

how many packages, what were they, and who packaged them?

Answer 2

2, KG001, KG002, KEITH GRANT

Question 3

what did you label them and why?

Answer 3

KG001 - a
KG012 - b, c, d, and e
because they were handed to me prepackaged by KG, 1 bag with 1 bone in it, 1 bag with 4 bones in it, so I labelled them a-e to make identification and continuity easier

Question 4

bone a: preliminary examinations

Answer 4

morphologically smooth, small, cuboid shaped bone

Question 5

bone a: length in mm

Answer 5

27 mm

Question 6

bone a: what bone is it, and why?

Answer 6

proximal phalange, probably of the thumb as it is stout and robust, but not long enough to be a big toe

Question 7

bone a: sex?

Answer 7

unclear as to which sex at this time

Question 8

bone b: preliminary examinations

Answer 8

identified to be animal bone, texture was very smooth and was very light weight

Question 9

bone b: length in mm

Answer 9

121 mm

Question 10

bone b: what bone is it, and why?

Answer 10

femur because:
- femoral head and greater trochanter located on the proximal side
- intercondylar fossa

not a humerus because:
- the ridge would be less deep if it were a radial fossa
- the lack of the supratrochlear foramen

Question 11

bone b: why is it animal and not human?

Answer 11

similar characteristics as a human femur, but much smaller, much lighter, and not dimpled/textured

Question 12

bone b: what animal?

Answer 12

most likely cat, but not confirmed, would need to cut into it to get a more definitive answer. could possibly be fox as the meausrement is more in range with cat but within the lower range of fox.

Question 13

bone c: preliminary examination

Answer 13

human bone, fragmented, large, long bone, heavy, smooth shaft, dimpled head

Question 14

bone c: what bone is it and why?

Answer 14

femur becuase:
- length
- weight
- distal end characteristics (prominent intercondylar fossa)

Question 15

bone c: sex?

Answer 15

sex identification is unclear at this point due to the fragmented nature of the bone

Question 16

bone d: preliminary examination

Answer 16

medium, irregular shaped bone, dimpled and textured, fairly heavy

Question 17

bone d: length, diameter, height in mm

Answer 17

L 78 mm
D 29 mm
H 44 mm

Question 18

bone d: what bone is it, and why?

Answer 18

calcaneus because:
- 3 articular surfaces (posterior, middle, anterior talar articular surfaces)
- calcaneal sulcus
- sustenculum tali
(last two support achilles tendon and the plantar fascia)

Question 19

bone d: sex?

Answer 19

tarsal bones are not usually used to identify sex, so it is unclear.

Question 20

bone e: preliminary examination

Answer 20

iregular shaped bone, light weight

Question 21

bone e: length in mm

Answer 21

59 mm

Question 22

bone e: what bone is it, and why?

Answer 22

talus because:
- trochlea of the talus is identifieable because it is broader on the anterior plane than the posterior (hinge movement)
- lateral posterior process

Question 23

bone e: sex?

Answer 23

tarsal bones are not usually used to identify sex, so it is unclear.
However, the lateral posterior process is AKA the Stieda process is considered an anatomical variant identified in some men, but no women. Still, this is necassarily not indicative of sex.

Question 24

Final remarks RE sex

Answer 24

Due to either the size/importance, whether the bone was complete or not, and the location and type of bone, sex identification for the individual bones was not possible. However looking at the bones as a whole, they are all on the larger side of the average ranges respecitively, possibly indicating MALE, but again, this is not conclusive.