Genetic identification of a gunshot victim four years posthumously.

The paper presents a personal identification case of an unrecognized corpse, presumably belonging to a male missing for four years. The cadaver was buried in a ground ditch and covered with slaked lime and soil. During the investigation the burial place was indicated. The corpse was exhumed and afterwards transferred to the Department of Forensic Medicine, Medical University of Białystok. External examination and autopsy findings demonstrated adipocere formation and putrefaction, as well as two gunshot wounds in the thorax and the head assumed to be the cause of death. Personal identification procedure included skeletal and dental examination. As a source material for genetic typing, the femur, brain, lung, kidney and spleen samples were collected. DNA templates were extracted by a modified organic procedure and genotyped with the use of AmpFISTR Identifiler Amplification Kit and PowerPlex Y System in an ABI 310 Genetic Analyzer (Applied Biosystems). All the soft tissue samples yielded sufficient quantity and quality of DNA to perform genetic profiling.