Introduction of DNA profiling into the forensics toolkit has revolutionized police work and enabled solving numerous high-profile investigations, sometimes decades after the crimes were committed. However, as the demand for DNA profiling has increased with the availability of scalable technology, continuous bulk analysis of samples still implies challenges for forensics laboratories. To aid the forensic process management, we developed a Bayesian network as a novel tool for quantitative decision-making at forensic DNA laboratories. Using this network, we analyzed the cost-effectiveness of bulk trace DNA profiling on a dataset of over 21,000 analysis results of DNA samples from the National Bureau of Investigation Forensic Laboratory (NBI-FL) in Finland collected over the span of 1 year. Our results show that, in the context of Finland, filtering out samples based on their type and the quantity of extracted DNA enables a substantial reduction in processed sample volumes with relatively low risk of missing usable DNA profiles or matches in a database search. We show that DNA from touch samples or samples with low quantities of DNA has a low probability of producing a usable profile and that, under mild assumptions, processing thereof is unlikely to be cost-effective in routine workflow. This is important as such samples comprise the majority of the analyzed material at the NBI-FL. This suggests forensic sample processing protocols could be redesigned for a higher efficiency of DNA profiling for investigative purposes. Furthermore, our model provides a template for other forensic laboratories to apply similar analyses to their workflow.
Fetal autopsy remains essential for determining the cause of intrauterine death and for supporting clinical, genetic, and forensic evaluations. However, in cases of advanced maceration, autolysis severely compromises tissue integrity, often preventing adequate identification of anatomical structures and limiting the diagnostic and medico-legal value of traditional autopsy. To address these challenges, we developed and applied an innovative underwater dissection technique designed to improve visualization, separation, and recovery of fragile organs in macerated fetuses. Seventeen cases of intrauterine fetal death between 16 and 36 weeks were examined using a standardized protocol performed entirely in a water-filled basin. Hydrostatic buoyancy gently distended viscera, separated tissue planes, and reduced structural collapse, enabling controlled evisceration and minimizing tearing of friable organs. Thoraco-abdominal dissection, removal of visceral blocks, and cranial extraction were performed under water, followed by fixation and histologic analysis. The technique consistently allowed recognition, retrieval, and documentation of all major organs, including those typically lost or unidentifiable in macerated conditions-such as the thymus, gonads, adrenal glands, and gastrointestinal tract. Improved visibility facilitated accurate photographic documentation and preserved organ relationships despite autolysis. Histology remained feasible in every case and yielded clinically and forensically relevant information regarding gestational age, congenital anomalies, infectious processes, and timing of intrauterine retention. This underwater dissection method is simple, reproducible, and it substantially enhances the diagnostic yield of fetal autopsy in macerated cases. By enabling better preservation and documentation of anatomical structures, it strengthens forensic interpretation and contributes to more reliable determinations of cause and timing of death.
Forensic psychiatric patients often present with severe psychopathology, functional impairment, and poor quality of life. Longitudinal follow-up studies in forensic psychiatric outpatient populations remain limited. The objective is to assess psychopathology, quality of life, global functioning, and general health in forensic psychiatric outpatients compared with psychiatric patients without a forensic history over 24 months. A prospective longitudinal study was conducted with 120 participants (63 forensic and 57 psychiatric outpatients). Assessments were conducted at baseline, 6, 12, and 24 months using validate psychometric tools, PANSS, GHQ-28, WHOQOL-BREF, and GAF. Longitudinal changes within and between groups were analyzed. Most participants were male (82.5%), single (64.2%), unemployed (72.3%), and living in urban areas (93.3%). Forensic psychiatric outpatients reported less social support than psychiatric patients (68.3% vs. 89.5%). Most had a history of incarceration (93.8%). Schizophrenia was the predominant diagnosis (98.3%). Psychopathology, functioning, quality of life, and general health improved significantly over time in both groups (p < 0.001). Positive symptoms improved more in psychiatric patients (mean change -8.96). Psychiatric patients scored significantly higher in the WHOQOL-BREF "environment" domain at baseline and at 6 months. Greater improvement in anxiety/insomnia symptoms was observed in psychiatric patients (mean change -6.44). Long-term outpatient psychiatric follow-up was associated with significant improvements in symptom severity, functioning, quality of life, and general health in both groups. However, forensic psychiatric outpatients continued to experience greater disadvantages, highlighting the need for tailored, long-term, community-based interventions in forensic mental health care.
The experimental work examines the ballistic performance of boron carbide (B4C) ceramics, both as a hexagonal and monolithic cell structure, when used with ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) as backing material against 7.62 mm × 39 hardened steel core (HSC) ammunition. The microstructural characteristics of the B4C were studied utilizing Raman spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Standard test methodology in accordance with National Institute of Justice (NIJ) and Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) was followed. Parameters like area of destruction (DA), back face signature (BFS), penetration depth, and fragmentation were considered. The study indicates that the total area of destruction for monolithic B4C was approximately 5.6%, whereas for hexagonal B4C it was significantly higher at 12.1% due to stress concentration at tile interfaces. In monolithic panels, the projectile exhibited a length reduction of up to 40% and a weight loss of ~27% due to a superior "anvil effect," whereas in hexagonal panels, maximum projectile length loss was 37% with a weight loss of 13%. Overall, the study highlights the critical trade-off between the superior multi-hit structural integrity of monolithic panels and the reduced back face signature of hexagonal panels, providing essential data for forensic reconstruction of armor failure modes.
Assessment of decision-making capacity and guardianship in hospitalized patients represents a critical interface between forensic psychiatry, clinical medicine, and law. In Turkiye, such evaluations are frequently requested by courts or notaries; however, empirical data describing their forensic characteristics remain limited. This study examined hospitalized patients referred for forensic psychiatric evaluation of decision-making capacity and guardianship and identified factors influencing medico-legal outcomes. This retrospective study included all inpatient consultations requested for forensic psychiatric evaluation between January 2018 and June 2025 at a university hospital. Sociodemographic characteristics, referring departments, psychiatric diagnoses, Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores, and forensic psychiatric opinions were extracted from electronic medical records. Eighty forensic psychiatric evaluations were analyzed, including 51 assessments for addressing decision-making capacity for power of attorney and 29 related to guardianship. The mean age was 70.7 ± 14.1 years, and 56.3% of patients were male. Most referrals originated from Internal Medicine and Intensive Care units. Among capacity evaluations, 74.5% of patients possessed decision-making capacity, while 19.6% lacked capacity. Patients assessed as possessing capacity had significantly higher MMSE scores than those assessed as lacking capacity (25.88 ± 2.37 vs. 19.33 ± 2.34; p < 0.001). Guardianship-related evaluations were mainly associated with mental disorders due to acute brain injury. In this acute hospital setting, lack of decision-making capacity was most commonly associated with delirium and dementia, whereas guardianship considerations primarily involved patients with acute brain injury or severe medical illness. These findings underscore the distinct clinical profiles underlying forensic capacity and guardianship evaluations in hospitalized populations.
Postmortem perfusion is a procedure which provides in-vivo fixation of the human body and prevents organ and tissue decomposition after biological death occurs. Formaldehyde-based embalming solutions influence nucleic acid degradation, which reduces the quality and quantity of DNA extracted and the effectiveness of short tandem repeat (STR) typing. This research is a 1-year study aimed at determining the timeframe within which viable DNA profiles can be generated from different tissue types, post-embalming. Samples from the bone marrow (tibia), trapezius and quadriceps muscles, liver, and brain tissues were collected before embalming and at seven time points post-embalming. DNA extraction and quantification were performed on each sample to assess whether sufficient DNA was available for testing. Samples with DNA quantities over 0.05 ng/μL underwent amplification and STR analysis to produce DNA profiles. Quantification values and profile quality were compared across tissue types and time points. Results showed that prolonged exposure to embalming solutions significantly reduced DNA quality, leading to less discernible profiles. Statistically significant differences were detected among all tissue types at all time periods. Liver and brain samples retained more DNA than bone marrow, trapezius, and quadricep muscle samples. Qualitative evaluation of ski slope patterns in liver STR profiles demonstrated increasing signal degradation over time and was consistent across loci, suggesting predictable fragment length-dependent decline. This study suggests that after embalming, the liver is the preferential tissue for recovering DNA for forensic analysis, as the liver samples were the most robust and the only sample type to yield DNA profiles up to 1 year.
Forensic alcohol calculations are used to determine the amount of alcohol consumed based on (a) a relevant biological sample (i.e., breath or blood), (b) the blood alcohol concentration after a certain period following the consumption of a known quantity of alcohol, or (c) the extrapolation of the analytical result of an alcohol analysis to a legally relevant time. Current best practice guidelines recommend the use of percentile ranges for the parameters that contribute the most uncertainty to the results derived from forensic alcohol calculations. These parameters are volume of distribution (Vd) and elimination rate of alcohol (β). To date, there has been a lack of a transparent and defensible framework for using percentile ranges in forensic alcohol calculations. This work uses simulated data and statistical principles to demonstrate both why and what percentile ranges should be used in forensic alcohol calculations. We recommend that the percentile range used should depend on the case type (civil vs. criminal) and the amount of data available. The percentile ranges should be determined from an appropriate population using bootstrapping to estimate the relevant percentile with a two-tailed 95% confidence interval: for civil cases (25th and 75th percentiles; 50% range) and for criminal cases (0.5th and 99.5th percentiles; 99% range or 2.5th and 97.5th percentiles; 95% range) depending on the amount of data available. Using relevant percentile ranges produces results that better reflect the underlying uncertainty in a specific case than using a population average when carrying out forensic alcohol calculations.
The major application of forensic odontology includes the identification of human remains using antemortem and postmortem dental records where an individual is skeletonized, burnt, decomposed, or diminished and cannot be identified by regular methods. The present study aims to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice of forensic odontology in dental practitioners. This questionnaire-based cross-sectional descriptive study was done among dental practitioners working in different hospitals, medical colleges and dental clinics in Kathmandu, Nepal. A total of 171 general dental practitioners, specialists and faculty members were included in the study. The questionnaire included eight questions related to knowledge, four questions on attitude and four questions on practice. The data obtained was entered into a Microsoft Excel sheet and analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences Version 21. For knowledge, attitude and practice scores, frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation were calculated. The independent sample t-test was used to compare the knowledge, attitude and practice scores between general dentists and specialists. The mean knowledge score was 6.70±0.73, the mean attitude score was 2.05±0.97and the mean practice score was 2.68±0.89. Of the total study participants, 170 (99.4%) had adequate knowledge,122(71.3%) had adequate attitude, and 153(89.5%) had adequate practice. There was no statistically significant difference in mean knowledge and practice scores between general dentists and specialists. The mean attitude score was found to be higher among general dentists than among specialists, which was statistically significant (p-value less than 0.05). The study highlights a gap between dentists' knowledge and their attitudes and practices regarding forensic odontology. While they are well-informed, there is a need to improve their practical engagement and record-keeping for effective forensic application in medicolegal cases.
Soft tissue removal is a fundamental step in forensic anthropology, allowing for the detailed analysis of bone morphology and trauma. Among the available maceration techniques, hot water maceration is widely used due to its efficiency and ease of application. However, its effects on internal bone structure remain poorly documented. This study assessed the impact of simmering water maceration (85°C, 6 days) on cortical bone density using computed tomography (CT). Twelve paired femora and humeri from six human donors were scanned before and after maceration. Cortical bone density was measured in Hounsfield units (HU) at the proximal and distal diaphyses. Results showed no statistically significant changes in bone density post-maceration (p > 0.05). Femora demonstrated higher density than humeri, and male donors exhibited greater values than females. Intra- and inter-observer reproducibility was excellent, validating the reliability of the imaging protocol. These findings tend to support the idea that hot water maceration preserves bone mineral integrity and supports its continued use in forensic settings. The study also demonstrates the utility of CT-based densitometry as a precise, non-invasive method for postmortem bone analysis, contributing to the standardization of forensic protocols.
Background: Human skin and saliva microbial communities have emerged as promising forensic biomarkers due to their individual specificity. However, existing studies are limited by small sample sizes and methodological inconsistencies. This proof-of-concept study aims to develop a novel framework integrating 2bRAD-M sequencing with a hierarchical attention network (HAN) for forensic individual identification, addressing these limitations through large-scale public data integration and controlled validation. Methods: We utilized 2263 skin and saliva samples from public databases (Qiita, HMP, NCBI SRA) for model development. These public data included longitudinal samples collected over periods up to 180 days. A contemporary validation cohort of 6 volunteers, providing 26 forensic-relevant samples (including simulated touch evidence), was sequenced using 2bRAD-M for validation. Data integration involved batch effect correction (ComBat), normalization (CSS), and cross-database harmonization using GTDB for taxonomic assignment. The HAN model was optimized with triplet margin loss for metric learning. Results: The HAN model achieved 98.7% Rank-1 accuracy for pristine samples, outperforming random forest (70.2%) and CNN (75.8%). Microbial signatures showed high temporal stability (ICC = 0.86 over 180 days) and robustness in mixed samples (87.4% accuracy). Discriminatory biomarkers included Cutibacterium (skin) and Prevotella (saliva). Particulate matter exposure significantly influenced microbial composition (PERMANOVA R2 = 0.32, p < 0.001). Conclusions: This study establishes a proof-of-concept pipeline for microbial forensics, demonstrating high accuracy under controlled conditions. Future work must address antibiotic exposure, sample diversity, and cross-laboratory validation before forensic implementation.
When bodies of sexual assault victims are discovered in advanced stages of decomposition, the recovery of direct DNA evidence is often compromised, posing a challenge in criminal investigations. This study aimed to determine insect colonization and succession patterns on pig carcasses inoculated with semen and to assess the feasibility of recovering Y-chromosomal short tandem repeat (Y-STR) DNA from fly larvae, fly pupae, and beetles. Three female pigs were used as models to simulate sexual homicide scenarios, and an indoor control experiment using chicken livers mixed with 3 mL of semen was also conducted. Larvae and pupae were collected throughout the decomposition process, with crop/gut contents dissected for DNA extraction using the phenol-chloroform method. DNA concentrations were quantified by qPCR, and Y-STR profiling was attempted using the Yfiler™ Plus kit. In the field experiment, colonization by species from the families Calliphoridae, Sarcophagidae, Muscidae, Silphidae, Dermestidae, and Cleridae followed typical succession patterns, although arrival times varied between carcasses, with higher activity observed on semen-inoculated pigs. Larvae from the indoor experiment yielded quantifiable male DNA and produced complete Y-STR profiles at early time points (24-48 h), with partial profiles thereafter (72-96 h). In contrast, larvae from the field experiment contained only 1-3 pg. of male DNA, insufficient for profiling. These findings demonstrate that insect crop contents can preserve male DNA and occasionally yield usable Y-STR data; however, DNA quantities are often too low for successful profiling. Future studies should therefore incorporate additional genetic markers alongside conventional Y-STRs to enable profiling from degraded DNA.
Achalasia is a motor disorder of the esophagus, with an estimated prevalence of 1 in 10,000 people worldwide. Clinically, it is expressed by progressive dysphagia for solids and liquids, regurgitation of undigested food, and chest pain. In very rare cases, achalasia could become complicated by severe esophageal distension. We report the case of a 45-year-old man who experienced a sudden loss of consciousness during a meal. Endotracheal intubation was impossible due to a tracheal obstruction of unknown origin. Autopsy revealed major distension of the esophagus (maximum diameter of 18 cm), filled with 1 L of gastric contents, compressing the upper airways. Toxicological analyses were positive for buprenorphine, cocaine, ketamine, and tetrahydrocanabinol (THC) at nontoxic concentrations, as well as for drugs administered during resuscitation (morphine and midazolam). The death resulted from mechanical asphyxia due to compression of the upper airways by esophageal distension. This report emphasizes the importance of a meticulous autopsy and comprehensive medical history in cases of esophageal distension, in order to detect the various potential mechanisms of death.
Sudden and unexpected natural death presents a diagnostic challenge in forensic practice, as the underlying cause often remains unclear before death. Acute gastrointestinal hemorrhage due to gastric tumors, such as gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs), is an uncommon cause of sudden death. GISTs are primary mesenchymal tumors of the gastrointestinal tract and most frequently arise in the stomach. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case of sudden and unexpected death due to acute hemorrhage from a GIST. This case report describes a medico-legal autopsy of a 62-year-old Indian male who presented with hematemesis, became unconscious, and died shortly after hospital admission. Internal examination revealed a well-circumscribed nodular tumor along the greater curvature of the stomach, associated with massive intragastric and intestinal hemorrhage. Histopathological examination showed a spindle-cell tumor composed of cells arranged in fascicles and whorls, with low mitotic activity and no evidence of necrosis. Immunohistochemical analysis demonstrated strong positivity for DOG-1 and H-Caldesmon, confirming the diagnosis of a gastric GIST. This case report highlights the importance and seriousness of GIST even when it falls in the low-risk category. In this case, GISTs presented with fatal upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage encountered during medico-legal autopsy in a case of sudden death.
Understanding the dynamics of DNA methylation (DNAm) post-mortem could support forensic applications, particularly the estimation of the post-mortem interval (PMI), age, and sex of remains. In this study, we investigated DNAm changes in pig carcasses (Sus scrofa) as analogs for human decomposition, while measuring the progression of decay. Genome-wide methylation arrays and ELISA assays were run on pig soft tissues collected post-mortem, alongside assessments of DNA integrity. Overall, DNA integrity and DNAm levels declined throughout the post-mortem period, with distinct seasonal differences. We established thresholds for estimating age and sex, referred to as epigenomic profiling, showing that key epigenetic markers retain predictive value post-mortem. Additionally, CpG sites that mapped to the Sus scrofa genome were selected to develop an ElasticNet model that integrated DNAm to estimate the PMI, highlighting the potential of DNAm as an investigative tool. In conclusion, this study is the first to demonstrate the utility of DNAm and epigenomic profiling in extended PMIs, and the first successful attempt to estimate both age and sex post-mortem from DNAm alone.
Antidepressant drugs are frequently encountered in forensic toxicology due to their extensive use and involvement in overdose and fatal poisoning cases, making their determination in postmortem blood analytically and clinically significant. In this study, a sustainable and miniaturized extraction approach based on a clove essential oil-impregnated disposable in-tip cellulose paper device was developed for the green extraction and determination of antidepressants from postmortem blood by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. In the proposed device, cellulose paper, a renewable and biodegradable biopolymer, was impregnated with clove essential oil rich in eugenol, which plausibly forms hydrogen bonds with cellulose hydroxyl groups, producing a dual-polarity sorbent surface capable of hydrogen bonding, π-π stacking and hydrophobic interactions with antidepressant molecules. This modification enhanced extraction efficiency without the need for synthetic sorbents or energy-intensive preparation. The optimized procedure involved 0.5 mL of blood diluted to 5 mL (pH 11), followed by 60 aspirating/dispensing cycles for adsorption and 40 cycles for desorption using 0.5 mL of ethanol. The method exhibited excellent linearity (R2 = 0.990-0.997), limit of quantifications of 0.072-0.95 μg mL-1, accuracy of 89.1-104.4%, and precision within 3.4-12.5%, with recoveries between 75.4 and 92.2% and negligible matrix effects (<8.7%). Greenness and sustainability assessments using Carbon Footprint Reduction Index, Analytical Green Star Area, and Blue Applicability Grade Index tools confirmed a low carbon footprint, minimal environmental impact, and strong alignment with the principles of White Analytical Chemistry. Application to real postmortem blood samples demonstrated successful detection of antidepressant drugs, validating the method's forensic applicability. Overall, the developed method provides a simple, affordable, and eco-friendly alternative for antidepressant analysis, offering rapid extraction, minimal solvent use, and low environmental burden, making it a practical and sustainable solution for routine forensic toxicology.
In global forensic literature, methods for estimating age in young individuals are more commonly addressed than those applicable to adults. This trend is also evident in Brazil. This study aimed to evaluate the performance of the DRNNAGE software for age estimation in Brazilian identified human skeletons. The sample consisted of 400 skeletons (200 females and 200 males), aged 20 years and older, from the osteological collection of the Center for Studies in Forensic Anthropology at the University of Pernambuco (CEAF/UPE). The DRNNAGE trait scoring system was applied to analyze morphological features of the cranial sutures, vertebrae, upper and lower limbs, fusion of the first and second sacral vertebrae, clavicles, first rib, pubic symphysis, sacroiliac joint, and acetabulum. Cohen's Kappa was used to assess inter- and intra-observer agreement. Descriptive and statistical analyses were performed in IBM™ SPSS® (version 22.0), R (version 4.3.3), and RStudio IDE (version 2023.12.1). Neither sex nor antimeric variation influenced the classification of bone maturation stages. DRNNAGE achieves 6.54-year MAE and 90.2% empirical coverage (90% nominal) in a Brazilian sample. The software performed satisfactorily in this sample and reinforces the importance of further regional studies to assess its nationwide applicability, considering Brazil's continental dimensions and diverse population structure, taking into account the well-known intra- and inter-population variability in human aging patterns.
Violence associated with schizophrenia is typically restricted to a small proportion of patients experiencing acute psychosis, impaired insight, or abrupt discontinuation of antipsychotic medication. Longitudinal forensic cases demonstrating recurrent severe violence across multiple decades are rarely documented. This report describes a 48-year-old man with chronic schizophrenia who committed two major violent acts-spousal homicide and attempted parricide-each following abrupt cessation of antipsychotic medication. Despite long-term legal supervision under Article 57 of the Turkish Penal Code and continuous follow-up via a Community Mental Health Center, medication nonadherence triggered rapid psychotic relapse and targeted interpersonal violence. This multi-decade trajectory offers rare insight into the chronic and fluctuating nature of violence risk in schizophrenia. The case highlights system-level challenges in community-based adherence monitoring and emphasizes the essential role of long-acting injectable antipsychotics, dynamic risk assessment, and structured relapse-prevention strategies in forensic psychiatric populations. It contributes new understanding to an underrepresented area of forensic science by identifying a predictable but underrecognized mechanism of recurrent violence, demonstrating that long-term remission does not eliminate risk among high-liability individuals.
Violent Crime Convicted Persons (VCCPs) are at increased risk of somatic health problems over the life course. However, the topic remains insufficiently studied, particularly regarding interactions with healthcare services in high-risk groups over extended periods. This prospective study aimed to explore adverse somatic outcomes in young adult VCCPs with a history of imprisonment and their interactions with healthcare services in Sweden. In the Development of Aggressive Antisocial Behavior Study (DAABS) cohort, male VCCPs aged 18-25 (n = 266) imprisoned for violent and/or 'contact sexual offenses were clinically assessed in 2010-2012 and prospectively followed in Swedish national registries throughout 2017. Information regarding somatic inpatient healthcare utilization (HCU), somatic morbidity, and prescribed drug use was tracked and compared with a general population comparison group (n = 10,000). Baseline risk factors were used to explore prospective somatic inpatient HCU in VCCPs. The DAABS cohort exhibited higher rates of both somatic outpatient (IRR = 1.8 [1.6-2.5]) and inpatient (IRR = 3.3 [2.2-4.9]) healthcare utilization compared with the general population group. They also showed a higher cumulative incidence of injuries of all types (IRR = 3.1 [2.4-4.0]), as well as ambulatory care sensitive conditions (ACSCs) (IRR = 2.2 [1.5-3.2]). Increased rates of prescription drug use were observed for nervous and respiratory systems, whereas reduced rates were especially noted in drugs used for the alimentary tract and metabolism as well as blood and blood forming organs. The DAABS cohort exhibited a severely elevated risk of all-cause mortality (HR 16.1 [9.4-27.8]). Low educational attainment decreased the incidence rate, while foster home placement and the assignment to a persistent offending trajectory increased the incidence rate of somatic inpatient HCU within the cohort. The VCCP cohort exhibited atypical patterns of somatic healthcare utilization, characterized by elevated inpatient and outpatient use, high rates of ACSCs and injuries, and a strikingly increased risk of premature mortality compared with the general population. The atypical nature of this utilization, reflected in the elevated incidence of ACSCs, underscores the need to improve understanding of the group's HCU patterns and the potential barriers to primary care. Enhancing health literacy and reducing barriers to timely and appropriate care are essential steps toward mitigating adverse health outcomes and promoting healthcare equity in this vulnerable population.
The analysis of electronic evidence from smartphones is essential in modern criminal investigations. This study evaluates the performance of three widely used mobile forensic tools, Cellebrite UFED, MSAB XRY, and Magnet AXIOM, using logical extraction on two iOS and two Android devices, and assesses examiner-perceived usability through the System Usability Scale. On the iPhone 11 Pro, UFED (8539 artifacts) extracted more artifacts than XRY (6542 artifacts) and AXIOM (4220 artifacts). On the iPhone 13 Mini, total artifact counts were UFED (135,024 artifacts), XRY (173,140 artifacts), and AXIOM (355,671 artifacts), with the higher AXIOM volume largely influenced by cache-based and WebKit-related data, including web history (32,614 entries) and SMS artifacts (9101 entries). On the Xiaomi Redmi A3, extraction results were comparable across UFED (285 artifacts), XRY (280 artifacts), and AXIOM (329 artifacts). Greater variation was observed on the Samsung Galaxy A32, with UFED (28,214 artifacts), XRY (15,007 artifacts), and AXIOM (79,088 artifacts), primarily due to differences in artifact classification and provenance rather than disparities in access to core communication data. Usability evaluation showed mean System Usability Scale scores of AXIOM (71.0), UFED (69.2), and XRY (59.7). These findings indicate that artifact volume alone does not necessarily reflect evidentiary value and that forensic tool selection should balance decoding capability, artifact provenance, and usability to ensure reliable and defensible digital evidence analysis.
We employ a knowledge graph (KG) approach to aggregate qualitative information to harness and systematically incorporate contextual information into a forensic investigation. We are interested in tracing the spatial distribution and what happens to unidentified human remains after discovery-relationships and successive movements that are not necessarily captured in formal reports. Our aim is to show that, once it is properly modeled, constructed, and implemented in a scalable graph database infrastructure, a KG can be used to answer a rich set of questions that are of direct interest to researchers, forensic practitioners, and advocates. Our focus here is the development of our KG and methodology. We analyze a dataset of South Texas newspaper articles (n = 370) to search for patterns in the trajectories of migrant case outcomes. We utilize local newspapers because they are a ubiquitous source of information and, especially in the development phase, are not forensically sensitive while, simultaneously, they contain useful contextual information. Our study highlights the United States Border Patrol's jurisdictional purview but also highlights what we term Situational Participants, such as a local who happened upon a decedent. Further, the KG detects consistent gaps in information that can inform where support (financial, personnel) is needed. KGs show great potential to help provide fuller insights into the entities involved and successive actions that characterize forensic investigation in South Texas and may be further extended to other areas of the US-Mexico border and broader humanitarian contexts.