Forensics and Michel Eyraud
When Toussaint-Augustin Gouffe was missing on July 27, 1889 in Paris, France authorities did not give much credence to his disappearance, however, when Gouffe still had not shown up three days later, the case was referred to Marie-Francois Garon, who resolved to find out what happened to Gouffe (Owen, 2008, p. 34). Three weeks later, a body was found near Millery, south of Lyon, and a few days after that, snail gatherers found a broken wooden trunk bearing a shipping label from Paris and smelling of death (Starr, 2010). It was only a matter of time before the victim's body would be identified and his killers were brought to justice, but only after a second autopsy was performed.
Gouffe was described as being 49-years-old, standing at 5'8," and having chestnut hair. However, after the initial autopsy, Dr. Paul Bernard concluded that despite the fact that the victim's body was missing the first right upper molar like Gouffe, the similarities ended there. Bernard determined that the body stood at 5'7," had black hair, and was between the ages of 35 and 45 (Starr, 2010). Furthermore, Landry, Gouffe's brother-in-law, could not provide a positive visual identification due to the extensive decomposition...
Gouffe's case would have been closed had Goron not received an anonymous tip months later. Apparently, Gouffe was last seen at the Brasserie Gutenberg with Michel Eyraud and Gabrielle Bompard, who happened to leave town after Gouffe disappeared. Thus, a second inquest was launched and Goron and Lacassagne were able to positively identify the unknown body as belonging to Gouffe.
Because Bernard had destroyed the body's skull and sternum, Lacassagne was unable to determine cause of death, however, through the use of anthropometrics he was able to successfully identify the body. By examining the sacral and coccyx junctions, hipbones, and teeth/mandible, Lacassagne ascertained the victim was 45 to 50-years-old, not 35 to 45 (Starr, 2010). Additionally, by studying six major bones -- femur, tibia, fibula, humerus, radius, and ulna -- Lacassagne was able to determine the victim was 5'8" and not 5'7," which Bernard had calculated by stretching the body out and adding 4cm to the total height, a standard practice of the time (Starr, 2010). Further examination of the bones also led Lacassagne to correctly determine Gouffe walked with a limp, had an arthritic right knee, and had gout (Starr,…
He is also recognized as the Killer Clown, due for his enjoyment of entertaining children in a clown outfit. The time the bones were established to be those of human beings, forensic anthropologists Charles Warren and Clyde Snow came in on the investigation and viewed the bones. The anthropologists started organizing and sorting out the bones, inspecting them carefully for any specific structures that may help validate the victims.
(Bartelink, Wiersema & Demaree, November 2001) (Croft & Ferllini, November 2007) (Jones, January 2008) Actual cut marks in bones are often found on rib bones, or within skulls, and often postmortem dismemberment done near the time of death creates tell tale signs of such trauma on the skeleton, often at the joints. The new emphasis in law enforcement and forensics in general to solve old murders or locate and identify
Anthropology How an Anthropologist Knows There are many different ways anthropologists can gather information and draw conclusions about the artifacts they encounter. Even when confronted with two very similar female skeletons from the same period, a skilled anthropologist will likely be able to make certain determinations about the people that these skeletons belonged to back when they were animated and covered in softer tissues. Features of the skeletons themselves as well as
People attended universities and literacy expanded so there was a commensurate appreciation for aesthetics in general, and cathedral art in particular. Secular themes appearing in religious paintings brought a genre to the attentive eye that had not previously been presented. FIVE: Three heroes in the romantic genre include Jean-Jacques Rousseau (historical), who was a hero leading up to the French Revolution, and many of his ideas of liberty were embraced
But on the other hand, a reader who is also interested in the subject doesn't have to necessarily enjoy the idea of decomposing human corpses - or have really thick skin - to get educated regarding the forensic science / anthropologic value of this book. Being a student in Forensic Anthropology in fact makes it easier to get through the potentially offensive parts of the book, because there are many
Picture a place where criminals could roam freely, detectives, and police officers went about gathering evidence the same way that they do now, except the one main difference is that they do not use science. Without the use of scientific analysis, you would not have a lot of useful evidence that you could use to convict someone of a crime. Criminals could get away with everything from common theft to