Death is my life!
July 24, 2022
Did you know that the medical examiner and coroner offices are responsible for establishing identification in decedents? Law enforcement will investigate many unattended deaths, but the bulk of cases are not criminal. Most decedents are identified by visual means since they are witnessed deaths in the hospital or at home, or found relatively soon after death by neighbors, family, or friends. But sometimes there is a question of identity due to the circumstances of the death (such as burning, drowning, traumatic injuries, dismemberment) or postmortem changes (such as decomposition, skeletonization, mummification, other taphonomy). Identification can be established by one or a combination of methods such as visual recognition, circumstantial information, radiographic or medical comparison, fingerprints, dentals, and DNA. While forensic anthropology is not a method of positive scientific identification, a biological profile (an estimation of age, sex, ancestry/race, stature) can help narrow the field of potential individuals. Many states have no legal requirements for the investigation of unidentified human remains, including the retention of case evidence, and only 8 states encourage but do not mandate consultation with a forensic anthropologist on medicolegal casework (Rodriguez, et al., 2022; Carter, 2022).
Speaking of identity - I’ve known since high school that I was a little different – a little bit of a rebel mixed in with a lot of nerd. I didn’t fit in with one true clique and had friends in sports, band, drama club, with pimples, and with fancy cars. I knew I was destined for great things, things that were abnormal and fantastic. So I did that – I became a person who investigates death! I educated myself, I got certified and professional, and I investigated the shit out of some death. But it’s funny, as I built this identity for myself “forensic anthropologist” and “death investigator” I was always hesitant to share it with strangers. I didn’t want to talk about my job because it was so popular in the media and the media had it so wrong. And part of that identity was playing the cool guy, nothing bothers her, she doesn’t need to mingle with the common folks, she drinks scotch straight. I was an extrovert who was too cool for socializing. I loved this identity so much – it was like an armor.
Raise your hand if you ever used “Sorry I’m on call” to get out of something you actually didn’t want to do in the first place?!
Anyway, my identity became a fixed part of me, static and unchangeable. But this is NOT TRUE. Things come into our lives and then leave. Things that may have served us before are no longer useful. Friends’ jokes may not hit the same because you have grown and changed. My identity armor came crashing down when I had a baby. Pregnancy was one thing – I could still hang out with my friends, work the crazy hours, macerate bodies. But when the baby came out, everything changed. I was no longer on my time – I was on her time. So over the last 10 years (she turns 11 next month) I’ve been re-learning everything about who I am and who I want to be. Who do I want to surround myself with? What kind of person do I want to show up as. What are my values?
Talking about death is kind of like talking about being sober. It’s all taboo. So really, I’ve been primed for this my whole adult life! I can still be that calm rebel while sharing vulnerably and honestly. I can still enjoy social situations while getting the heck out of there at a reasonable hour for my beauty sleep!
I hope you will all continue to join me down this path while I explore this life in death investigation. I’ll be sharing my story on August 4th at 6pm EST in my private facebook group. See you here!
Kat
