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The identification of unknown bodies is the fulfilment of a moral obligation towards the deceased, serves to maintain legal security within a society, and gives families the certainty they need to mourn. Taking into account respective local conditions, the aim should always be to achieve a secure and quick identification. To achieve this goal, a functioning cooperation between investigating authorities and forensic sciences is essential. The main objective of this study was to clarify the potential role of tattoos in the identification process of unknown deceased persons in the state of Jalisco, Mexico. Post-mortem data of 2045 bodies from the Instituto Jaliscience de Ciencias Forenses in Guadalajara were evaluated. Of the deceased 46% were tattooed (male: 47%, female: 39%), with 29% of all bodies (male: 29%, female: 26%) showing tattoos at body locations usually visible in everyday life (i.e. head and neck, forearms and hands). The male bodies were most frequently tattooed on the shoulders and upper arms, followed by the forearms and hands and the torso. Female bodies mostly showed tattoos on the forearms and hands, followed by the torso and legs. Taking local tattooing habits into account, the authors developed a classification for tattoo motives. With decreasing frequency, the following keywords could be assigned to the motives: letters and/or numbers, human, symbol (other), plant, symbol (religious), animal, object, tribal/ornament/geometry, fantasy/demon/comic, other. Results of the study indicate the great importance of tattoos as a possible mean of identification in Jalisco, Mexico – either as a stand-alone identification method, as a complementary tool or for planning and prioritizing subsequent investigations.
Mongolian spots (MS) are congenital dermal conditions resulting from neural crest-derived melanocytes migration to the skin during embryogenesis. MS incidences are highly variable in different populations. Morphologically, MS present as hyperpigmented maculae of varying size and form, ranging from round spots of 1 cm in diameter to extensive discolorations covering predominantly the lower back and buttocks. Due to their coloring, which is also dependent on the skin type, MS may mimic hematoma thus posing a challenge on the physician conducting examinations of children in cases of suspected child abuse. In the present study, MS incidences and distribution, as well as skin types, were documented in a collective of 253 children examined on the basis of suspected child abuse. From these data, a classification scheme was derived to document MS and to help identify cases with a need for recurrent examination for unambiguous interpretation of initial findings alongside the main decisive factors for re-examination such as general circumstances of the initial examination (e. g., experience of the examiner, lighting conditions) and given dermatological conditions of the patient (e. g., diaper rash).