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The falsification of an odontogram
Forensic Science International,
THE FALSIFICATION
20 (1982)
‘71 - 79
OF AN ODONTOGRAM
C. IMOBERSTEG Ave. du Lkman 32, CH-1005 Lausanne (Switzerland) (Received August 26,198l;
accepted November 23,198l)
Summary In March 1979, the putrified corpse of a naked female person, wrapped in plastic bags, was discovered in a mountainous region of Switzerland. Identification was difficult as the victim’s husband had falsified the odontogram given to him by his wife’s dentist for the use of the Swiss police. This exceptional case stands as proof that, if the dental expert receives information directly through close relatives of the victim, it is absolutely essential for him to know the treating dentist’s name enabling him to obtain, if necessary, complementary information, such as X-ray pictures, detailed description of dental care provided, etc. as well as confirmation of what he had been told. In the above mentioned case, the falsification was finally discovered and the victim was identified by means of cross-checking on information as described.
On March 23rd, 1979, a female corpse, unclad and tied into plastic bags, was found in a mountain gully in Switzerland. The partially decomposed body was devoid of any piece of jewellery which would have allowed identification. Moreover, the finger prints were unserviceable. The dentition, however, was well preserved and thus became the only means of identification. The victim’s approximate age was appraised by the Gustafson method and a description of the person’s probable appearance was communicated to the press and to the various police departments of this country. The Swiss dentists were informed through their professional journal. Following these official statements, various odontograms and dental charts were submitted to us for examination. One of these odontograms, which at first we had not considered being that of the victim, seemed somewhat unusual. As a matter of fact, although it showed the patient’s name and the abbreviations used clearly indicated that it had been drawn up by a dentist, the practitioner’s name and address were missing and there was no explanatory legend to go with it. We merely knew that the odontogram was that of a Canadian woman who had last been seen in Paris on January 15,1979, and had disappeared since - that is, at about 500 kilometers from where the body was found. This odontogram had been provided by her husband upon demand of the Swiss police. The couple had been staying temporarily in Switzerland since Autumn 1978. As the husband had definitely left Switzerland at the time we received the odontogram, the Police de Sfirete vaudoise asked the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) to find out the dentist’s name and have him provide 0379-0738/82/0000-0000/$02.75
@ Elsevier Sequoia/Printed
in The Netherlands
78
Fig. 1. Odontogram sent by the dentist. Fig. 2. Odontogram falsified by the missing person’s husband. Arrows show modifications.
more detailed information: X-rays pictures, if available, and an exact outline of the dental care provided for this patient. The RCMP contacted the treating dentist on August 23rd 1979. The husband who had been informed of this step sent a letter the following day to the RCMP wherein he admits falsification of the odontogram given 4 months before to the Swiss Police. A photocopy of a letter with odontograms sent by the Canadian dentist in May 1979 to the husband staying in Switzerland at that time, were transmitted with X-ray pictures to us on September 20th, 1979. On the basis of these documents the identity of the corpse discovered in the gully was definitely established: it was that of the spouse, a woman of Canadian origin. During a professional trip in Europe, the husband was arrested in France some months later and transferred to Switzerland in January 1980. He explained to the investigators how he had managed this forgery. After having received his wife’s dental records from the dentist, he photocopied only the original odontogram. By means of some neutralizing solution he erased all the original markings and afterwards redesigned in ink the tooth morphology us with
19
where necessary, thus obtaining an absolutely black document. Then, he filled in this blank chart with fictitious fillings and crowns by means of a ball-point pen, photocopied it and handed it over to the Swiss Police (Figs. 1 and 2). This forgery had been carried out in such a manner as to forestall the possibility of relating the document to the corpse. As a matter of fact, there was but one concordant feature: that is, a’crown on tooth no. 47. On the other hand, there were three factors favouring rejection of the document: (1) a crown on tooth no. 21: this tooth never having been fitted with a crown but bearing only two fillings, one mesial and the other distal; (2) one filling on tooth no. 32: actually, this tooth was undamaged and had never been repaired; (3) one filling on tooth no. 43 which also, as above, was actually undamaged. After study, we can draw the following conclusions from this case: (a) In an identification case based upon the teeth, the name of the dentist(s) providing the dental records, as well as their addresses, must be known by the expert. (b) Should there be the slightest doubt about the interpretation of data, the person who provided this information should be contacted directly by the expert or through the police. (c) The expert has to know how the documents were obtained; if they were provided by the family or a close acquaintance of the victim, direct confirmation of the documents must be obtained from the treating dentist(s).
Acknowledgements I wish to express my gratitude to Prof. Gunnar Johanson from Stockholm who has determined with accuracy the victim’s age, and to Prof. S. Keiser-Nielsen from Copenhagen for his valuable advice and indication of literature with regard to the pink-teeth problem raised by this case. Last but not least, I thank the Police de Sfirete vaudoise for their interest in forensic dentistry and their team-work in this case.
THE FALSIFICATION
20 (1982)
‘71 - 79
OF AN ODONTOGRAM
C. IMOBERSTEG Ave. du Lkman 32, CH-1005 Lausanne (Switzerland) (Received August 26,198l;
accepted November 23,198l)
Summary In March 1979, the putrified corpse of a naked female person, wrapped in plastic bags, was discovered in a mountainous region of Switzerland. Identification was difficult as the victim’s husband had falsified the odontogram given to him by his wife’s dentist for the use of the Swiss police. This exceptional case stands as proof that, if the dental expert receives information directly through close relatives of the victim, it is absolutely essential for him to know the treating dentist’s name enabling him to obtain, if necessary, complementary information, such as X-ray pictures, detailed description of dental care provided, etc. as well as confirmation of what he had been told. In the above mentioned case, the falsification was finally discovered and the victim was identified by means of cross-checking on information as described.
On March 23rd, 1979, a female corpse, unclad and tied into plastic bags, was found in a mountain gully in Switzerland. The partially decomposed body was devoid of any piece of jewellery which would have allowed identification. Moreover, the finger prints were unserviceable. The dentition, however, was well preserved and thus became the only means of identification. The victim’s approximate age was appraised by the Gustafson method and a description of the person’s probable appearance was communicated to the press and to the various police departments of this country. The Swiss dentists were informed through their professional journal. Following these official statements, various odontograms and dental charts were submitted to us for examination. One of these odontograms, which at first we had not considered being that of the victim, seemed somewhat unusual. As a matter of fact, although it showed the patient’s name and the abbreviations used clearly indicated that it had been drawn up by a dentist, the practitioner’s name and address were missing and there was no explanatory legend to go with it. We merely knew that the odontogram was that of a Canadian woman who had last been seen in Paris on January 15,1979, and had disappeared since - that is, at about 500 kilometers from where the body was found. This odontogram had been provided by her husband upon demand of the Swiss police. The couple had been staying temporarily in Switzerland since Autumn 1978. As the husband had definitely left Switzerland at the time we received the odontogram, the Police de Sfirete vaudoise asked the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) to find out the dentist’s name and have him provide 0379-0738/82/0000-0000/$02.75
@ Elsevier Sequoia/Printed
in The Netherlands
78
Fig. 1. Odontogram sent by the dentist. Fig. 2. Odontogram falsified by the missing person’s husband. Arrows show modifications.
more detailed information: X-rays pictures, if available, and an exact outline of the dental care provided for this patient. The RCMP contacted the treating dentist on August 23rd 1979. The husband who had been informed of this step sent a letter the following day to the RCMP wherein he admits falsification of the odontogram given 4 months before to the Swiss Police. A photocopy of a letter with odontograms sent by the Canadian dentist in May 1979 to the husband staying in Switzerland at that time, were transmitted with X-ray pictures to us on September 20th, 1979. On the basis of these documents the identity of the corpse discovered in the gully was definitely established: it was that of the spouse, a woman of Canadian origin. During a professional trip in Europe, the husband was arrested in France some months later and transferred to Switzerland in January 1980. He explained to the investigators how he had managed this forgery. After having received his wife’s dental records from the dentist, he photocopied only the original odontogram. By means of some neutralizing solution he erased all the original markings and afterwards redesigned in ink the tooth morphology us with
19
where necessary, thus obtaining an absolutely black document. Then, he filled in this blank chart with fictitious fillings and crowns by means of a ball-point pen, photocopied it and handed it over to the Swiss Police (Figs. 1 and 2). This forgery had been carried out in such a manner as to forestall the possibility of relating the document to the corpse. As a matter of fact, there was but one concordant feature: that is, a’crown on tooth no. 47. On the other hand, there were three factors favouring rejection of the document: (1) a crown on tooth no. 21: this tooth never having been fitted with a crown but bearing only two fillings, one mesial and the other distal; (2) one filling on tooth no. 32: actually, this tooth was undamaged and had never been repaired; (3) one filling on tooth no. 43 which also, as above, was actually undamaged. After study, we can draw the following conclusions from this case: (a) In an identification case based upon the teeth, the name of the dentist(s) providing the dental records, as well as their addresses, must be known by the expert. (b) Should there be the slightest doubt about the interpretation of data, the person who provided this information should be contacted directly by the expert or through the police. (c) The expert has to know how the documents were obtained; if they were provided by the family or a close acquaintance of the victim, direct confirmation of the documents must be obtained from the treating dentist(s).
Acknowledgements I wish to express my gratitude to Prof. Gunnar Johanson from Stockholm who has determined with accuracy the victim’s age, and to Prof. S. Keiser-Nielsen from Copenhagen for his valuable advice and indication of literature with regard to the pink-teeth problem raised by this case. Last but not least, I thank the Police de Sfirete vaudoise for their interest in forensic dentistry and their team-work in this case.