Even when all that's left is a skull, some bones and some clothing, careful investigation can turn up clues that might help reveal a person's killer, forensic experts said Wednesday.
That work began Wednesday with the remains of Chandra Levy, the 24-year old federal intern who disappeared a year ago. The remains were found in Washington's Rock Creek Park.
Police said they recovered a skull, other bones, a jogging bra, tennis shoes and other items but have no idea how Levy died.
The medical examiner, Dr. Jonathan Arden, declined to describe the condition of the remains or say how long it might take to determine when and how Levy died. Arden said a Smithsonian anthropologist would help analyze the bones.
The skull and bones might reveal how she died, forensic experts said. For example, if a person is stabbed and the blade hits a bone, it will leave a mark, said Joe Collier, retired director of the Phoenix Police crime laboratory.
Certain kinds of skull fractures, or of course a bullet hole, can also reveal how a person died, he said.
He and others said careful examination of the body, clothing and nearby grounds could turn up fibers that indicate, for example, that the person had been transported in the trunk of a car or had been in contact with a particular kind of rug. Similarly, human hairs that don't belong to the person may yield DNA that can be compared against a suspect's, experts said.
Similarly, saliva or semen could turn up on clothing, and that could yield useful DNA, said Rod Englert, a forensic consultant in Portland, Ore. If a killer tightly twists a cloth or rope around the victim's neck, he could even unwittingly strip off skin cells from his hands, leaving them - and their DNA - on the murder weapon, Englert said.
In searching the area around the body, "you sift through the dirt, you sift through the leaves," Englert said. Besides fibers and hairs, such a search could turn up a button that matches a shirt from a suspect, he said.
The investigation should also include nearby bird and rodent nests, he said, because those animals may squirrel away jewelry, bits of clothing or other items.
(Copyright 2002 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
