Forensic DNA Identification

from Human Remains

Submerged in Water
By Cheryl M. Lowe
April 29, 2009

Background

There are many incidences

where human remains end up
in water
What are the distinguishing
features of human remains
found in water?
Is there a difference between
salt water and fresh water in
regard to DNA preservation?
http://www.adaweb.net/Portals/0/Coroner/images/07-0403-0544-17.jpg

Background
There are many factors that affect the
integrity of DNA evidence from remains
found in water
Limited research so far on how long DNA
can be preserved in water

Definitions

Seawater = water from a sea or ocean. On

average, seawater in the world's oceans has
a salinity of about 3.5%, or 35 parts per
thousand
The density of surface seawater ranges
from about 1020 to 1029 kgm-3, depending
on the temperature and salinity

Fresh water = naturally occurring water on

the surface such as bogs, ponds, lakes,
rivers and streams and underground in
aquifers and underground rivers
Low concentrations of dissolved salts
coastal areas freshwater may contain
significant concentrations of salts derived
from the sea if windy conditions have lifted
drops of seawater into the clouds

http://i.treehugger.com/images/2007/10/24/fresh%20water-jj-001.jpg

Total Molal Composition of Seawater

(Salinity = 35)
Component
H2O

Concentration (mol/kg)
53.6

ClNa+
Mg2+
SO42-

0.546
0.469
0.0528
0.0282

Ca2+
K+
CT

0.0103
0.0102
0.00206

BrBT

0.000844
0.000416
Sr2+

F-

0.000091
0.000068
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seawater

Remains Submerged in Water

Favorable conditions for adipocere

Increased saponification due to
exposure to excess of water
Cells absorb water until rupture,
then release fatty contents that are
then hydrolyzed and hydrogenated
Adipocere is common in remains
found in bathtubs, ponds, lakes,
oceans
Bloating, skin slippage, wrinkling
of hands and feet common

OBrien, et al.

Remains Submerged in Water

Tissue loss from:
Effects of the water
current
Chemical composition
of water
Industrial waste water
Predation by insects,
marine animals, fish

OBrien, et al.

Body at 4 weeks

OBrien, et al.

Body at 7 weeks

OBrien, et al.

Body at 12 weeks

OBrien, et al.

Stages of adipocere formation

on a body floating in water for
3 months
Stage I 4 Float, bloat, ovapositioning and
hatching
Stage II 46 Early: insect activity, skin
sloughing, cutis anserina, residue formation on
water surface
Stage III 68 Early: adipocere formation,
microbial growth, color loss; Increased: insect
activity, skin sloughing, cutis anserina, residue
formation on water surface
Stage IV 810 Increased: adipocere formation,
microbial growth; Advanced: insect activity,
cutis anserina, color loss, residue formation on
water surface
OBrien, et al.
Stage V 1012 Advanced: adipocere formation,
microbial growth; Reduced: insect activity

Case Example Fresh Water

Decomposed remains found in a dam on the
Seine River after 3 years
Successful recovery of DNA profiles using
Profiler Plus kit from bone (10 STR loci
and amelogenin)
No results from saponified
sternocleidomastoid muscle

Case Example Fresh Water

Case Example Fresh Water

Case Example Salt Water

Skeletonized remains found in 2 rubber boots in
March 2005, 145m deep in the Southern
Australian coast (Great Australian Bight)
DNA analyses on reference samples from relatives
of fishermen who had disappeared in the area
Victim identified with Profiler Plus kit as a 52
year old prawn fisherman, swept off of boat about
10 years earlier

Case Example Salt Water

DNA stability
maintained by
low light
conditions, cold
temperatures,
alkaline pH of
the ocean floor
(pH was between
7.5 and 8.5)

Byard, et al.

Case Example Salt Water

Remains found relatively preserved within rubber
boots
Wedges of bone from distal ends of each tibia
were submitted for DNA analysis
Homicide with dismemberment was considered as
a possible scenario
Possibility of drifting of remains along the ocean
floorcould have come from coastal areas

DNA Profiles Obtained

Byard, et al.

DNA Stability in Water

DNA integrity can be preserved under the
following conditions:
High mineral content of water: high amounts of
calcium, magnesium, carbonates, sulfides, sulfates
Anaerobic environment: limits oxidative damage of
DNA, as well as bacterial and fungal growth
Neutral pH: around 6.1 to 6.9, buffered from presence
of carbonates
Low oxygen tension

DNA Stability in Water

From 1984 to 1987, there were 177 ancient
individuals of all ages recovered from Windover
pond, Florida Atlantic Coastal Ridge
Intact crania with pieces of preserved brain matter
Pond possessed favorable conditions for DNA
preservation; preliminary Southern blot showed
traces of human DNA

Discussion
Water can preserve DNA evidence in most
cases
The most important factor in the recovery
of DNA evidence from submerged remains
seems to be time
However, it can sometimes complicate
dataespecially in mass disaster
investigations (Southeast Asian tsunami)

Conclusions
DNA identification by itself is not fully
reliable from human remains found in
aqueous environments
Important for other metadata to be
incorporated, such as dental identification,
anthropological studies
Further research needs to be done

Bibliography
1.

2.
3.
4.

5.
6.
7.

Crainic K, Paraire F, Leterreux M, Durigon M, Mazancourt P. Skeletal remains presumed

submerged in water for three years identified using PCR-STR analysis. J Forensic Sci, Sept.
2002, Vol. 47, No. 5. (1-3)
Byard RW, Both K, Simpson E. The identification of submerged skeletonized remains. American
Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology. March 2008, Vol. 29, No. 1, pages 69-71.
OBrien TG, Kuehner AC. Waxing grave about adipocere: soft tissue change in aquatic context. J
Forensic Sci, March 2007, Vol. 52, No. 2, 294-301.
Herrmann Bernd, Susanne Hummel. Ancient DNA: Recovery and Analysis of Genetic Material
from Paleontological, Archaeological, Museum, Medical, and Forensic Specimens. Springer,
1994. Pages 105-106.
Graw M, Weisser HJ, Lutz S. DNA typing of human remains found in damp environments.
Forensic Science International 113 (2000) 91-95.
Pacher J, Cameron J. Submersion cases: a retrospective study 1988-1990, Med. Sci. Law 32
(1992) 15-17.
Swann H, Spafford N. Body salt and water changes during fresh and sea water drowning, Texas
Rep. Biol. Med. 9 (1951) 350-384.

Questions?

http://www.orn.usace.army.mil/op/cen/rec/images/scenic_lake2.jpg