MIERES, SPAIN -- A new tool developed in Spain may help authorities in Mexico identify hundreds of human skeletal remains suspected of being the victims of organized crime.
The European Centre of Soft Computing, based in Mieres, plans to send its new software Skull2Face later this year to several states in northern Mexico and other countries.
"We have been in talks with officials of Chihuahua state about the possibility of using this software to help them identify the skeletal remains of men and women," said Sergio Damas, one of the principal researchers of the software developed by the center and the University of Granada. "Officials from other states in Mexico also are interested in acquiring five to 10 sets of the software system."
The price for the software has not been determined.
Earlier in March, 25 experts from around the world met in Mieres to learn more about Skull2Face software, which its creators say will revolutionize forensic investigations.
Inmaculada Aleman, a forensic anthropologist who also worked on the project, said the software can be used by police, anthropologists and forensic experts to compare a skull with a person's photograph. A match will aid investigators in making a positive identification, which is often the first step in determining whether someone died violently by accident or suicide, or was the victim of a murder.
Chihuahua officials recently announced that they had 51 sets of remains of females sitting in the Juárez morgue, some dating to the mid-1990s, that have not been identified. In a few cases during the past 15 years, only human skulls were discovered in various parts of the city and its vicinity.
The drug cartel wars and related violence across Mexico have also produced mass graves of men and women, including immigrants from Central America who traveled through Mexico before they disappeared.
The software takes cranio facial superimposition, a century-old forensic identification technique, to a new level by making it less costly and less time-consuming to identify someone from skeletal remains. Such an analysis that used to take hours or longer can now be done in two to four minutes.
"We were inundated with calls from interested parties soon after we received the patent for the software," said Damas, who has a Ph.D. in computer science.
The process involves applying an overlay of a person's photograph over a three-dimensional graphic of a human skull. It evaluates many markers used by forensic experts to determine whether there is a match or, in some cases, to exclude an erroneous identification. The program can also be used to produce an approximate image of a person from a skull.
Damas and Aleman said investigators run into problems whenever more than one body is discovered in a mass grave because the bones and DNA of one person can get mixed up with those of others. Decomposition also makes it difficult to identify a person from skeletal remains.
Before using the Skull2Face software, investigators still must conduct the usual preliminary work of assigning characteristics such as age, gender and height. That enables the software operators to make modifications, for example, when the only photograph available is from an ID card or is very dated.
In Spain, advocacy organizations and some officials are interested in seeing whether the software can be used to identify hundreds of Spaniards who were killed during the Spanish civil war and buried in mass graves. The renowned poet Federico García Lorca is among those who might have been tossed into a clandestine grave with others.
Cranial facial superimposition techniques have also been used in the past, using artist renderings and photographs, to attempt to identify Italian poet and philosopher Dante Alighieri and victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, according to an article in ICM Inc., by Damas, Aleman and four other experts titled, "Forensic identification by computer-aided cranial facial superimposition: A survey."
Damas and Aleman, who demonstrated how the process works, said another feature of the software enables investigators in one place to consult and compare notes with experts in other places.
The software will be made available to all outlets by the end of summer.
03/21/2012
http://www.elpasotimes.com/news/ci_20218372/new-software-may-help-id-victims
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