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Publication
Blows or Falls? Distinction by Random Forest Classification
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Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
In forensic anthropology, skeletal trauma analysis can assist pathologists in
determining the circumstance, cause, and manner of death. Determining whether the trauma is
related to falls or induced by homicidal blows is often asked in relevance to legal issues. The hat brim
line rule (HBL) is one of the most commonly used methods. The rule says that fractures resulting
from blows may be found above and within the HBL, not on the skull’s base. Recent studies have
found that the HBL rule must be used carefully, and postcranial skeletal trauma could be useful in this
distinction. Evidence presented in court must follow Daubert’s guidelines for validity and reliability
(evidence validated; error rates known; standards available; findings should be peer-reviewed and
accepted by the scientific community). In this study, we assessed skeletal fracture patterns resulting
from both etiologies. We tested various models for the method; the best one was based on the binary
coding of 12 anatomical regions or 28 bones with or without baseline (age and sex). The results
show the possible identification of the etiology in 83% of the cases. This method could be helpful for
forensic experts in the interpretation of bone fractures
Description
Keywords
Forensic science Blunt force trauma Falls Blows Skeletal fractures CT scan Random forests
Pedagogical Context
Citation
Henriques, M., Bonhomme, V., Cunha, E., & Adalian, P. (2023). Blows or Falls? Distinction by Random Forest Classification. Biology, 12(2), 206. MDPI AG