Cause of Death in "John Doe & Jane Doe": A 5 year review

Sometimes the opinion regarding the cause of death in "John Doe or Jane Doe" i.e. on unknown dead bodies is a test of ability of the forensic expert and on many occasions it yields little or no results. Here the identification of the body as such poses problems; rest aside the opinion regarding the cause/ manner of death. The present 5yr study was undertaken in the Department of Forensic Medicine & Toxicology, Government Medical College & Hospital, Chandigarh to find the patterns of cause of death in unknown dead bodies, as very little literature is available with regard to John Doe or Jane Doe cases as a group, in India. Unidentified bodies comprised 4 % of the total 3165 cases brought for post-mortem examination to the department. Maximum cases belonged to the age group 41 - 50 years, 30 %. Majority of the opinions regarding the cause of death were given as "no definite opinion" (31%), followed by "cranio-cerebral damage" (30 %) and coronary insufficiency/ Cardiac disease/ aortic aneurysm rupture, (8.9%). Following measures should be undertaken to increase the chances of getting these unknown bodies identified and thereby increasing the chances of arriving at a definite cause of death: drafting of additional legislation for the management of unidentified dead bodies along with streamlining of work on the part of police, use of active investigation and modern investigative techniques, fixing the accountability of the police. Internet based sites of the police like ZIPNET (Zonal Integrated Police Networking) in Northern India, should also be used.