3.2. Casework selection and cohort description for the casework study
Thirty cases were selected for inclusion in the study period
which occurred between September 2013 and April 2014. For the
case to be included in the study, the remains received must have
been deemed unsuitable for visual identification and classified as
decomposed. An example of the condition of the body for these
cases is shown in Fig. 1. The decision as to whether a body is
visually identifiable occurs at the time of admission to the VIFM
mortuary and is based on the expertise of the technician. The
assessment of the sample type taken and level of decomposition is
based on many factors including the appearance of the body and
the percentage of the body affected by decomposition. If blood is
able to be taken, the consistency of the blood sample is taken into account.