Importance of Craniofacial Superimposition in Forensic Identification: Historical Perspective

Abstract

The successful comparison of human skeletal remains with artistic or photographic replicas has been achieved many times using CFS. From the identification of well-known criminals, such as Adolf Hitler’s chief medical officer Dr. Josef Mengele (Teixeira 1985; Helmer 1987), to the identification of victims of the recent Indian Ocean tsunami (Al-Amad et al. 2006) and in the identification of terrorists (Indriati 2009), this technique has been under continued development since its first application in 1935 (Glaister and Brash 1937). Craniofacial superimposition has become increasingly relevant in forensic scenarios worldwide.