Covering Bodies at Autopsy
I see this a lot on television and it really cracks me up. The detective comes into the autopsy suite and the victim’s genitalia or breasts are either covered with a small cloth or obscured by a bright spotlight. I understand why producers can’t show nudity on the major networks in the United States but I wonder if authors believe we actually cover up dead people’s genitalia at autopsy. The short answer is no. Dead people can’t get embarrassed. Detectives, CSIs, and pathologists are used to seeing naked dead people too; much worse actually. You can’t really avoid it while investigating death. In fact, every autopsy should include an examination of the genitalia including photography. Primarily this is to check for injury or disease that may be related to the cause of death or associated with a crime. We also have to search these areas for evidence like DNA, hairs, and fibers. It may be counter-productive to place a towel over a woman’s breasts if you need to swab them for touch DNA.
I’ve talked previously about the problems associated with covering dead bodies at crime scenes. Sometimes a cop or firefighter will cover a body because they don’t want the body visible to the family or public. This is especially true with bodies discovered in public places. We don’t encourage it but if your body is in the driveway of a house in front of a school bus stop (this happened to me) then you generally cut the cops a little slack. But these concerns don’t exist at autopsy. In fact, one of the first things we do at autopsy is remove the victim’s clothing.
A lot of authors have asked me about the circumstances in which we will collect sexual assault evidence. The truth is we collect samples in many cases which may not seem necessary. Most of the time we do it just to cover our bases. You only get one chance to get the evidence and the time and effort is inexpensive compared to an exhumation. Think of a traffic accident involving a teenage girl. Why might you search for sex assault evidence in such a case? What if the reason for her erratic driving was because she had been raped at a party before the crash? What looks like a tragic accident may have much deeper implications. CSIs always have to consider the improbable if we ever hope to discover it.
So if you are writing an autopsy scene make sure you don’t cover the body. Detectives, pathologists, CSIs, and attorneys are all professionals and we see naked people all the time. It comes with the territory.
Posted on August 11, 2012, in The Autopsy and tagged autopsy, coroner, Crime Scene, csi, detective, Forensic science, forensics, medical examiner, murder, mystery, police, thriller, tom adair. Bookmark the permalink. 4 Comments.
Good piece, Tom. There are a couple of situations in which we do cover the genitals, and they’re pretty extraordinary. (Sorry – NYC forensic pathologist/writer here.)
1. In cases where an autopsy must be done over a religious objection (in New York, most frequently an apparent homicide with a Jewish victim), I may be assisted at the autopsy table by a rabbi, there to represent the family and the decedent, and to ensure that no disrespect is shown to the body. In those circumstances, the genitals are covered as much as is possible. This is likely to be a fairly restricted exception – many states make no allowance for faith-based objection, but in New York and in Florida, we have large Jewish populations, and do our best to accomodate religious beliefs to the extent that they do not interfere with a thorough forensic evaluation.
2. When we’re documenting injuries, we’re documenting them with the aim of eventually showing them to a jury. Admissibility of evidence varies widely from state to state, but photographs that are particularly disturbing or graphic may be barred. For this reason, as Tom said, we document the findings scrupulously, but we may also cover the genitals if there is, for example, a gunshot wound of the hip where the genitals would be visible behind the wound. It’s a two step process: first we shoot the wound with the genitals visible, then we repeat the shot with the genitals covered. The DA will get all the photos, and will use the more discrete image for the jury, also showing the exposed genital original to both the defense and the judge. Obviously, that could be done with Photoshop, too, but covering up takes 10 seconds, and the issue of applying ANY manipulation to a photograph taken in forensic evidence gets lots of folks hot and bothered. And quite rightly, too.
You bring up some important issues Jonathan although I have found it to be very case dependent. Which is more disturbing for example, a gunshot wound to the face or male genetalia to a Rabbi? And if the GSW would you then consider covering that? As far as courts go I have never experienced an issue with a judge in District, Federal, or Military courts but I suppose it could happen. It sounds like your office has a system that works well for them and I assume you collect the coverings as evidence in all cases. Your comments regarding local cultural issues is well taken and I have heard of Medical Examiners going the extra distance to accommodate local customs or cultures that reside in their community. It is a true testament to the professionalism of these offices that they make every effort to observe religious or cultural issues while maintaining the highest standards of evidence collection. Thanks for sharing your professional expertise. I know my readers will find it valuable.
Good article Tom! I have a couple of questions. What about when a family member comes in to identify the body? I’m assuming the body is covered up for family members, probably after autopsy? Is this done or is this something they do on TV?
That’s a good question Diane. Normally, we don’t need the family to make an identification but when we do we either show them a photo or the body is covered with the exception of the face. This is only when there is no significant trauma. In such cases the families usually wait until the mortician has done their work to view the body, if they do at all.