Disaster carbonized victims identification in State of Rondonia, Brazil.

Abstract: This work relates the identification of the 13 carbonized corpses in a car crash in which DNA analysis was necessary. The corpses and relatives samples were tested using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification and short tandem repeat (STR and Y-STR) typing. Amplification products were analyzed by an automated sequencer and statistical analyses were performed using Familias 1.7 software. Full profiles were obtained for all samples. All victim samples had relationship to the reference samples, with agreement for all autosomal markers and the Y chromosome haplotype. Human identification through DNA analysis is an extremely efficient tool in forensic casework when other methods are not successful, even in cases of carbonized bodies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]