Unfound or concealed bodies

Searching for bodies (eg historical graves) or those concealed, especially victims of homicide, is addressed by providing expertise in the methods of locating graves, including the excavation of the body and subsequent analysis of the bones.

Interference with a body is a crime in Australia. In murder cases, the way in which a body is disposed is influenced by environmental opportunities. Victims of homicide have been found in wheelie bins, near roadsides, in National Parks and reserves, scrubland, in suburban backyards, quarries, creeks and rivers.

The circumstances in which a grave might be searched for include: when grave markers have been lost of destroyed, or never placed, in a cemetery; precisely locating historical graves whose whereabouts is vague documented; locating mass graves that contain many bodies created during periods of conflict (or even disease); and burials in which murder victims have been hidden.

The clandestine grave of the murder victim is probably the most difficult of graves to locate. Available methods of grave location include above ground surface and below surface techniques, and the particular land areas targeted will need to be carefully considered in terms of the search techniques implemented.