Chapter 1 : Fancy Yourself As A Detective?

Welcome, my dear reader. It is a delight to have you visiting our blog ! :)

Have you ever dreamed of being a sleuth like Sherlock Holmes or Nancy Drew?  If yes, you have come to the right place! Here, you will be guided slowly step by step and be taught on how you can apply your general knowledge, skills and medical knowledge to help solve a crime! You'll also be taught on how to think and analyze from a medical and dental point of view too. 

Now, let us not waste any time for time and tide waits for no man. Read the passage below and try to solve the case before the crime goes cold!

Part 1: MURDER Most Brutal!

That particular Sunday morning, there was a different kind of air that hung across the morning sunrise. There was an unusual eerie feeling lingering….

People in the Nusantara Damai neighbourhood were extremely curious about the incident that occurred in the vicinity of the park. It was strange indeed; for they would never really have bothered about it on any other day. Today, they really need to know what had happened. They huddled together in groups, whispering to each other, speculating. They may finally never know…

A string of yellow plastic tape fenced a small bushy area, guarded by men and women in uniform with cold stare as cold as the morning air. They wouldn't allow people to cross the yellow line – just another sign that something untoward and unwelcome had happened beyond that line.

Dr. Suria Nuresti, a young promising detective and crime investigator had just arrived at the park. She was told that place was a possible crime scene, although she wasn't absolutely sure about it. She needed to see it for her to be convinced. She had been assigned as the lead investigator of this case, just to make sure if there was indeed a case.  She was approached by one of the uniformed men whom she showed her badge to and was let past the yellow line.

“What have we got here, doc?” she asked Dr. Rudi Kurniawan, one of the medical examiners that had already examined the place a little while before she got to the scene.

“Well, it seems like we have got ourselves a possible murder scene here but is a little complicated,” Dr. Rudi replied. “A jogger came across this area when her dog started digging into the soil here, and here’s what it found”. He pointed to the ground where a whitish, round object resembling part of a human skull, had been dug out.

“Only a skull?” Suria asked again.

“Well, we also have a few pieces of jaw-like structures bearing some teeth. We are still searching the perimeter for body parts or of any human remains”. Dr. Rudi explained.

“Cause of death, doc?” Dr. Suria asked, kneeling down on the ground, holding parts of the skull.

“Blunt force on the back of the head? I don’t know…there are too many pieces of evidences to put together.”

“Any possible ID?”

Dr. Rudi shrugged and shook his head, “This skeleton must have been buried for such a long time, at least a few months. Even if there is any sort of identification, it would most probably have disappeared by now. But by the looks of it, I am pretty sure there is at least one male skeleton, perhaps a young child.”

To be continued...

Now that you have read the above passage, we are sure your inquisitive mind is filled with many questions and thoughts. Do stay tune for the next part of the story! We have a feeling that the case is going to be a complicated one but fret not, because we are going to work and discuss together to puzzle out the case and at the same time, we shall groom you to become an amateur forensic scientist ! 

There will be questions for every part of the story. So, for the first part of the story, we have 3 questions for you! We shall go through the questions one by one slowly. Let's take a look at Question 1 first, shall we? :)

“ QUESTION 1

We have all heard of how Forensic Dentistry has helped in the identification of burnt victims and also victims with bite marks. Explain more about these and describe how is Forensic Dentistry could be useful in the identification of murder victims?"

So, what do you think? Put your thinking cap on and get ready to answer creatively!

Stay tune for the answers in the next post ! ;)