Legally Interred and Unlawful Burials: A Retrospective Study of Exhumation Cases in the Province of Quebec, Canada

ABSTRACT

Exhumations cases have been the focus of very few retrospective studies. In fact, no study ever described unlawful burials, while exhumations of legally interred bodies were only described by German studies. In the present study, exhumation cases of legally interred and unlawful burials performed over a six-year period (2000-2005) in the province of Quebec, Canada, were retrospectively analyzed. A total of 8 cases were found, representing 0.2% of all forensic autopsies and 0,0024% of all deaths. Of those, 5 were unlawful burials (62.5%), whereas the remaining 3 (37.5%) were legally interred bodies. Overall, the time of interment ranged from 2 weeks to 2 years. Forensic pathologists participated in 5 of the 8 (62.5%) exhumation cases. Exhumations rates in different populations are discussed, as well as reasons to conduct an exhumation and if the forensic pathologist must be present on the scene.