PAPER ANTHROPOLOGY Bradley J. Adams, 1 Ph.D.; Christopher W. Rainwater, 1,2 M.S.; An-Di Yim, 3 M.S., M.A.; and Helen S. Alesbury, 4 M.A. A Retrospective Study of Intentional Body Dismemberment in New York City: 1996–2017† ABSTRACT: A review of New York City dismemberment cases occurring between 1996 and 2017 was conducted, which resulted in a total of 55 dismembered decedents in a 22-year period. Annual trends indicate an average of 2.5 dismembered decedents. Additional results show that 53% of cases involved transection only, 35% involved disarticulation only, and 13% involved a combination of both. When the entire body could be accounted for, the average number of body portions per case was 5.5. Frequent locations for dismemberment were the neck, shoulders, hips, and knees. Dismemberment locations showed a general trend of anatomical symmetry. Seventy-eight percent of the dismemberments involve disposal of body parts in an outside location. Eighty-four percent were concealed from view with some type of covering. The findings from New York City are compared with other studies. KEYWORDS: forensic science, forensic anthropology, dismemberment, New York City, sharp force trauma, transection, disarticulation Dismemberment is defined as the intentional removal of parts of the body (1). More specifically, dismemberment refers to a perpetrator voluntarily using sharp objects to sever limbs or cut the body into smaller pieces (2). Prehistoric and historic cases of mutilation and dismemberment of the human body have been documented throughout the world and are often associated with mythical traditions, ritualistic practices, or warfare (3,4). In mod- ern times, however, postmortem mutilation and dismemberment of the human body is most often associated with criminal activi- ties. Overwhelmingly, modern victims of dismemberment are almost always also victims of homicide (5), although examples have been presented where dismemberment followed an acciden- tal death (6). In medicolegal investigations, dismemberment cases often utilize the expertise of forensic anthropologists (7). During their examination of the remains, it is recommended that tool class, anatomical distribution, and directionality of the cuts be recorded as part of the documentation of dismemberment pat- terns (8,9). Analysis of these patterns can provide valuable infor- mation for investigators and can serve as a way to link crimes and corroborate or contradict eyewitness accounts (8,9). Careful analysis and more thorough research of dismemberment trends can help future investigations as well as our understanding of these crimes. Early attempts at systematic characterization of dismember- ment focused on establishing the link between dismemberment patterns and the psyche of the perpetrator. Few studies truly ana- lyzed the patterns of trauma or injuries from dismembered vic- tims. Some early textbooks in forensic anthropology categorized dismemberment into general categories (8). For example, based on the location of the cuts on the body, dismemberment cases can be divided into two categories: localized and generalized. Localized dismemberment means only one or few parts of the body were removed, such as the removal of the head or the hands. This is often done in an attempt to obscure the identity of the deceased. In generalized dismemberment, cut marks are inflicted throughout the body, and the body is usually cut into multiple pieces. Further categorizations suggest that dismember- ment can also be classified into limb bisection and joint disartic- ulation—the former indicating that limbs are severed through the shaft while the latter indicates limb segments are separated at the point of articulation (8). Another more specific categorization, based on the psycholog- ical evaluation of the perpetrator’s motive, was proposed by Rajs et al. (4). In this study, they classified dismemberment into four categories: defensive, aggressive, offensive, and necromanic. Defensive dismemberment is dismemberment for the purpose of obscuring identification of the victim or to dispose the body more effectively. Aggressive dismemberment is killing by rage, with cuts often concentrated on the face or near the genitalia. Dismemberment fueled by sexual desire or lust is called offen- sive dismemberment, while those done for the purpose of using 1 Forensic Anthropology Unit, Office of Chief Medical Examiner, 520 First Avenue, New York, NY 10016. 2 Department of Anthropology, Center for the Study of Human Origins, New York University, 25 Waverly Place, New York, NY 10003. 3 Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801. 4 Forensic Operations, Office of Chief Medical Examiner, 421 East 26th Street, New York, NY 10016. Corresponding author: Bradley J. Adams, Ph.D. E-mail: badams@ocme.nyc.gov †Presented in part at the 70th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Acad- emy of Forensic Sciences, February 19–24, 2018, in Seattle, WA. Received 17 Dec. 2018; and in revised form 10 Jan. 2019; accepted 10 Jan. 2019. 1 © 2019 American Academy of Forensic Sciences J Forensic Sci, 2019 doi: 10.1111/1556-4029.14012 Available online at: onlinelibrary.wiley.com