Cape Town has consistently been one of the metropolitan regions in South Africa with the highest murder rates. It has more than double the national average, and is currently ranked second overall and 16th worldwide. Many victims are discovered only after their bodies have decomposed, burned, or been exposed to the elements. That makes identification difficult and delays justice.
Each year, more than 3,500 unnatural deaths, including murders and accidents, are handled by the city’s Observatory Forensic Pathology Institute. Around 9% remain unidentified. That’s hundreds of families left without answers. We asked Victoria Gibbon and colleagues about their work in forensic taphonomy.
