It doesn’t happen often, but sometimes a dead person is not identified. This also applies to the woman who was found dead in an apartment in Boxtel a few weeks ago. After weeks of investigation by the police, it is still not clear who she is. What happens to a dead person who cannot be identified? And what if the identity really cannot be traced? We asked the police and the Dutch Forensic Institute.
“We have released the body and the lady from Boxtel has now been buried,” says a spokesperson for the East Brabant police. “In a nameless grave. The municipality where the deceased is found takes care of this,” he explains. Nevertheless, the police continue to investigate the identity and therefore also any relatives of the woman. He does not have exact figures. , but it is actually rare that someone is not identified at all.
The police have a list online containing more than five hundred people – sometimes accompanied by shocking photos – who have still not been identified. “But that list goes back a long way and there are few new cases on it,” the police say. She is now continuing to search for the woman in Boxtel, formally on behalf of the mayor. If it were a crime, she did so on behalf of the Public Prosecution Service.
DNA database
If the identity of a dead person cannot be established, the person is included in a database of unknown persons in which the DNA is also stored. However, the country of origin can be a problem in determining someone’s identity, a spokesperson for the Dutch Forensic Institute explains: “In addition to the Dutch database, there is also an international one, but many countries do not participate in it.”
In addition, not everyone whose identity is unclear has also been reported missing, she adds. It regularly happens that remains of someone who is missing are found and whose DNA matches someone on the list of missing persons. “For example, they found bones in the North Sea whose DNA turned out to match a fisherman who had been missing for years.”
Cost
It also happens that the deceased is recognized, but relatives do not come forward. “This could be for all kinds of reasons, for example because they are afraid of being saddled with the costs of the funeral,” says the police spokesperson.
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