Bones found in Buckeye await DNA analysis
The Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s Office has completed a biological profile of human bones found last week in Buckeye and turned the remains over for DNA analysis, officials said Wednesday.
Details of the biological profile were not immediately released, but an official said the Medical Examiner’s Office was unable to determine whether the bones were male or female.
But it meant authorities were closer to quieting speculation about the remains belonging to 10year-old Jesse Wilson, who was reported missing from his Buckeye home in August 2016. The bones found March 8 were 6 miles from Jesse’s home.
In an interview this week, the Buckeye Police Department said the Medical Examiner’s Office would determine whether the remains belonged to a child or adult, and would dictate how police moved forward in their investigation. A department spokeswoman said Wednesday that they’re now relying on results of the DNA testing.
Officials initially said they hadn’t yet ruled out any demographic — male, female; black, white; child, adult — meaning the bones could belong to any number of missing people.
There are four people, including Wilson, who have disappeared from Buckeye in recent years, according to NamUs, a national database for missing and unidentified people.
But the remains really could come from anywhere — there were nearly 900 people reported missing from Arizona alone since 1944. And as a border state, Arizona has logged hundreds of deaths per year of undocumented immigrants.
Despite the odds, last week’s discovery sparked a feeling of hope for the family of at least one other missing Arizonan, Christine Mustafa. Mustafa’s disappearance from her north Phoenix home in May prompted a sprawling landfill search that ended, unsuccessfully, in January.
Suzanne Mustafa, Christine’s sister, told The Arizona Republic that the family had heard about the bones and was actively monitoring the situation.
“We’re very nervous and very hopeful,” she said. “We are anxiously awaiting the results.”
Laura Fulginiti, a forensic anthropologist who works for the Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s Office, said she works on about 300 cases per year — roughly 30 to 50 of which involve skeletal remains.
Fulginiti said she was called in to work on the Buckeye case. While she couldn’t provide details on her findings, Fulginiti said she had completed her review and had handed the profile over to investigators and the Arizona Department of Public Safety for DNA analysis.
Fulginiti said she was unable to determine the sex of the decedent.
In general, one of Fulginiti’s jobs is to generate what’s known as a biological profile from skeletal remains. The first question she asks is whether the remains are human, and then whether it’s modern. From there, she’ll use the bones as clues to create a general demographic. What’s the sex? Height? Age? Are there any identifying features?
“My goal is to figure out who they are in a broad outline, then try to fill in that outline,” she said.
Certain bones are used as markers for the different characteristics. The teeth, for instance, can be used to determine whether the body is a child or adult. Long bones such as the femur can help give the stature, and, if the remains are from an adult, the pelvic bone will show whether the body is male or female.
The skull can also provide clues as to the sex of the individual, and also point to the person’s ancestry. Old injuries are particularly helpful in narrowing the scope, Fulginiti said.
“If there’s anything unique about you, a surgical implant, if you were in a car accident and you have a bunch of rib fractures, all of those things are reflected in your bones,” she said. “We’ll take X-rays of (the) whole body, and look at anything that sets you apart from everyone else.”
Fulginiti said the process can take as little as a day, or several months. The process is accelerated if a missing person’s family has already gathered medical and dental records for comparison, she said.
Fulginiti said many of the skeletal remains discovered in the West Valley are those who died of dehydration. The area is a major corridor for those attempting to enter the U.S. illegally.
Jesse Wilson’s adoptive mother, Crystal Wilson, reported her 10-yearold son missing on the morning of July 17, 2016.
Police said the boy slipped out of his second-floor bedroom window sometime after 9:30 p.m. the previous night — something he had done in the past, but never for an extended period of time.
Christine Mustafa had an infant at home and a teenage daughter that she adored from a previous relationship. She had a great job.
So it was strange when the 34-yearold didn’t arrive at her scheduled shift at a Walgreens pharmacy on May 11. She hadn’t missed work in her 11 years with the company.
Co-workers had just seen her the day before, and family members had also talked to her then.
Her keys, cellphone and purse were all left behind after she disappeared, police said.