When the medical examiner’s office needs help gathering biological information about skeletal remains, they often turn to Fresno State for help.
Forensic anthropologist Dr. Chelsey Juarez of the Fresno State Forensic Anthropology Laboratory analyzes the remains to estimate things like age, sex, stature, ancestry and to investigate the type and timing of traumatic injuries — whatever the medical examiner needs.
Her work, with assistance from about six undergraduate students in the lab, helps find resolutions for missing people or those who suffered violent deaths, and it gives closure to families waiting for answers.
In May, Juarez helped the Kings County Sheriff’s Office estimate the time since death and the ancestry of bones that were found in a bag along a rural road. She also received news from a separate case that a 2020 collaboration with the Madera County Sheriff’s Office resulted in a positive DNA identification and return of remains to a family on May 1.
This summer, Juarez has another 41 cases, mostly from the Central Valley, to work through.
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