Confirmation of the identity of human skeletal remains using multiplex PCR amplification and typing kits

The identity of human skeletal remains found in a wooded area approximately one year after the person was reported missing was provisionally established by routine methods and circumstantial evidence. Multiplex PCR systems-the AmpliType® PM PCR Amplification and Typing Kit and the GenePrint(TM) STR Triplex Amplification and Typing Kit-were used to confirm the identification. DNA profiles from femur bone from the remains were compared with profiles derived from head hairs from a hairbrush recovered in the missing woman's apartment. In addition, a sex typing procedure using the X-Y homologous gene amelogenin was carried out. This is the first report of a case using commercially available multiplex PCR amplification and typing kits to confirm the identity of skeletal remains.