Mahim murder case: Bennett Rebello's dental surgeries might be vital clue

Vital forensic clues were found by the forensic odontologist and surgeons attached to LTMG Hospital where the mortal remains of Bennett Rebello have been preserved This might help in confirming his identity as Rebellos face is currently beyond recognitionIn the last one week the crime branch has been able to find seven detached body parts of Rebello dumped by the accused in Mithi river They are still looking for a missing right arm to complete the human skeletalOn Saturday while examining the head and torso that washed ashore on Prabhadevi chowapatty on Friday the forensic odontologists Dr Ankita Vora and Dr Marisha Vatts found that the deceased only had 25 of the 32 teeth Seven teeth were missingmdashtwo on the upper jaw and five from the lower jawConfirming the same Dr Anikta Vora said Ideally a person of Rebellos age 59 would have all 32 teeth intact but we found the deceased had only 25 teeth Also of the 25 teeth we found that he had undergone prosthesis dental treatment for seven of them which includes root canal treatment in five teethThis piece of information is crucial as the investigating police team can now trace the dentist who could help identify the deceased The dental XRay reports preserved by the dentist and our findings can be matched to verify that the body is Bennetts explained Dr Vora Interestingly this is the first case to be analysed by the forensic odontoligist at LTMG Hospital since its inception a year agoWhen asked about the approximate time period of the last dental treatment undergone by the deceased Dr Vora said On the basis of crown conditions it could be ascertained that the deceased might have last visited his dentist approximately oneandahalf to two years agoIn case the police fail to trace the dentist or if the dentist doesnt have XRay records the ondontoligist said that they might have to recreate the face on the skull Such a procedure usually takes time as tissues from the skull will have to be cleaned before recreating the face Dr Rajesh Dhere head of forensic department said that the accused though first timers had studied how to commit the murder and dispose of the bodyWe have found a contused lacerated wound CLW above the forehead which had led to a minor crack It was caused using a blunt object Also five to six stab wounds were seen on the deceaseds abdomen area indicating that the accused had used a sharpedged weapon to cause the injury and to separate the limbs thereby causing injuries around the joints explained Dr DhereAccording to Dr Dhere the remains have saponified process that involves conversion of fat into soap due to being in water Since the remains were dumped in Mithi river which already has a lot of waste and pollutants the skin has also discolouredThe left femur bone had an implant indicating an old fracture which was subsequently reoperated Nails and screws have been found around the femur area which is also crucial piece of evidence to identify the deceased The investigating police might look for the orthopaedic who had operated on Rebello The cause of death as per the analysis given is Haemorrhagic shock due to stab wounds associated with head injuryThe forensic surgeons have also collected the nasal and sub nasal swabs skin etc to ascertain the presence of any pesticide residues for forensic analysis The accused had told the police that post hitting Rebello with a hard object they stabbed him multiple times They then used pesticide spray to ensure that he was dead Interestingly the torso or other body parts were not eaten by any aquatic animal or strays This could help in proper identification of the partsBody parts foundDec 2A whitecoloured trolley bag containing a right leg left hand and male genitalia were found near Mahim beach at 430 pmDec 10A second bag was found in Mithi River behind American School in BKC at 530 pm The bag contained a left leg and right handDec 11At 1230 pm a plastic bag was found behind Kurla Kabristan during a search operation by the crime branchDec 13Human torso with head intact washed ashore at Prabhadevi beach at 8 am which was later identified as that of Bennett RebelloAccuseds blood samples collectedOn Friday the crime branch team took the accused Aaradhiya Patil to the department of forensic medicine LTMG where her blood sample was collected Dr Dhere added We will be sending the blood sample of the accused for DNA analysis and blood group details It will be compared with any skin remains or blood stains if any found in the nail clippings of the deceasedPolice recover weaponA senior crime branch officer said that they have already recovered the sharpedged weapon used in the crime and handed it over for forensic analysis to FSL KalinaThe crime branch investigation has also revealed that Patil did not have any legal papers to show that she was legally adopted by Bennett The only document recovered was a paper which stated that she was staying willfully with himCatch up on all the latest Crime National International 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