Identification of the skeletal remains of the Czech communist regime crime victim, priest Josef Toufar

PEXA, Tomáš, Jan KRAJSA, Markéta ŠAŇKOVÁ, Petr VELEMINSKÝ, Jan HAVRDA, Tomáš KOTRLÝ and Jiří DRÁBEK. Identification of the skeletal remains of the Czech communist regime crime victim, priest Josef Toufar. Forensic Science International. CLARE: Elsevier Sequoia, 2018, vol. 291, p. "E13"-"E17", 5 pp. ISSN 0379-0738. Available from: https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.forsciint.2018.07.002.

Basic information

• Original name: Identification of the skeletal remains of the Czech communist regime crime victim, priest Josef Toufar
• Authors: PEXA, Tomáš, Jan KRAJSA, Markéta ŠAŇKOVÁ, Petr VELEMINSKÝ, Jan HAVRDA, Tomáš KOTRLÝ and Jiří DRÁBEK.
• Edition: Forensic Science International, CLARE, Elsevier Sequoia, 2018, 0379-0738.

Other information

• Original language: English
• Type of outcome: Article in a journal
• Confidentiality degree: is not subject to a state or trade secret
• WWW: URL
• Impact factor: Impact factor: 1.990
• Doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.forsciint.2018.07.002
• UT WoS: 000448250300004
• Keywords in English: DNA; Victim; Totalitarianism; Personal identification; Exhumation

Abstract

Parish priest Josef Toufar died as a direct consequence of torture committed by Communist State Security Service agents, forcing him to confess that "miraculous" movement of crucifix above the main altar during the Holy Mass held in the Roman-Catholic church in Cihost was staged by using a technical equipment. Josef Toufar was presumably buried in a mass grave at the cemetery in Prague-Dablice under a false name Josef Zouhar. In 2013 the Czech Bishops' Conference grant an approval to begin the process of his beatification. However, the beatification required the exhumation and identification of the remains. In this case report, we describe the process of searching, exhumation, and the combined A-STR/Y-STR DNA analysis of remains of Pater Josef Toufar. His identification was feasible due to kinship analysis: buccal swabs of three family members (niece, grand-niece, and grand-nephew) were available for testing. (c) 2018 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V.