CIOMR dentist takes a bite out of crime

It sounds like a case from the television series “CSI.”

A woman was found murdered at her job on a Saturday. She had been the only person working at the time. What little evidence there was included a piece of candy in the wastepaper basket. The state was able to prove the garbage cans had been emptied the night before, and the murdered woman was the only person who had been in the room other than the murderer. Dr. David W. Johnson, a forensic odontologist, was called in to study the evidence. The dentist proved the indentations left on the piece of candy related to the woman’s husband, and placed the husband at the scene of the crime. At the time, DNA testing was not an option.

The case is one of many that Dr. Johnson has been called on to provide expert testimony. An Air Force Reservist holding the rank of Colonel, Dr. Johnson serves as a consultant for the Montana Law Enforcement Academy. In 1985, he completed a postgraduate preceptorship in forensic dentistry and forensic sciences at the Oregon Health Services University. Since then, he has earned fellowship status in both the American Academy of Forensic Science and American Academy of General Dentistry.

As a forensic odontologist, Dr. Johnson works in the branch of dentistry that deals with the proper handling and examination of dental evidence, and the proper evaluation and presentation of dental evidence in a court of law. This includes dental identification, bite mark identification and dental fraud issues. His skills are highly valued by law enforcement.

“I’ve consulted on cases from county sheriffs, police departments and the Montana Department of Justice,” said the Reservist. “And I’ve also consulted on identification cases from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the FBI’s National Dental Image-Information Repository and even the Montana Department of Livestock.”

In the case with the Department of Livestock, Dr. Johnson helped identify a marauding pack of dogs that was killing sheep.

Another interesting case that Dr. Johnson worked was a serial murder case that was featured in the book “To Kill and Kill Again.” The serial murderer, Wayne Nance, left a number of body parts throughout the hills surrounding Missoula, Mont. Dr. Johnson helped dentally identify two of the “Jane Doe” victims.

Another case was a bite mark case involving the murder of a girl who had been picked up by three men at a bar.

“The last person in the truck to drive the girl home assaulted her and in the process bit her nose while he strangled her to death,” explained Dr. Johnson. “Her body was found a couple days later along the railroad tracks. The bite mark in her nose put the suspect at the crime scene, and because of the position and depth of the bite, the suspect could not use another excuse.”

Dr. Johnson said all the cases are interesting. ”Each case has its own unique twist,” he said.

On the military side, the colonel is attached to the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology. As a forensic dental investigator, part of his job involves providing dental information of service members killed in the Global War on Terror and servicemembers who die requiring an autopsy at the Port Mortuary at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware.

“At the Port Mortuary, we attempt to identify all remains using three methods: fingerprints, dental and DNA,” said Doctor Johnson. “In some cases, we can’t obtain all three. Fingerprints may be burned in a severe fire. If fingerprints aren’t available, dental is the next fastest way to confirm identity. Most of our fallen heroes have been identified using all three methods.”