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Successful DNA-based identification of altered human remains relies on the condition of the corpses and varies
between tissue types. Therefore, the aim of this prospective multicenter study was to generate evidence-based
recommendations for the successful identification of altered remains. For this, 19 commonly used soft and
hard tissues from 102 altered human bodies were investigated. The corpses’ condition was categorized into three
anatomical regions using a practical scoring system. Besides other data, DNA yields, degradation indices, and
short tandem repeat (STR) profile completeness were determined in 949 tissue samples. Additionally, varying
degrees of alteration and tissue-specific differences were evaluated using the Next Generation Sequencing (NGS)
platform MiSeq FGx™. Selected challenging samples were sequenced in parallel with the Ion S5™ platform to
assess platform-specific performances in the prediction of the deceased’s phenotype and the biogeographic
ancestry. Differences between tissue types and DNA extraction methods were found, revealing, for example, the
lowest degradation for vertebral disc samples from corpses with initiating, advanced and high degrees of
decomposition. With respect to STR profile completeness, blood samples outperformed all other tissues including
even profoundly degraded corpses. NGS results revealed higher profile completeness compared to standard
capillary electrophoresis (CE) genotyping. Per sample, material and degradation degree, a probability for its
genotyping success, including the “extended” European Standard Set (eESS) loci, was provided for the forensic
community. Based on the observations, recommendations for the alteration-specific optimal tissue types were
made to improve the first-attempt identification success of altered human remains for forensic casework.