Forensic scientists incorrectly guessing the ethnicity of unidentified murder victims (they thought a Black woman's remains belonged to a white woman)

[Xangsane]

I've noticed this trend in America where sometimes if they don't conduct a DNA test to figure out the ethnicity of an unidentified victim, especially if there's only skeletal remains, they get the ethnicities incorrect upon identification of the victim?
Surely there are guides to estimate the race of the victim based on measurements, and if there's soft tissue on the skull, phenotype knowledge?

Take for example:

Michael Rogers (black)

• Black hair
• Brown eyes
• Several prominent and unique tattoos, including:
  • “Forgive me of my sins” on the upper chest
  • “Christ’s disciple” on the back right forearm
  • Ohio State Buckeye symbol and outline of the state of Ohio with “Cleveland 216” on the back left forearm
  • “M” on the back upper left arm
  • “N.F.L.” “money over bitches” and a woman’s face on his left inner forearm
  • “Rubber city boy 330” with a skyline and a cross with unknown writing on left forearm
  • An angel with wings on right forearm

While unidentified, he was thought to be White or Asian.

Sketch (thought to have been Asian or White):

Actual person (Black):

Perrean Gray (black)

Examination showed she was alive when her body was set afire. She was thought to be either white or light-skinned of another race for sixteen years following her discovery, however, DNA analyses proved her to be of primarily African descent with some European ancestry.

Sketch/sculpture before (white):

Actual person (black):

Bobby Whitt (hapa, Korean/white)

He was originally believed to be Hispanic, but DNA phenotyping revealed he was a mix of European and East Asian ancestry.

Sculpture before (white/Hispanic):

Actual person (hapa):

 

[Xangsane]

Margaret Fetterolf (hapa, white/Japanese)

She is commonly listed as White, but she may have had full or partial Hispanic Ancestry.
A tip linked the girl to a family from Puerto Rico or Colombia that immigrated to Boston and resided in Jamaica Plain, Boston, Massachusetts.

"What surprise me is her identity and where she was from. Was always certain she was from Latin America but it turned out shes from Virginia." - someone from a true crime forum

Said forum said she was a Japanese/White hapa.


Sketch (white/Hispanic):

Actual person (hapa):

 

[Xangsane]

Surely, if people from forums such as here and the Apricity were to become forensic scientists and estimated the race of victims, there wouldn't be as many errors as there are currently, no?

 

[buckchadley31]

Dog shit, puke inducing thread

 

[Xangsane]

Dog shit, puke inducing thread

Nah, I just decided to read up on forensics and stumbled upon parabon DNA testing

 

[Xangsane]

Legit confused into why trained scientists would incorrectly classify skulls/faces

 

[Xangsane]

Also it seems to be common for Hapas to be incorrectly identified as Hispanic
I see a lot of Hapas on Reddit's r/hapas say that they frequently get mistaken for Mexican Mestizos
One hapa girl from California on that sub once said she dresses in "street style" to pass off as Mexican