Facial reconstruction is a key part of forensic artistry. From 3-7 August, international experts gathered at the Verlorenkost police station to teach forensic methods on a training course, attended by police officers from the Benelux states, the Greater Region, and even from Abu Dhabi. An American forensic expert, Joe Mullins of George Mason University, led the training.
Specialists have a very unusual task, requiring a great deal of dexterity and specialist knowledge. Step by step, they recreate a recognisable face from the skull of a dead person.
The goal is not to create a perfect portrait, but to make a realistic image to enable people to recognise and identify the deceased.
In 2025, two judicial police officers spent several weeks undergoing training in the United States. Now they belong to the very few experts specialising in this area in Europe. Luxembourg also has the first official internal police service in Europe to specialise in facial reconstruction.
The current training programme aims to build further expertise and foster international collaboration.
It also highlights the advanced technology and scientific methods available today to move investigations forward.
Joe Mullins describes himself as a forensic artist. He emphasises the importance of passing on his knowledge, noting that this technique has already helped many families in the United States find answers about their loved ones.
The facial reconstruction process begins with a 3D print of a skull, which is then modelled using ordinary modelling clay. Specific guidelines and procedures must be followed, including the placement of 24 marker pegs at key points on the skull.
These pegs indicate tissue thicknesses, allowing the modeller to build up muscle groups accordingly.
This method provides a reference point for the reconstruction, though it cannot indicate details such as whether the person was slender or overweight.
A skull also offers valuable information about the deceased, such as biological sex and, in some cases, ethnic background, often determined by the shape of the eye cavities.
Marc Melchior is one of the two Luxembourgish police officers who completed a ten-day training course in Florida in 2025, making them rare specialists in this field within Europe.
The need for their expertise is significant: Luxembourg’s public prosecutor’s office has already requested three facial reconstruction cases this year alone, none of which have yet been made public.
A facial reconstruction can take up to a week to complete. Many course participants are police sketch artists or anthropology students. Joe Mullins, who leads the training, is a world-renowned forensic artist.
He views the process as a blend of art and science, with a clear and vital goal: to provide closure for loved ones.
While advances in computer technology and artificial intelligence (AI) are promising, Mullins believes nothing yet matches the effectiveness of manual, hands-on reconstruction.
"It is a powerful tool", Mullins confesses, and he would be the first to support AI if it consistently produced accurate results.
But according to Mullins, the traditional method, which involves using your hands to model muscles on a 3D skull, remains the most effective and accessible for now.
"Anyone with two hands, a 3D printer and some modelling clay can do it". Correct use of AI, on the other hand, requires specialised training and is much more expensive, which limits its accessibility, he resumes.
In his view, it is essential to master the traditional technique before moving on to more high-tech approaches.
For now, manual reconstruction remains the most commonly used and most successful method.
