‘Our reason for being is to help when we’re needed by the police and society’

By Susan Grønbech Kongpetsak, suko@sdu.dk, 9/29/2023

Peter Juel Thiis Knudsen had no idea what to expect when the phone rang in his office on 28 December 2004.

But at 8:00 a.m. the next morning, he was at Odense railway station on his way to Kastrup Airport with two suitcases – one containing his luggage and one containing the most essential equipment for disaster victim identification.

At the airport, he met up with two Danish police officers and a dentist, and together they boarded a plane to Thailand. The Thai government had asked countries around the world for help in identifying the thousands of people who died as a result of the Boxing Day tsunami.

The small Danish team were the first Danes to arrive in what would become a six-month effort to identify thousands of people who had lost their lives in the disaster.

The logistician in action

Peter Juel Thiis Knudsen was responsible for setting up and leading the Danish forensic work of identifying the many dead. And it was a big job:

- When we landed in Thailand, everything was in total chaos, with thousands of decomposing bodies waiting to be identified. So after less than a day, we sent home a message that we needed help with the task, says Peter Juel Thiis Knudsen about one of his toughest assignments over the years.

But soon the logistician – as the deputy state-appointed forensic pathologist calls himself – and the other deployed Danes got a grip on the situation in Thailand. A mobile forensic unit was set up, which ended up identifying a total of 3,300 of the casualties in Thailand, including 46 of the 47 Danes who lost their lives.

Working in the midst of disaster

But how do you maintain perspective and do your job in the middle of a disaster? For Peter Juel Thiis Knudsen, the answer is relatively simple:

- You have to accept that tragedy is part of the job and be able to separate these things when you work in pathology and forensic medicine. You can’t bring all the grim experiences and fates of other people home with you. Otherwise you won’t last long in the job, he explains and elaborates:

- For me, after about a month of doing pathology, I realised at a young age that I could handle it. So you just find your way through it. I don’t see my field as being much different than other areas of the medical profession. It’s generally an important part of our profession to be able to help and handle the difficult life situations other people find themselves in.

Still passionate to share his knowledge

This year marks 27 years since Peter Juel Thiis Knudsen took up the position as deputy state-appointed forensic pathologist at SDU, and on 4 September his contributions were celebrated at a farewell symposium in O100.

However, the departing deputy state-appointed forensic pathologist does not plan to retire completely.

- Now I’m going to do more of what I want to do. I don’t really need to add any more to my CV.

And Peter Juel Thiis Knudsen is clearly passionate about continuing to influence his profession and share his knowledge.

Over the next few months, he will be writing a chapter for a textbook on forensic medicine, giving presentations to forensic medicine specialists in Linkøbing and participating in a new exhibition about warriors throughout history at Moesgaard Museum. He will also spend a week in Warsaw in connection with the ongoing investigations into the Smolensk air crash in 2010, in which the then Polish president died.

Smitten by pathology

Peter Juel Thiis Knudsen’s dedication to his profession shines through when you talk to him. And it has been that way ever since medical school.

- I was smitten by pathology early on in my studies. It was deeply fascinating to work on making diagnoses and finding answers to why something had happened. And our reason for being is to help when we’re needed by the police and society.

And he has been driven by that incentive ever since. The interview is crammed with stories from a long life in forensic medicine – always fuelled by the aim of doing a little better.

Teamwork is essential

For example, when the first centre for rape victims was established, bringing together examinations and treatment in one location, which significantly improved conditions for victims. Or developing the Odense model, in which all forensic examinations of children are conducted by both a forensic pathologist and a paediatrician to ensure the best treatment for the children and their families.

Indeed, new advances such as DNA and CT scans have been fantastic tools, providing a whole new overview and incredibly good ideas for forensic pathologists when they need to find answers to what may have happened.

But the most important lesson learned over the years is that collaboration makes all the difference, emphasises Peter Juel Thiis Knudsen.

- It’s no coincidence that the logo for the Danish Society of Forensic Medicine is a jigsaw puzzle piece. Forensic pathologists are of course an important part of finding answers to how something happened, but we couldn’t do it without all the other professionals who are involved in the work. Teamwork is extremely important in our profession.