They also showed slides and videos on human rights work dealing with physical evidence around the world, again focusing in particular on the work done in Haiti. Finally, they distributed a booklet prepared by EAAF containing general information on forensic anthropology and human rights investigations. Burns and Doretti also participated in the ongoing investigations and judicial proceedings concerning the Raboteau case. Official versions of the story provided by the military government claimed that the military was not responsible for provoking the incident, and had not abused its powers. The official press release claimed that a terrorist group led by a local Aristide supporter had attacked the Gonaives military barracks, and that the military had been obliged to respond by repelling the attack and pursuing members of the group as they attempted to flee by boat.
Witnesses say that the military fired on people as they ran, and executed several on the beach.
Both exhumations sites were on the beach, in locations where witnesses claimed the military had buried the bodies of their victims. The team exhumed three bodies, which were analyzed by team members. Members of the Truth and Justice Commission guaranteed the chain of custody of the evidence. These findings were consistent with the accounts of witnesses, who said the victims had been shot in the back while fleeing, and that the military had subsequently used ropes to recover bodies floating in the sea. Identification is a comparative process, in which physical information known about a victim is compared with information discovered from examination of the skeletal remains.