## 3 Procedure for Forensic Facial Soft Tissue Reconstruction in Detail
### Placement of Anatomical Soft Tissue Markers  
Anatomical soft tissue markers, known as landmarks, represent average soft tissue thicknesses at defined anatomical points on the face or skull [26]. The mean millimeter values have been determined using scientific measurement methods and differ between men and women and between leptosome and obese individuals. Of particular importance to the reconstruction process is the extent to which the actual values required for optimal reconstruction of the face of an unknown deceased person deviate from the average soft tissue thicknesses at the respective anatomical points. Deviations result from, among other things, the aging process, nutritional status, and lifestyle of the person to be identified. Data on these soft tissue thicknesses used to be obtained from cadavers [61]. Today, more modern methods such as ultrasound, MRI, and CT are available. Another advantage of imaging techniques is that they allow measurements to be made on living people, eliminating post-mortem changes and artifacts [62]. In addition, differences in soft tissue thickness between sitting and lying positions can be studied [63]. There are many publications that provide information on soft tissue thickness in different ethnicities, sexes, and age groups [13; 64]. The data for soft tissue markers are based on the 2006 study by [PERSON] et al. [13]. In this study, the soft tissue thicknesses of 967 adult Caucasians were measured, taking into account the age and BMI of the subjects. The datasets were then categorized into age groups, e.g., 18 to 29 years and 30 to 39 years. The positions of the anatomical soft tissue markers on the human skull were also taken from [13] for subsequent facial reconstruction. Figure 7: Calculated individual models of the cranium, skull, and mandible and their combination to form an overall model of the victim in Case 2. Illustration of the calculated 3D models for the cranium, skull, and mandible (**A\({}_{1}\)–A\({}_{3}\)**). The models were calculated in the software application Meshroom (Version 2021.1.0). The individual models were combined into an overall model (**B**) in the Blender software application. For the reconstruction, the anatomical soft tissue markers were applied in the Blender software application to the 3D models of the skulls with the corresponding dimensions from Table 3b in [13] for the victim in Case 1 and Table 3c in [13] for the victim in Case 2. In both cases, a normal BMI was assumed, which was taken into account in the anatomical soft tissue thickness data collected by [13] for the unknown individuals. In the cold case, the body was described as a \"medium body type\"; in the case of 2021, no information was available. An overview of the positions of the anatomical soft tissue markers on the skulls of the present cases is shown in the following Figures 8 and 9. The add-on, called the enchanted soft tissue marker (ESTM), optimizes the creation and placement of anatomical soft tissue markers. In previous facial soft tissue reconstructions, it was necessary to search the literature outside of Blender to find the optimal soft tissue thicknesses for each individual. Depending on age and gender, as well as other factors such as leptosomal or obese physique, data sheets with average soft tissue thicknesses have been collected by numerous research groups. In addition to these preparations, process steps such as the manual creation of each individual soft tissue marker in terms of its length and its application to the skull itself were very time-consuming. Subsequent changes also required several additional software-specific steps. This ESTM add-on provides the ability to import preferred marker lists into the software. This allows the user to select the most appropriate anatomical soft tissue markers based on the information available about the biological profile of the individual. The selection includes data from [PERSON] Greef et al. and Rhine and Moore.