2007
1st Quarter
3-28-07: Autopsy 1863
Q: I
am a writer trying to figure out what, if anything, a 19th
century physician (actually the book is set in 1863) in a provincial
Canadian backwater might conclude about a dead body found in
salt water, which had a caved in skull and no water in the
lungs. Would they indicate possible foul play? Would they even
examine the lungs at autopsy?
Erna Buffie, Halifax, NS, Canada
A: In
1863, there was essentially no forensic science available.
Fingerprints hadn’t been discovered to be a form of identification,
blood typing was nearly a half century away, and DNA was a
full century down the road. Ballistic examinations were not
done. But, uncovering arsenic in the tissues of a corpse had
been known since Jean Servais Stas, a Belgian chemist, discovered
the technique in 1851. So, there wasn’t much around.
But, there
was the autopsy. The examination of corpses and the determination if any diseases
and injuries were present dates back many, many centuries. Ancient Egyptians
performed something like autopsies but the first true autopsies to gain medical
knowledge were likely performed by Erasistratus around 250 BC or earlier. Galen,
the great first century Greek physician, was the physician to the gladiators
and had extensive experience in anatomy and wounds. He wrote extensively on
these and many other subjects and his shadow fell over medical knowledge well
into the 19th century. Not always for the good, since he was wrong about almost
everything. In 1350, autopsies were done on victims of the Black Death in the
hopes of finding a cause for the pandemic. Then over the next seven centuries
the autopsy became more common and more sophisticated.
So, by 1863,
the autopsy was well ingrained into the practice of medicine. This means that
your physician could easily have the knowledge to perform them. Or not. Since
he is in an isolated area, he could be out of the loop on that so you can have
it either way. If he had any experience at all, he could determine whether
the blow to the head was enough to kill the victim or not. He would see a skull
fracture or bleeding into and around the brain. If he saw these, he might conclude
that this was the cause of death. If he saw none of this, but merely a scalp
bruise, he might conclude that drowning was the cause of death. He might not
look at the lungs but simply know that the victim was found in water and assume
that a drowning occurred. Or if he did examine the lungs and found them to
be dry, he might say that drowning had nothing to do with it and the victim
must have been dead at the time he entered the water. With dry lungs and no
significant head injury he might not be able to say what caused the death.
This gives you several options for how you construct your plot.
I should
point out that dry lung drownings can occur and that any corpse---drowned or
not---that has been in the water longer than 12 or so hours will have lungs
filled with water. This is simply due to water seeping in and forcing the air
out. Like a sponge dropped into water. But this was not known in 1863 so dry
lungs would have meant no drowning to your physician.
3-23-07: More Quick
Acting Sedative
Q: I
am piggy-backing on the "Quick-Acting Sedative" question
that is already posted on your site. Too often in television
and movies we see a chloroformed rag held over a victim's nose
and mouth to render him/her unconscious, but I have recently
discovered that, in actuality, it would take more than just
a small amount of chloroform (more than what would fit in a
rag) to achieve the desired results.
Is there
a (relatively accessible) inhalant that would actually work like chloroform
in the movies intends? (i.e. Something that could be absorbed by
a rag and used to render someone unconscious within a few seconds.)
The victim in my story (male, mid-forties, 180 lbs.) would
only need to be out for 20-30 minutes. He is rendered unconscious
and then put in harms way.
Initially,
it will look like an accident, but when they take a closer look, they discover
that a sedative/inhalant was used, letting them know this was no accident.
So whatever this chloroform-esque inhalant is, I need something that will leave
(somewhat subtle) evidence behind; a film/residue on or around the mouth or
internal damage of some-sort.
SW, Toronto, Canada
A: Actually
what you “discovered” is in error. A cloth can
easily hold enough chloroform or ether to render someone unconscious.
In fact, that’s the way it was done for many years. It
is true that the anesthetist would put a small amount on the
cloth and then keep adding a bit more until the person was
unconscious, but this slow addition of the drug was to prevent
an overdose, which could kill the patient. But soaking a rag
with either of these and then clamping it over the victim’s
mouth would take them down in a couple of minutes. Other inhaled
anesthetics that could be used this way would include Enflurane,
Halothane, Isoflrane, Desflurane, Sevoflurane, and others.
Most of these are derived from ethyl ether.
Since these
are modern anesthetic agents, they are usually given by mask or by way of an
endotracheal tube (ET Tube), which is a plastic tube placed through the patient’s
nose or mouth and into the trachea (windpipe) during surgical anesthesia. Most
of the experience with them is when they are used in this fashion. But since
they are volatile liquids, they could be soaked into a cloth and used that
way too.
The problem
is always dosing. When used by professionals, the patient is closely monitored
and the dose given is carefully controlled. In your scenario, this isn’t
the case. Too little and the victim would not go out or would quickly wake
up. Of course, more could be given. If too much is inhaled, the victim could
stop breathing and could have a marked drop in blood pressure. This could lead
to death in short order. That aside, any of these would work for you---including
chloroform and ether---and the victim could go out in a minute or so and stay
out for 20 to 30 minutes or so. Since the exact dose needed in any particular
individual is not predictable, simply have your bad guy soak a rag in one of
these and go from there.
You didn’t
say whether your victim would survive this event or not. Simply that he would
be put in harms way. If he lived, there would be little trace of the anesthetic
in his body since these agents are destroyed by the body very quickly. That’s
why their effects don’t last very long. If he died, then all body processes
would stop at death and the ME could likely find the agent within the victim’s
blood and tissues. As for a residue around the mouth, this is possible unless
the victim or someone else washed his face at some time. If someone thought
to swab for it, that is.
3-22-07: Tongue Removal
Q: I
am writing a medieval fantasy adventure book and in it one
of the characters has had her tongue cut out so she can't speak.
I am wondering exactly what kind of sounds she might be able
to make. Would she be able to hum? Grunt? I've also heard that
when one's tongue is removed there is no way to keep one's
self from drooling a lot, is that true? And is there a name
for it having your tongue removed – being "detongued" or
something?
Julie-Anne Liechty, Los Angeles, CA
A: It
would be almost impossible to remove the entire tongue as it
reaches much farther down the throat that most people realize.
The removal of the portion within the mouth could be done.
Sound is created when air from the lungs is forced across the
vocal cords in the larynx. The tongue, lips, cheeks, and other
oral structures alter the quality of the sound but do not create
it. Your character would be able to hum, grunt, scream, and
even speak. Her speech would be thick and perhaps unintelligible,
but it would be speech none the less. The loss of part of her
tongue might make handling drool a little more difficult but
it wouldn’t be a major problem.
The scientific
term for tongue removal is Glossectomy.
3-22-07: GSW to abdomen in Remote Area
Q: I
have almost finished my first manuscript for a thriller story
set in South America with the Drug Enforcement Agency, coca-field
burnings, social unrest and the whole shebang. At the end of
the story the villain, a renegade DEA-agent, has kidnapped
our two protagonists and is about to execute one of them, C,
slowly - because he wants C's friend to suffer while
having to watch C die. They are in the Andes, about 4-4500
meters above sea-level. The villain shoots C somewhere in the
abdomen or stomach, I've imagined, but is then interrupted
by another plot development and has to leave the place in a
hurry.
There is
a chance then, for the friend to help C before its too late. The problem is
that they are stranded in the middle of nowhere with no transport and no communications
and the temperatures are near zero. There is a small shelter nearby, but otherwise
nothing.
My
question to you is what types of wounds, for example in the stomach, that one
could realistically survive - given appropriate first aid and shelter - and
for how long under said conditions?
Christopher Marcus, Copenhagen, Denmark
If you choose to publish my submission on your site please
do so under my writer's name: Christopher Marcus.
A: Gunshot
wounds (GSWs) to the abdomen come in many flavors. The bullet
can imbed in the abdominal wall and never enter the abdomen.
This would be a flesh wound and he would survive unless the
wound became infected. This infection would likely take a couple
of weeks or more to become life-threatening. Or the bullet
could enter the abdomen and do little harm to internal structures.
Here he could also survive if no major infection followed.
It likely would in the scenario you describe but could take
many days or even a week or two before he became deathly ill.
If this gives you time for him to be rescued in your story,
then this could work for you. Or the bullet could enter and
damage organs such as the liver, spleen, kidneys, or the intestines.
Here bleeding would be more severe and infection much more
likely and much quicker to appear. This gives you a shorter
time frame to save him. Or, the bullet could enter and damage
the aorta, the inferior vena cava, or another major blood vessel
and he could bleed to death in minutes or hours. You have a
lot of options.
3-22-07: Quick-Acting Sedative
Q: What
substance can knock someone out for up to 4 hours and be administered
through inhalation (Cloth over the mouth?) How long would the
person be unconscious? Would there be after effects upon waking
and if so, what?
Roxanne Ansolabehere, Berkeley, CA
A: The
general rule is that sedatives that act quick, act short. That
is, if they come on quickly, they go away quickly. Inhaled
sedatives such as ether and chloroform take effect quickly
but also wear off in 20 to 30 minutes unless they are given
repeatedly. But, you might look at a narcotic such as Fentanyl.
This is what the Russians used against the Chechen terrorists
who took over a theater. They were strapped with bombs but
Fentanyl works so quickly that they never had time to trigger
them.
Fentanyl
comes as an injectable liquid and in patch form under the trade name Duragesic.
The liquid could be sprayed into the victim’s face and he would go out
very quickly. Perhaps in a couple of seconds. Putting it on a cloth wouldn’t
work because unlike ether it isn’t volatile---gives off fumes. With ether,
the fumes work. With Fentanyl it is micro-droplets of the drug that do the
work. So, placing the liquid into a pump spray or aerosol would work.
3-22-07: Poison Capsules
Q: In
my story, the victim is given poison in two medication capsules,
which have been opened by the killer and the contents replaced.
He is in the presence of several other people when he takes
the medication, has some symptoms but not enough to require
a visit to the Emergency Room. I am looking for a poison, which
would be readily available in the southeastern U.S., would
cause some symptoms within one-half to one hour and would kill
within twelve to twenty-four hours if no medical attention
is given.
I
had planned to use the root of the yellow jasmine (Gelsemium nitidum), but
have been told by a retired detective that the symptoms might be missed or
mistaken for a heart attack. The victim is 60 and the location Florida where
the elderly and semi-elderly die alone all the time. I need to use a poison
with more dramatic symptoms, perhaps an organophosphate pesticide--dursban
or diaznon--which causes vomiting and diarrhea as well as headache, dizziness
and hypersecretion. Would a dose of dursban or diaznon in two capsules
be sufficient to form a lethal dose or would the victim need to take more pills
to die? Do you have any thoughts regarding the use of yellow jasmine?
CAS, Glendora, California
A: Yellow
jasmine would work for your scenario. A large dose can kill
in a few minutes but a smaller dose could take many hours.
This is true of virtually all poisons. The victim would at
first develop weakness, headache, poor coordination, dizziness,
and slurred speech. He might simply appear giddy and intoxicated
or these symptoms might be mild and no one but him would notice.
Later as the toxin level in his blood increased, he would develop
a fever, shortness or breath, seizures, coma, and death.
Organophosphates,
such as Diaznon, Malathion, and Parathion, could also work for your story needs.
These can take effect in a few minutes or be delayed for several hours, even
a day, depending on the dose and the individual reaction of the victim. Your
victim could appear normal for several hours and then later develop headaches,
blurred vision, nausea, diarrhea, excessive salvation, shortness of breath,
palpitations, dizziness, and finally loss of consciousness and death.
You might
also look at Jimsonweed, Oleander, and deadly Nightshade (belladonna) as each
of these can have delayed reactions and lead to death. And of course, the queen
of delayed reaction poisoning are the mushrooms of the Amanita family.
The mushrooms
of the Amanita family go by such pleasant names as Death Cap and Death Angel.
They are so toxic that a single mushroom can kill. The two main toxins are
amanitin, which causes a drop in blood sugar (hypoglycemia), and phalloidin,
which damages the kidneys, liver, and heart. The real treachery of these mushrooms
lies in that fact that the symptoms, which are typically nausea, vomiting,
diarrhea, and abdominal pain, are slow to onset, typically beginning 6 to 15
hours after ingestion, but can be delayed as much as 48 hours. In general,
the later the onset of symptoms, the worse the chances for survival. This is
because the toxins go to work on the liver and other organs almost immediately,
but since symptoms are delayed for many hours, the victim doesn’t know
to seek medical help until it is too late.
3-22-07: Multiple Stab Wounds
Q: The
three paragraphs on Page 180 of Forensics for Dummies regarding
stab wounds has been very helpful to me since the victim in
my novel suffered multiple stab wounds of the abdomen, thigh,
groin, and genitals delivered by three assailants using the
same knife. You state “One goal is to find out the sequence
of the injuries and to estimate which one was the likely killing
wound.” How would the ME go about doing this? Would
the wounds made after death differ from those made before?
How would the ME measure the depth of the wounds?
Finally,
what would be the internal effects of 3 deep wounds made with a 4-inch blade
to the abdomen, a slice from the belly button to just above the pubic area,
and numerous wounds to the thigh, groin, and genitals, concentrated mostly
in the genitals?
TG, Lecompte, LA
A: The
sequencing of stab wounds is an art and only comes with great
experience. There is no way to adequately explain it since
each case is different. But the ME does have a few clues to
help him. If the wounds overlap---that is, one passes through
the path of another—he can often tell this as he dissects
the wounds and determine which was first. Sometimes not. Wounds
made while the victim is still struggling tend to be more irregular
as the blade and the victim move constantly. Wounds delivered
after the victim is severely injured or unconscious tend to
be cleaner since the victim is no longer moving. Wounds that
occur after death do not bleed. At death the heart stops, blood
flow ceases, and since the wound is no longer receiving blood,
bleeding will halt. This means that if the ME sees irregular
wounds and clean wounds, he might conclude that the irregular
ones were delivered earlier in the attack. If he saw that some
wounds bled and some did not, he would know that those without
bleeding were delivered after death. All of this will help
him make a best guess as to the sequence of the wounds. Not
perfect by any means but the best he can do.
He will
also attempt to determine which of the wounds was the likely fatal one. Sometimes
this is easy. If the victim is stabbed in the arm, shoulder, leg, and heart,
it would be fairly easy to determine that the heart wound was the fatal blow.
But if he has several stabs to the heart, the chest, and the abdomen with puncture
of the aorta, he would have to look at each wound and the bleeding pattern
from each wound and make a best guess as to which was the most likely killing
blow. For example, if the wound to the heart showed little or no bleeding,
while a stab through the abdomen to the aorta showed that the abdomen was filled
with blood, he might conclude that the abdominal aortic injury was the lethal
one and the stab to the heart was done after death was present or assured.
It’s a difficult art in some situations.
He measures
the wounds simply by measuring the width and inserting a probe into the wound
to plumb its depth. He will also open the wound and measure the depth directly.
This should only be done by the ME at the autopsy and not in the field by the
police, To do so could alter the wound. The depth gives him the minimum length
of the knife blade but not the exact length. For example, a four-inch blade
could make a four-inch deep wound. So could a six- or eight-inch blade that
was only thrust to that depth.
The internal
effects of any knife wound is a cutting of the tissues that the blade contacts.
This can be minor if only muscle and skin is involved, more serious if organs
are involved, and possibly deadly if a major artery or vein is severed. A three-inch
blade to the lower abdomen could slice into the bladder and cause bleeding.
The victim could bleed to death slowly or could survive this type of wound.
The same blade to the groin could easily cut the femoral artery and lead to
massive bleeding and death in a matter of minutes.
3-22-07: Plant Poisons
Q: My
killer is an elderly woman, who knows her way around plants.
She has had a backyard greenhouse for many years and so has
access to banned insecticides and exotic plants. She has gotten
into growing pot and smoking it to relieve glaucoma symptoms.
Now she's poisoned her con man/boyfriend. He dies within a
few hours. I need him to drop dead outside a store several
blocks away from the house they share. He's on foot but he
can be confused, staggering, but not violent symptoms of throwing
up or convulsions. I'd prefer it looked like natural causes.
By the time (several days) the police begin to suspect poison,
my amateur sleuth has already figured it out. The killer added
seeds from a plant such as hydrangea, or poinsettia into her
boyfriend's marijuana. Would this work? What would be the best
kind of plant?
Terri Thayer, San Jose CA 95131
A: There
are many candidates—both insecticides and plants. The
organophosphate class of pesticides include Malathion, Parathion,
and some others. These can take effect a few minutes after
ingestion. Your victim could walk the few blocks and then begin
to develop headaches, blurred vision, nausea, shortness of
breath, dizziness diarrhea, excessive salvation, and finally
loss of consciousness and death.
For plants,
things such as Deadly Nightshade, Jimsonweed, Oleander, or Foxglove might work.
The toxin in nightshade is belladonna. Though it might take several hours to
work, a large enough dose could cause symptoms and death after only the few
minutes you need. The symptoms include dilated (open) pupils, blurred vision,
dry mouth and eyes, skin flushing and redness, palpitations from an increased
heart rate, shortness of breath, confusion, disorientation, hallucinations,
seizures, coma, and death.
The toxin
in Jimsonweed is in the same belladonna alkaloid family and poisoning with
it would cause similar symptoms as those seen with Nightshade poisoning. Here
the toxins are hyoscyamine, hyoscine, and atropine.
The toxins
in Oleander and Foxglove are called glycosides. In Foxglove it is digitalis
and in oleander the glycosides are lodendrin and neriside. Glycosides can cause
sudden and deadly changes in heart rhythm, nausea, vomiting, sweating, coma,
respiratory depression, and death in fairly short order. Your victim could
begin his walk as he went along begin to develop these symptoms, culminating
with a cardiac arrest in which he would simply collapse and die. There
are many others but any of these should work for your plot.
3-19-07:
Frozen Infant’s
Corpse
Q: In
the mystery novel I'm planning, a unwanted newborn is smothered
(as with a pillow), then the body wrapped in a plastic garbage
bag and is frozen for 2 or 3 weeks in a home chest freezer,
then the body is disposed of in a trash can in a park where
it is found within about 48 hours. The authorities would be
able to pinpoint COD as suffocation (due to burst blood vessels
in the eyes), but assuming the body had reached ambient temperature,
would they be able to tell that the baby had been frozen? Once
the body reached ambient temperature, the normal processes
of decomposition would begin, right? What I'm wondering is
how could an estimated time of death be set? If they couldn't
tell the body had been frozen, they'd assume the murder had
happened only a day or so earlier? Would they be able to tell
it had really happened 2-3 weeks earlier?
Mary Elizabeth Thompson
Author of Wild Ride and Domesticated Animus
http://www.maryelizabeththompson.net
A: In
the first 48 or so hours after death, things such as body temperature,
rigor mortis, and lividity pattern are useful in estimating
the time of death. Once a corpse reaches ambient temperature,
core body temperature is no longer useful for determining time
of death. Also, once rigor has come and gone and once lividity
is fixed, they add little to the estimate. After time has removed
these from consideration, things such as degree of putrefaction
and insect activity come into play.
Freezing
would indeed delay the onset of putrefaction and would prevent any insect activity
because the corpse would be in an enclosed environment and insects couldn’t
reach the body. Also they won’t feed on a frozen corpse. Once it begins
to thaw, both of these would begin. So, you are correct that the ME would have
great difficulty in determining the time of death. A corpse that was only a
couple of days old would appear very similar to one that had been frozen for
a couple of weeks and then thawed for a couple of days before its discovery.
But, not exactly.
Three things
might tip the ME off to the fact that the corpse might have been frozen. First
of all, if the corpse had not completely thawed by the time it was found and
examined, he might find ice crystals within the internal organs or he might
find a liver temperature that was lower than ambient temperature. Neither of
these could happen unless the corpse was frozen or refrigerated. Secondly,
the lividity seen in a frozen corpse—if it is frozen fairly soon after
death—will often appear pinkish rather than the usual dusky blue-gray.
Lastly, microscopic examination of the tissues and organs, which is part of
an autopsy examination, might show fracturing and fragmentation of the body’s
cells from the freezing process. The ice crystals that form within the cells
during freezing do this damage and the ME can often see that. He would then
know that the corpse had been frozen. He might not be able to tell how long
the corpse had been frozen however. That is, a couple of weeks might not appear
much different from a few months.
One other
important point would be an examination of the infant’s stomach contents.
Food that is ingested remains in the stomach for about 2 hours. At death all
digestive processes stop so that any food in the stomach at death will remain
there until putrefaction destroys the stomach and its contents. If it were
known that the infant ate a certain formula or baby food product at a certain
time and if the stomach contained some of these food products, then the death
must have occurred within two hours of the meal. And the freezing would actually
preserve the stomach and its contents and this would help the ME make this
determination.
All this
assumes that the ME in sharp and knowledgeable and that an autopsy is properly
done. This means that you can construct your plot either way. The ME finds
nothing, erroneously states that the time of death was only a couple of days
earlier, and your killer gets away with this murder. Or, the ME could be smart
and experienced and pick up on these findings and come to the correct conclusion.
It could go either way.
3-17-07: Strangulation
and Stealing an in utero Fetus.
Q: How
long would it take for him to strangle her with his hands as
opposed to garrote her with her scarf? As they are both forms
of manual strangulation I would assume the forensic findings
would be the same---petechial hemorrhaging, etc?
Would he
be able to use an amputating knife to perform the caesarian
or would this harm the child? Would an autopsy establish this particular style
of knife was used? Would performing a caesarian require a great deal of medical
knowledge and how quickly could it be done?
L.F., Australia
A: Actually
manual strangulation is when the hands are used for neck compression.
The use of a scarf, garrote, cord, or other device is termed
ligature strangulation. The use of either can lead to petechial
hemorrhages in the conjunctivae (the pink tissue around the
eye balls). The petechiae are from the seepage of blood from
the capillaries due to the elevated pressure within the small
vessels that occurs during neck compression.
The primary
differences in the physical findings between these two types of strangulation
are the impressions and bruises left on the neck. With manual strangulation
the bruises are diffuse and often take on the pattern of the fingers and thumbs.
With a scarf, the bruises would also be diffuse and in a horizontal band around
the neck. With a cord or narrow ligature the bruising would be narrow and would
be associated with a groove. The groove results from the extreme compression
of the tissue in a very narrow band by the cord. The width and depth of the
groove would give a clue as to the thickness if the ligature.
The bruising
can sometimes reflect the nature of the ligature. For example, a rope or chain
could leave bruises that reflected the braid of the rope or the links of the
chain. A garrote is a wire with handles on each end. The wire tends to cut
into the flesh and in some cases leads to near decapitation. This deep cutting
of the flesh would not occur with a rope or scarf.
How someone
conceived of stealing a baby from the mother’s womb is beyond me, but
it has occurred. More than once. The opening of the abdomen and the uterus
could easily be accomplished with an amputating knife. Almost any other sharp
knife would also work. If the mother is already dead or if her survival is
not an issue for the perpetrator, the procedure is not that difficult. Opening
the abdomen is straightforward and once inside, the location of a near term-uterus
is easy. In fact, it can’t be missed. It is large, reddish-pink, and
round. Maybe the size of a soccer ball. Opening the uterus is also easy, but
the baby could be harmed by the blade if the person was not careful. Still,
it can be done even by someone with no medical training. In one case several
years ago, I believe the baby was taken while the mother was alive and both
she and the baby survived the procedure. Sociopaths have no bounds.
If the mother
is killed first, speed would be important. After maternal death, the blood
flow to the fetus stops and it too will die in a few minutes if not removed.
So your killer would need to complete the operation within 5 to 10 minutes
of the mother’s death if the child was going to survive. If the procedure
is done while the mother is alive, he has much more time.
3-15-07: GSW to Carotid
Artery
Q: I
am doing a scene in my book where a soldier gets hit in the
neck by a 7.62mm bullet. It severs his carotid artery. How
long would he remain conscious?
Doug P.
A: It
would be a matter of a few seconds to a few minutes. Different
people react in different ways but virtually anyone would lose
consciousness after 2 or 3 minutes from blood loss if nothing
else. Some would go out after only a few seconds due to the
loss of adequate blood supply to the brain. So, it's variable
and you can construct your scene any way that fits. Regardless
of whether he remained awake or not, the wound would pump fountains
of blood that would gradually decrease in strength as he bled
into shock.
3-14-07: Psychological
Paralysis
Q: I
have a teenage boy (not a main character) who is injured in
a car wreck.
He was driving, other kids were killed, and there is a lot
of personal blame he feels, even though the wreck was not entirely
his fault. At the scene of the accident, he is seen walking,
disoriented and with a lot of blood on his leg.
When my
main character checks up on him in the hospital a week or so later, he is thought
to be paralyzed, but without physical reason. He’s not faking paralysis,
not consciously. It is a psychological issue, a physical manifestation of his
guilt. The way I see it, it is something of a somatoform disorder. Does this
seem farfetched?
Could he
be walking after the crash and then still be “paralyzed”? What
kind of tests might be the doctors run to rule out physical causes? How soon
would they determine it wasn’t physical? Would he be kept in the hospital
during this time (the 3 weeks after the accident)? Where in the hospital might
he be?
Cindy S, Oklahoma City, OK
A: This
absolutely works. The brain is an odd thing and reacts in very
odd ways to trauma, both physical and psychological. The reaction
that would fit your needs best is called a Hysterical Conversion
Reaction. It follows severe psychological trauma—and
sometimes physical head trauma.
The victim
of a conversion reaction can manifest many varied symptoms and signed. He could
be come catatonic and simply sit and stare and refuse to move. He could develop
paralysis in one arm or leg or one side of his body or almost anywhere. This
can come on instantly or many days or weeks later---as in your scenario.
So, your
young man could easily be dazed but more or less normal immediately after the
accident and then later develop paralysis in an extremity or two. All neurological
evaluations---things like X-ray, CT scans, MRIs, EEGs (eletroencephalograms),
etc.---would be normal and show no evidence of brain injury. A psychiatrist
would be brought in and the diagnosis would be made. Treatment consists of
time and psychotherapy. He would remain in the hospital until his physical
injuries healed and until his psychiatric treatment was underway. He could
then be treated as a outpatient. He could recover and return toward in a few
days, weeks, or months.
3-14-07: A Quick Kill
Q: Here's
my scenario: The victim is in the back room of a crowded
store. He's had a disagreement with someone in the back
room with him. He dismisses the killer and turns his back,
returning to his work at the desk. The killer, enraged by the
situation and dismissal, grabs the closest thing and stabs
him. Originally I had planned scissors in the back, but I am
finding this just won't work and be believable.
I
need his death to be instantaneous, an act of rage, not planned. It needs
to be with an implement found normally at a back room desk in a small business.
It needs to be a silent mode of killing, meaning it can't be something loud
like a handgun, because I don't want the patrons of the store to know he's
been killed until a bit later. He must die instantly because he can't have
time to stumble out into the store looking for help, and he can't have time
to write a killer's name on the desk blotter. Would stabbing him with scissors
in the side of the neck do this? Someone suggested that, but I think (please
correct me if I'm wrong) that he'd have at least a few seconds; enough time
to try to get help, even if he was beyond being helped. How about stabbing
him in the back of the neck? How would paper scissors do with this? And
if this is where he's stabbed, how much blood would there be, and how quickly
would he die?
LJ, Alabama
A: It
is very difficult to cause an instant death by any means. Even
a gun or a knife. To kill instantly in the scenario you describe,
the killer would have to be very skilled. From behind, the
knife would have to slip through one of the gaps between two
of the first 3 or 4 cervical vertebrae (neck bones) and severe
the spinal cord. Here death would be instant. But this is not
easy to do. And unless your killer was a trained commando,
the reader wouldn’t buy it. From the front, there are
more options. A stab to the heart could kill quickly (or not)
and a slash across the neck that cut both carotid arteries
could also be very quick. The carotids lie on either side of
the trachea (wind pipe) and carry blood from the heart to the
brain. These frontal attacks would require less skill.
Your best
bet would be a simple stab to the throat. Either from the front or the side.
This could also cut the carotid arteries and kill quickly. Or the blade could
damage the trachea or larynx (Adam’s Apple or voice box) and the victim
would not be able to cry out. He would then die in a very few minutes from
asphyxia since these types of injuries could render him unable to breath.
Any of these
should work for you. Just choose one that your killer is capable of doing.
3-14-07: Destroying a Corpse
Q: My
query is about the effectiveness of drain cleaner (Sodium and
Potassium Hydroxide) as a means of disposing of a human body. If
my
murderer wanted to destroy all evidence of his victim, would
he be able to leave her submerged in a bath full of this
type of acid until she dissolved? If so, how long would
this take and would there be teeth/bones left behind?
If not, could he use something more corrosive?
Lorna Elliott, North Shields, England
A: Disposing
of a corpse in this fashion is possible but not easy. And it
takes a bit of time. A few days at least.
First of
all, Sodium and Potassium Hydroxide are not acids but rather bases or alkalis.
The world of corrosive chemicals is divided into acids and alkalis. These are
in the later. Regardless, both classes contain some extremely corrosive substances
that are capable of dissolving a corpse. Acids would include Hydrochloric Acid,
Sulfuric acid, Chlorosulphonic acid, and many others.
The key
to any of these working is their concentration. Weal solutions would simply
irritate tissues while concentrated solutions could dissolve them. So, yes
your chosen method could work. There are several problems however. It would
be best if this were done in a stainless steel vat outdoors. These chemicals
tend to destroy household plumbing as well as peel the paint and paper off
the walls, etc. And they can severely damage the skin, lungs, and eyes of the
killer if he hangs around during the process. The fumes are simply molecules
or the acid or alkali floating in the air.
Plan on
your killer having to add more of them chemical every few hours to keep the
reaction going and allow several days to complete the process. Skin, tissues,
and organs would go first, followed by bones, and lastly the teeth.
3-12-07: Poisoning
a Cancer Patient
Q: I
have two victims, two questions:
One
is 75 years old undergoing outpatient chemotherapy for breast cancer in 1990
when she is quickly disposed of and found within an hour, appearing to have
died from natural causes such as a heart attack. Is there a quick-acting poison
or other chemical that would interact with a chemo drug to cause immediate
death? If so, what is the name, and what is the chemo medication?
Another
victim has been slowly poisoned by potassium cyanide in his single malt scotch.
Despite being over 80, can he pull through?
Linda Frank, San Francisco, CA
A: There
are very few quick acting poisons and the presence of any chemotherapeutic
agents would make little difference. And they can all be found
with toxicological testing. If these tests are done. And for
your story, this is the key—maybe they won’t be
done. These tests are expensive and the ME must live within
a budget. If he felt the victim had terminal cancer and died
from some cardiac event, he might simply write it off as that
and be done with it. Unless someone came forward with a suggestion
that foul play was involved he very well might sign the death
out as natural and go on with life. Happens all the time.
Or the victim
could be taking narcotics to deal with the pain of the cancer. Maybe Morphine
or Oxy-Contin or Fentanyl (comes as Duragesic Patches). With these drugs the
victim goes to sleep, slips into a coma, stops breathing, and dies from asphyxia.
Let’s say the victim was using Oxy-Contin. The killer could simply crush
up a few pills in some food and feed it to the victim. This coupled with the
amount she was already taking could be enough to kill her. The killer could
do the same thing by placing several Duragesic patches on the victim---without
her knowledge. Maybe during a bath, etc. After death, the patches could be
removed and no evidence would be left behind. There was a famous case
in San Diego a few years ago where Fentanyl was used in just this fashion.
Kristen Rossum was convicted of killing her husband with Fentanyl patches.
Google her name and you’ll find a host of articles on the case.
In either
case, if the ME did test for toxins, he would find high levels of the particular
narcotic and might conclude that the victim accidentally or suicidally overdosed.
Again, this happens all the time. Here the cause of death would be asphyxia
due to a narcotic overdose but the manner of death could be accidental, suicidal,
or homicidal. The ME might not be able to determine which manner was the actual
situation and might sign it out as any of these or as Undetermined.
Cyanide,
as with all chemicals, kills only if the dose is high enough. A little less,
and the victim becomes ill. And a very small dose may have no effect at all.
Each of us has very low levels of cyanide in our bodies---smokers have even
more. It’s all a matter of dosage. So, yes, your character could
survive repeated small doses of cyanide. Or not. You can have it either way.
3-8-07: GSW to the
Head
Q: My
victim is an adult male. He was killed by a single shot to
his head with a 9mm semiautomatic, specifically a M1911 Colt
pistol with a 9 mm Parabellum pistol cartridge, full metal
jacket. He was shot from a distance of about 6-10 feet
away. My question is what would the wound look like? Would
it be possible that the wound would appear just as small wound
cavity so that someone entering the darkened room where the
victim was might mistake the victim as being asleep? Would
there likely be an exit wound? Blood? Thank you!
Norm in Minnesota
A: The
majority of Parabellum rounds are full-metal jackets with a
softer lead core. The jacketing leads to greater penetrating
power and less expansion within the body. In either case, the
entry wound, if the gun were fired from more than about two
feet away, would be small and clean. There would be a slight
abrasion collar around the hole but no charring or stippling
of the skin. The wound could bleed a lot or a little, and if
the latter the entry wound could easily be missed on first
look. And if the victim were lying in bed and no blood from
an exit wound was visible, he could easily appear as if asleep.
The exit
wound would depend upon whether the bullet was jacketed or not. If so, then
the bullet would very likely pass through the head and leave an exit wound.
This would be larger than the entry wound, but if the bullet remained more
or less intact, it would not be gaping. There could be blood, bone, and brain
tissue on the bed near the exit wound, but in the darkened room this could
be masked by the sheets, pillows, etc. If the bullet were only partially jacketed—the
soft lead tip exposed—it would deform much more when it struck the skull.
Here the bullet could remain within the skull and there would be no exit wound.
But, if it did pass through, the exit wound would be larger, more ragged, and
the blood, bone, and tissue that followed it would be greater.
So, yes,
your scenario can work.
3-6-07: Time of Death
Q: My
murderer bludgeons his male victim to death at 7 p.m. indoors,
in a study heated at room temperature. At 1 a.m., he moves
the body outdoors and dumps it in a tidal mudflat (it is February
on the west coast of British Columbia, so air temperature would
be about 0-5 degrees Celsius). The body is partly submerged
in ocean water through the night, and is discovered at 7 a.m.
that morning. Would the authorities be able to accurately estimate
the time of death, and if so, how could the murderer mask that
time of death (he wants them to believe the murder occurred
after 9 p.m.).
Thanks!
Jill Khashmanian, Ontario Canada
A: Under
the circumstances you describe, it would be very difficult
to determine the time of death with any accuracy. The reasons
are several. Overnight in the cold water the corpse would cool
to the water temperature and once a corpse reaches the temperature
of the environment, body temperature is of no use in determining
time since death. Also, the cold would slow the development
of rigor mortis and lividity as well as any decay. All this
means that the ME would be hard pressed to give an accurate
estimate and would therefore offer a range much broader than
he would normally. In this case he might be able to narrow
it to 6 to 12 hours or so, but not much more exact than that.
There is
one notable exception, however. That is the examination of stomach contents.
At death, all digestive processes stop. This means that any food in the stomach
or intestines remains as it was at death, until decay sets in. In the extreme
cold and short time between death and discovery you describe, there would be
no real decay, so the stomach contents would be intact. The stomach empties
in about 2 hours and the intestines in about 12. So, if your victim was known
to have eaten at about 6 p.m. and the ME found that his stomach contained the
meal, he could state that the time of death was between 6 and 8 p.m. If the
victim ate at 6 p.m. and the stomach was empty, he would say that the death
was after about 8 or 9 p.m.
But without
this evidence, his estimate would be a best guess and his range would likely
be several hours---certainly much more than the 2-hour span you describe.
3-6-07: Poisoned Envelope Glue
Q: I
have a character who needs to die after licking an envelope
closed. I would prefer a fairly quick demise, but not necessarily.
What sort of poison could the murderer use? It would need to
be something that doesn’t taste too awful or she'll stop
licking it! And could this poison possibly be found in
a garden centre? In other words, some sort of garden /pest
poison?
Ginny Swart, South Africa
A: There
are very few poisons that work instantly in small does and
most are difficult to come by and are not found at the local
nursery. But, cyanide would fir your needs and can be acquired
very easily.
Cyanide
is quick, nasty, effective, and even if someone attempted to save the victim,
it is next to impossible because treatment must begin immediately if any chance
of survival is to be realized. This is because cyanide is a “metabolic
poison.” It basically shuts down the ability of cells to use oxygen.
The red blood cells cannot carry oxygen to the tissues and the tissue cells
of the body can’t use the oxygen anyway. It is as if all the oxygen were
removed from the body instantly. This process is immediate and profound and
leads to death in 1 to 10 minutes depending on the dosage. So, even of CPR
were begun immediately, the cells still couldn’t use the oxygen supplied
by this process.
Symptoms
would begin almost immediately in the delivery method you have chosen. The
symptoms are rapid breathing, shortness of breath, dizziness, flushing, nausea,
vomiting, and loss of consciousness. Maybe seizure activity. Then death. This
happens very quickly, in a matter of minutes. So, the victim would develop
sudden, severe shortness of breath, a flushed face, perhaps clutch at his chest,
collapse to the floor, and die, with or without having a seizure in the process.
Also, his skin would appear very pink and if the victim hit his head or scraped
an elbow or the like and bled, the blood is a noticeably bright cherry red
(This is also true in carbon monoxide poisoning). Has to do with a chemical
reaction between the cyanide and the hemoglobin molecules in the red blood
cells.
Hydrogen
Cyanide is a gas and would not fit your situation. It is primarily used in
fumigation and can be lethal if inhaled or absorbed through the skin. It is
the gas used in “Gas Chamber” executions.
Potassium
Cyanide (KCN) and Sodium Cyanide (NaCN) are your best bets. They are white
powders with a faint bitter almond smell, which most people do not notice.
Both dissolve readily in water and saline. One caveat. Your killer must be
careful in handling the KCN or NaCN. They are both readily absorbed through
the skin and could do in your killer. Rubber gloves or a complete avoidance
of direct contact with the powder would be wise.
KCN and
NaCN are used commercially in metal recovery such as extracting gold or silver
from their ores and in electroplating such metals as gold, silver, copper,
and platinum. They could be pilfered from a jewelry or metal plating company
or the like. They are also sold by several chemical supply firms.
In your
story, the powder could be dissolved in water and applied to the envelope glue.
When your victim licked the glue, he would develop the above symptoms within
a very few minutes and would then collapse and die. This could take as little
as two or three minutes.
3-6-07: Buried Versus Exposed Corpse/Ketamine Effects
Q: Can
you tell if a corpse found aboveground was previously buried?
Also, could you drug someone by mixing Ketamine powder in a
drink? At what dosage? If a corpse was previously buried but
was found aboveground, would there be any way to detect that
it had been buried in the past?
Also, I
was interested by the recent knockout drug debate. How much Ketamine would
be needed to actually drug a person into unconsciousness? And would it have
to be administered by IV, or could it be fed to them somehow in powder form,
mixed in a drink?
Michelle Gagnon
http://www.michellegagnon.com
A: A
lot would depend upon how long the corpse was buried and how
long it was exposed, as well as the conditions in each environment.
The temperature and the moisture of both the soil and the air
would play a big role. Warmth and moisture hasten decomposition
while cooler and drier conditions slow it. Also the general
rule is 1 week exposed is roughly equal to 4 weeks buried.
So, the degree of decomposition could vary widely depending
upon the conditions and the timing of the events you describe.
And the science of determining the approximate time of death
after several days have passed is very inexact so it is often
a best guess situation. If the corpse were cleaned before dumping,
the ME might not be able to tell whether the corpse had been
buried or not.
That said,
if the corpse had not been washed down, the ME might find soil and subterranean
insect remnants on the corpse and conclude that the corpse must have been buried
at some time. Also, the soil or sand in the area where the corpse was dumped
might be very different from the soil where it had been buried. Also, the insects,
plant fragments, seeds, pollen grains, animal fur, or feathers found on the
corpse might be different than what was typical of the location where the corpse
was found. Here, if the ME saw any of these, he would know that the corpse
had been moved and might be able to say that it had been buried, dug up, moved,
and dumped. Or not. He might not be able to make this determination at all.
So, you can have it either way.
Ketamine
(Street Names: K, Special K, Kit-Kat, Purple, Bump) is a rapid acting intravenous
or intramuscular anesthetic agent, which causes sedation and amnesia. It can
also be ingested or snorted. It comes in a liquid or a white powder, which
dissolves in most liquids. It is popular in veterinary clinics as an animal
sedative, leading to another popular street name, Cat Valium. In fact, the
Ketamine that appears on the street is often stolen from animal hospitals and
clinics.
The liquid
form is for injection but it can also be heated and evaporated to a white powder
residue. The powder can be added to a liquid such as bottle of water, compacted
into pills, or snorted, which is the preferred and most common method of usage.
Whether swallowed or snorted, it takes effect almost immediately and is fairly
short in its duration of action, typically forty-five minutes to an hour or
two. On the street, Special K goes for $10 to $20 a dose.
The usual
dose for recreational use is around 100 mgs. but the buyer has no real way
to know exactly what amount of the drug is in the liquid or powder he is buying.
Many of
its effects are similar to Ecstasy, but it also possesses “dissociative” effects,
which means the person “dissociates” from reality in some fashion.
Often the user experiences hallucinations, loss of time sense, and loss of
self-identity. One common form is a depersonalization syndrome, where the person
is part of the activities while at the same time is off to the side or hovering
overhead watching the activity, including his/her own actions. As mentioned
earlier, this reaction is also common with PCP. Users call these effects “going
into a K Hole.” I would suspect a K Hole is similar to Alice’s
Rabbit Hole, where time, space, and perceptions become distorted. The drug
interferes with memory formation so the taker often has no memory for what
goes on while under the influence. This is what makes it a dangerous date-rape
drug.
Since Ketamine
is a sedative and general anesthetic, its potential for serious and lethal
effects is real. If too much is taken, the victim may lose consciousness, stop
breathing, and suffer brain damage or die.
3-6-07: Arrow to the Heart
Q: In
the manuscript I'm working on, I have the victim murdered with
a compound bow. He's hit once in the upper chest and once in
the upper back. I'm wanting to know more about what happens
with arrows/ bolts and what their impact causes (as in the
death by blood loss versus shock of tissue damage/wound cavity).
How long it would take for the victim to die? Also whether
the impact of the broadhead would be enough of a shock to the
central nervous system to incapacitate the victim or would
they be able to be mobile? I'm not a hunter and haven't dealt
with arrow wounds at all and so these questions came to me
when I was writing the crime scene chapter in my novel.
R. McMahan
A: Arrows
in the locations you describe would not strike the heart and
not likely the aorta so death would not be quick in most cases.
If they entered more toward the center of the chest and back,
then the heart and aorta could be injured. Here death would
probably come in minutes, but not always. People can survive
even with an arrow in the heart. I’ve seen a guy walk
into the ER with an ice pick in his heart before so these injuries
are not always fatal. Still, if you want your victim to die
very quickly, have the arrows hit the heart or aorta.
The arrows
in your scenario would likely hit the lungs, however. This could cause the
lung to collapse or not. It can go either way. It could also cause massive
bleeding into the lung. Or not. Again, It can happen either way. The most likely
scenario would be that the lung would collapse and would bleed. The victim
would be very short of breath and breathing would be painful. A knife-like
pain with each inhalation. Each exhalation would expel frothy, bloody fluid.
This is from the blood that is leaking into the lungs mixing with the air that
moves in and out. Your victim could survive for minutes, hours, or forever.
People survive all types of horrible injuries. He should be able to flee and
put up at least some resistance.
This assumes
that the arrows both enter the same side of the chest. If one entered the right
lung and the other the left lung and both lungs collapsed, he would only live
for a few minutes. He would die from asphyxia due to the collapse of the lungs
and drowning in his own blood. And in this case he would not put up much a
fight, since all his efforts would be directed toward surviving---basically
trying to breath.
3-4-07: Maternal and
Fetal Bones in a Wall
Q: In
my story, the skeletal remains of a young woman in her twenties
is found walled up in a former opera house. A forensic
anthropologist determines that she was killed over one hundred
years ago. My plot requires that she was pregnant at the time
of death. Assuming that the pregnancy was four to five months
along, would there also be skeletal remains of the fetus? If
not, would there be any other sign of the pregnancy?
George V. Beer
Anoka, MN
A: As
bodies decay, the soft tissues and organs are affected first,
then any cartilage, and finally the bones. The rate at which
these events occur depends upon many factors, but after 100
years only bones would remain. In the protected location you
describe, the mother’s bones would not be subjected to
predators or the weather so they would likely be fairly well
intact. Not joined as in a skeleton, since the ligaments that
hold the bones together would decay and the bones would simply
fall apart and collect into a pile. So don’t make the
mistake of your skeletonized woman looking like a complete
skeleton. Good for Hollywood, but not factual. So the question
is, in this pile of bones, could bones from a 4 to 5 month
old fetus be found?
As bones
form in the fetus, they are first constructed as a matrix (framework) of fibrous
tissue. Cartilage then populates this framework, and finally the cartilage
ossifies (collects calcium and turns to bone). This process begins during the
second and third trimester and is not completed until closure of the epiphyses
(growth plates) at around age 18 years. So, in your 4 to 5 month old fetus
there would be little true bone and thus little left to identify. Still, the
cartilage and fibrous framework of the fetal bones could be spared and found.
This would indicate that your young lady had indeed been pregnant at the time
of death. Or nothing could be found and that determination would be impossible.
You can construct your plot either way.
But, you
also have another option. The corpse of the woman and her in utereo fetus
could mummify. In mummification, the corpse doesn’t decay, but rather
dehydrates. This is more likely in warm and dry climates but it happens in
other areas too. And it is not rare to find a mummified corpse in an attic,
a basement, a trunk, a crawl space, a chimney, or in the wall of any structure,
including an old opera house. Here the corpse would be dark and leathery and
would appear as if the skin had been shrink-wrapped over the bones. Think beef
jerky, which is made by dehydrating beef, etc. The internal organs would be
shrunken and dark brown or black in color, as would the uterus and fetus. Here
an autopsy would reveal her pregnancy.
3-1-07: Separating
the Skeletal Remains of Multiple Victims
Q: I
have the bones of five victims. Other than the obvious (identifying
male/female by skulls and pelvic bones), how does a medical
examiner know which bones go with which victim? A recent TV
episode showed the M.E. easily picking up a bone and setting
it where it belongs. Is it that easy or is that television?
Sandra Tooley
Highland, IN
A: The
process of separating such mixed skeletal remains you describe
could be very easy or it could nearly impossible. If the five
victims were of different sexes, ages, and sizes the forensic
anthropologist---the expert likely charged with examining the
bones---would have little difficulty. That is, if one was a
6-2 male, one a 5-2 woman, one an elderly woman, one a teenager,
and another an infant, separating the bones of these individuals
wouldn’t be very difficult. Size and approximate bone
age alone could do it.
But, if
the five were all adults of about the same size, it becomes much more difficult.
Which femur goes with which humerus? Which skull goes with which tibia? Not
so straight forward. Here the examiner would use observations other than overall
size and general shape. Nutritional status and type of work activities can
affect the thickness and density of bones and if these were disparate among
the victims, this could help. Also, one victim could have a bone disease such
as Paget’s Disease and this would help assign some bones to that person.
And of course
DNA, if available, could assign each bone to the proper person. Bones are living
things and as such have cells inside them. These are called osteocytes and
they contain DNA. Extracting DNA from the bones would allow for the accurate
determination of which bones belonged together.
But sometimes,
DNA is not available and the bones appear very similar, making the task of
separating all the bones impossible. In this situation it becomes a best guess
situation.
If you want
to know more about how the forensic anthropologist identifies and does other
forensic analyses of skeletal remains, pick up a copy of Forensics For Dummies.
There is an entire chapter on this subject.
2-24-07: Infant Corpse
in Water-filled Ditch
Q: In
my story the body of an infant is discovered submerged (clumps
of mud settled around her and weighing her down) in a ditch
filled with muddy water during a hard autumn rain. When touched,
the skin slithers off the body. How long would the infant body
have been in the ditch water to reach this stage of decomposition?
What other visible or physical characteristics might there
be? Would there even be anything for a coroner to exam if the
body is putrefied? I mean, would the tissues, like lungs, be
gone? The organs? Thank you.
T.L. Hill
A: The
decomposition of the human body begins immediately after death
and involves two distinct processes: autolysis and putrefaction.
Autolysis is basically a process of self-digestion. After death,
the enzymes within the body’s cells begin the chemical
breakdown of the cells and tissues. As with most chemical reactions
the process is hastened by heat and slowed by cold. Putrefaction
is the bacteria-mediated destruction of the body’s tissues.
The responsible bacteria mostly come for the intestinal tract
of the deceased and not from the environment. Bacteria thrive
in warm, moist environments and become sluggish in colder climes.
Freezing will stop their activities completely. A frozen body
will not undergo putrefaction until it thaws.
Putrefaction
is an ugly and unpleasant process, which under normal temperate conditions
follows a known sequence. During the first 24 hours, the abdomen takes on a
greenish discoloration, which spreads to the neck, shoulders, and head. Bloating,
which is due to the accumulation of gas, a byproduct of the action of bacteria,
within the body’s cavities and skin, soon follows. This swelling begins
in the face where the features swell and the eyes and tongue protrude. The
skin will then begin to marble. This is a web-like pattern of the blood vessels
over the face, chest, abdomen, and extremities. This marbling is green-black
in color and is due to the reaction of the blood’s hemoglobin with hydrogen
sulfide. As gasses continue to accumulate, the abdomen swells and the skin
begins to blister. Soon, skin and hair slippage occur and the fingernails begin
to slough off. By this stage, the body has taken on a greenish-black color.
The fluids of decomposition (purge fluid) will begin to drain from nose and
mouth. This may look like bleeding from trauma, but is due to extensive breakdown
of the body’s tissues.
The young,
as in your scenario, and the elderly trend to undergo this process more rapidly
than do the average-sized adult. Another important factor is the location of
the body. A body exposed to the environment will decay faster than will one
that is buried or in water. The general rule is that one week exposed above
ground equals two weeks in water and 8 weeks in the ground.
For your
child, the major factor is the rate that all this happens would be the water
temperature. If warm the infant could reach the skin-slippage stage in as little
as 2 days. If cold, it could take a month of more. And if very cold, it might
take several months. If your ditch is moderately cool allow for anywhere from
4 or 5 days and up to a couple of weeks. This is very broad because this is
not all that predictable. The rule is, that within these broad guidelines,
whatever happens, happens.
By the skin-slippage
stage in most cases, the organs would be present but would be well into the
putrefaction process.
2-24-07: Corpse in Basement
Q: Would
the body be identifiable 3 months after Dumping it in a fresh
concrete construction e.g. basement and excavating it. Would
the body be identifiable? In my book plot, an old woman is
killed and her body dumped in a basement under construction.
R. Mank, India
A: I’m
unclear as to whether you mean she is placed in a basement
room or is actually imbedded within the fresh concrete. If
your character is imbedded within the concrete, she would still
decay but at a slower rate than if she were not. After 3 months,
the body would be significantly decayed, but would still be
somewhat intact. Identification might depend on dental records
or DNA since the decay process might be so advanced that facial
recognition and fingerprints are not available. Or perhaps
they could be. It is possible that the corpse would be preserved
well enough that both facial recognition and fingerprints were
available. It could go either way in a corpse imbedded in concrete.
If the corpse
was dumped in a basement room, the rate of decay would depend upon the temperature
within the basement. The bacteria that cause putrefaction (decay) thrive in
warm and moist environments and don’t do well in cold and dry climates.
This means that if the area is cold, the body would be much better preserved
than it would be in a warm environment. For example, if the basement was in
a cold mountain region in winter, the corpse could be very well preserved.
It could even be frozen. Or if the area was very dry, as many mountainous areas
are, it could dehydrate and mummify rather than decay.
But if the
basement is in a warm and humid area such as a tropical area in August, the
corpse might be so severely decayed that only a skeleton remains. And anywhere
in between is possible.
For your
scenario, there are many possibilities, depending upon the environmental conditions.
Use the above general guidelines and you should be okay.
2-20-07: Chimeras
and DNA
Q: Recently
on the Discovery Health Channel a woman discovered she had
two different sets of DNA. Is it called chimera? Second, could
she make the perfect murder suspect?
Joel Weiss
Westerly, RI
A: Chimeras
are not common in nature, but they do occur, including in humans.
And chimeras do have two distinct DNA types. To understand
how this comes about, let’s look at the genetics of reproduction.
When an
egg and a sperm join to make a fertilized egg, the genetic make-up of the offspring
is set at that moment. Half comes from each parent. The fertilized egg then
divides into 2 and those into 4 and those into 8 and so on. At some point in
the growth of the zygote the cells begin to specialize. We call this differentiation.
One cell line might become brain tissue, another blood cells, and still another
muscle cells.
In fraternal
twins, two sperm cells fertilize two eggs and the above process occurs in tandem
so that two entirely individuals result. In identical twins, the original fertilized
cell (egg) divides into two, but these two cells drift apart and then each
proceeds along the above growth path. This creates two individuals with identical
genetics. After all they started from the same cell and thus from the same
egg and sperm.
In chimeras,
two fraternal twins are formed (two eggs and two sperm and two genetically
different individuals) but these two original cells (fertilized eggs) join
together to form one. As growth takes place the developing zygote is composed
of two distinctively different cell types with two distinctively different
genetic make-ups. As these cells begin to specialize some organs and tissues
may come from one type of cell and some from the other ands still others may
develop with a mixture of cell types. This leads to a chimera where various
body tissues (liver, blood, skin, heart, brain) may have one or the other or
both of the two original DNA profiles. This can lead to confusion in any DNA
testing.
Chimeras
usually appear normal but they might display certain mosaic patterns, particularly
unusual pigmentation patterns on their skin. This is merely an expression of
their two genetic types. A mosaic in art is something made up of different
appearing distinct pieces. The same holds true here since the cells of the
person contain separate and distinctive DNA patterns.
Yes, this
could confuse DNA testing in a criminal case. But with testing blood, buccal
(cheek cells), and tissue samples, the chimeric condition would be revealed
and the two distinct types of DNA could be profiled. If one matched the DNA
sample found at the crime scene, the chimeric individual would be identified
as the source of the DNA.
2-18-07: Skeletal Weight
Q: I
am trying to find a way for a woman to be able to handle a
victim's body on her own. I thought if the body were to be
left to the elements (hot weather) for a period of time so
it is reduced to bones, it would make it easier for her to
carry. How much does a human skeleton weigh? Is there
a certain formula? Does height factor in? That is, the skeleton
of a 130 lb. woman who is 5' 2" weighs less than a 130
lb. woman who is 5' 8".
Sandra Tooley
Highland, IN
http://www.sdtooley.com
A: There
is no real formula and the percentage of body weight attributed
to the skeleton in any given person would depend upon that
person’s body make up. Muscular or obese persons would
have a smaller percentage of body weight made up by their bones
than would a thin, non-muscular person. For a normal person
the skeleton would make up 12 to 15% of the body weight while
fat would be 25%, muscles 35-40%, and skin and organs another
20% or so. These are very general. The entire skeleton of the
woman you mention would be in the neighborhood of 20 pounds.
But in the
scenario you describe that would be a moot point anyway. With corpse decay,
the ligaments that hold the bones together also decay. This means that the
bones separate. Or at least most of them would. Your character could easily
handle the individual bones and would not have to lift the entire skeleton.
2-13-07: Arm Fracture
Complications
An 11year old girl has a compound break
of her arm (bones through flesh). She's kept in a damp,
dirt cellar for 5 days. The break is attended to with some
first aid, but isn't medically treated. What sort of complications
would the child suffer from the break and indirectly (say
pneumonia for example)?
Simon Wood
Accidents Waiting To Happen (Coming March 2007)
http://www.simonwood.net
A: The
initial complications would depend upon the exact nature of
the fracture. Bleeding would be minimal unless a major artery
was damaged. If so, bleeding could be severe and life-threatening.
This would be more likely with a fracture of the humerus (upper
arm) than with that of either the radius or ulna (lower arm).
Also, the fracture could damage or sever (cut) nerves and the
arm could be completely or partially paralyzed.
The most
common longer-term problem would be a wound infection. Compound fractures are
very prone to infection unless treated quickly and properly. Particularly in
the conditions you describe. The infection could appear anywhere from 2 days
to several weeks after the injury. She would develop pain, swelling, redness,
and perhaps a purulent discharge (pus) from the wound. She could also suffer
from high fevers, sweating, chills, rigors (extreme shaking), thirst, nausea,
vomiting, headaches, weakness, or any combination of these in virtually any
degree of severity. If the infection seeded the bloodstream (called septicemia
or sepsis), she could develop septic shock and die. Septic shock usually manifests
as fever, low blood pressure, coma, and eventually death.
Pneumonia
could occur from her being ill, cold, and damp but it wouldn’t be directly
caused by the fracture.
2-13-07: Allergy to Sunscreen and DNA From Make-Up
Q: One
of my victims is allergic to sunscreen, which I have read is
a rare condition. If her killer is wearing heavy makeup foundation
on his or her face that contains sunscreen, what type of reaction
would she have if she touches her killer's face during a struggle?
Would the crime scene unit be able to determine the killer's
DNA by testing the foundation on her hands?
LB, Bronx, NY
A: If
she only had a minor allergy to the sunscreen she would have
little immediate reaction. An hour or so after contact she
could develop swelling, itching, and a reddish rash on her
hands or any other parts that contacted the sunscreen. If she
were extremely allergic, such as having a history of anaphylactic
shock to the sunscreen, she could suffer a more immediate and
profound reaction. Here the symptoms could onset in minutes,
She could develop a rash, swelling, the appearance of bullae
(water-filled blister-like lesions), and itching in the contact
area. Also she could suffer what we call systemic effects—effects
that occur throughout the body. These could include swelling
of her face and hands, an acute asthmatic attack (shortness
of breath and wheezing), and shock (low blood pressure, dizziness,
loss of consciousness, coma, and death). These could occur
in any combination and in any degree of severity.
DNA might
or might not be found. Most likely no, unless she scratched him and collected
some skin beneath her nails. Still, it is possible that some skin cells could
come off with the make-up foundation and DNA could be extracted from these.
It only takes a very few cells to get DNA. If the cells can be isolated, of
course. Tricky in this situation, but possible.
2-12-07:
Drowning Versus Head Injury
Q: I
have a character, who dies from a head injury. Her body is
placed in a car, which is driven into a canal to suggest that
she drowned in an accident. The body is recovered after about
48 hours. Would her lungs be full of water? Can the ME determine
that drowning was not the cause of her death?
M. English, FL
A: First
of all, for a head injury to cause death, the brain would have
to be injured and there would be bleeding into and/or around
the brain. This is easily determined at autopsy, so in this
case the ME should have little trouble determining the true
cause of death. If the blow to the head was delivered after
death, either by the killer or by victim striking rocks as
he was washed downstream for example, these wounds would not
bleed. Dead folks don’t bleed. Again the ME would easily
determine this.
After 48
hours under water, the lungs would likely be filled with water whether a drowning
occurred or not. Over time---several hours---air seeps out of the lungs and
water in. So, finding wet lungs does not necessarily mean that drowning was
the cause of death.
But, if
the victim was simply hit on the head and tossed into the water and did indeed
die from drowning, the ME has a few tricks. See the below question and answer
for how he makes this distinction.
2-12-07: Drowning Versus Crystal Meth OD
Q: My
victim (17 y/o girl) dies of a crystal meth-induced cardiac
arrest, and about 30 minutes later her companions throw her
in the river hoping to pass it off as drowning. The body surfaces
downstream three days later. I know the tox screen done at
autopsy will detect the drug, but that takes several days and
meanwhile the investigation is ongoing. Several questions:
What physical
signs (such as absence of petechial hemorrhages?) might the pathologist on
scene notice to make him doubt the drowning theory, since in dry drowning there
would be no water in lungs and stomach?
Could
the dry drowning theory be ruled out and the meth-induced cardiac arrest confirmed
during the PM, and if so, by what physical findings?
How might
the pathologist on scene be able to tell the body entered the water after death,
and if so could he tell roughly how long afterwards? I gather lividity would
not be permanent yet.
Would all
traces of sexual activity be erased after three days in the water? Would rigor
mortis be completely gone (it’s late June, river temperature probably
around 70 degrees)?
Barbara Fradkin
http://www.barbarafradkin.com
A: Petechial
hemorrhages are not part of the findings in drowning but are
found in strangulations, smotherings, and hangings. So if one
of these was the real cause of death, the ME would expect to
see petechiae. They aren’t always present but most often
are. But their absence would not lead him to question drowning.
There are no specific gross physical signs of either drowning
or a meth overdose. Only after and autopsy and toxicological
examinations cold the ME state the cause of death.
Dry drowning
simply means that the lungs are dry after death. This is most often seen in
salt-water drownings and results when the water causes the vocal cords to spasm
(contract or tighten). This blocks the passage of air into the lungs and the
victim dies from asphyxia but his lungs are dry. But, for the lungs to be dry
the corpse must be found fairly quickly after the event. Any body under water
for more than a few hours, regardless of the cause of death or the type of
drowning, will have water-filled lungs. The reason is that air seeps from the
lungs and water seeps in. So, after several days, the lungs would be wet regardless
of whether the cause of death was a dry drowning or not.
After three
days the lividity would be fixed and rigor would have come and gone.
Determining
that the victim actually drowned is difficult and is often a diagnosis of exclusion.
The circumstances of the death are often more important than the autopsy findings.
That is, if there is no evidence of trauma or natural disease to explain the
death and if the victim is found in water, the ME might state that the death
was from drowning. The reason for this confusion is that there are few if any
pathological findings at autopsy that can definitely indicate that the person
drowned.
But the
ME does have a few tricks to help him.
If the victim
is conscious when he enters the water, the struggles to breathe will cause
a great deal of pressure trauma to the sinuses and the lungs. The ME would
expect to find hemorrhaging (bleeding) into the sinuses and airways as well
as debris from the water, which is sucked into the sinuses and lungs with attempted
breathing. Such findings would suggest that the victim was alive when he went
into the water. Also important would be the finding of plants or rocks from
the bottom of the body of water clutched in the victim’s hand. This would
be presumptive evidence that he grabbed them during his struggle to survive.
The ME might
also find clues to indicate that the victim was conscious before drowning by
examination of the bone marrow. The key lies with finding tiny creatures called diatoms within
the marrow.
Diatoms
are tiny single-celled organisms that scurry around in both salt and fresh
water. They have silica in their cell walls and are very resistant to degradation.
If the victim’s heart is still beating, any diatoms in the inhaled water
will pass through the lungs, enter the blood stream, and be pumped throughout
the body, where they tend to collect in the bone marrow. This means that if
a microscopic analysis of the marrow reveals diatoms, the victim must have
been alive at the time of water entry. This technique may be useful in severely
degraded and even skeletal remains, where no lungs or sinus tissues are available
for examination. Unfortunately, diatom testing is not exactly that straightforward
and is controversial.
The bottom
line is that the determination as to whether a victim drowned or not is often
a “best guess” situation. The ME may depend more on the circumstances
of the death than any autopsy or laboratory findings.
With regards
to signs of sexual activity, any vaginal trauma from a rape, if present, would
be easily visible. But not all rapes and most episodes of consensual sex would
not leave behind any such findings. Traces of semen within the vagina could
still be found. Or not. It could be completely washed away and the ME could
find no semen. It can go either way.
2-12-07: Stab Wound to the Aorta
Q: In
your book Murder and Mayhem, you say that you can
kill someone if the knife penetrates the aorta or vena cava
and that this would take some strength to reach with a six-inch
knife. My character, the murderer, is a vampire, so he not
only has the strength but he also has very good hearing. Once
he stabs his victim, he listens and watches him die. I was
wondering how this would sound, both to someone with regular
hearing, and what someone might hear if a stethoscope was used.
What exactly would happen to his body? I have him coughing
up blood, struggling to breath, and his eyes rolling to the
top of his head, so he looks blind. Is this accurate? And how
long would it take him to die? He's about twenty-year-old.
Robin, New Albany, IN
A: It
would depend on whether the stab wound was to the abdominal
aorta or the thoracic (chest) aorta. If the stab was to the
abdomen, the victim would bleed within his belly until he slipped
into shock. His voice would simply become weak, eventually
becoming a whisper, as he died. His breathing would become
shallow and labored but would not be unusually noisy.
In a stab
to the thoracic aorta the same thing would happen except in the scenario that
a lung was also punctured. He would cough and sputter and spray blood in a
fine mist everywhere. Blood could also dribble and flow from his mouth and
nose. His speech and breathing would be wet and raspy and frothy blood would
bubble from his mouth. There would also be some wheezing to his respirations.
All these sounds would be exaggerated through a stethoscope.
The eye
rolling is up to you. Could or could not happen.
In either
case, he could die in 2 minutes or 2 hours or not at all. It’s highly
variable so make it as long or short as you need.
2-12-07: Murder and Terminal Disease
Q: I'd
like to have a man in his sixties who is bedridden with a fatal
disease. However, he has been able to remain at home. He doesn't
need around the clock care. He is lucid and enjoys playing
chess. However, he's always been extremely active and hates
his slow decline. His wife is unfaithful. He plans a scheme
which will result in her murdering him. The death passes as
natural but he has set it up for her to think exposure is coming.
Here are my questions:
1. What is his disease?
2. Would it be possible for him to require oxygen, which
is supplied by a machine near the bed?
3. If the machine plug is pulled out and he dies, if it
were plugged in again would there be anything to indicate the machine had been
tampered with?
4. Alternatively, is there a drug that could cause death
that would not excite notice in an autopsy?
5. Since he is known to have a fatal disease, would an autopsy
be required?
Carolyn Hart
Author of the Death of Demand and Henrie O mysteries
http://www.CarolynHart.com
A: For
your scenario, your best bet would be lung cancer. If the man
had this disease he could easily be at home on hospice-type
care. This would be feeding, supplying oxygen, giving medications
for pain, and comfort measures. The oxygen would be supplied
by a tank through a tube attached to either a mask or a nasal
cannula. A nasal cannula is simply two hollow prongs that fit
into the nose. There is no machine involved since the oxygen
is in a pressurized tank. There is a valve that controls the
flow. If he were dependent upon the higher amount of oxygen
supplied by the tank, someone could easily shut it off as he
slept and he could die. Then the tank could be turned on once
again and no one would be the wiser.
Also, he
could be on narcotics for the pain that would accompany his disease and these
would be given generously in a terminal situation such as this. If someone
gave him a larger than usual dose, he could easily slip into a coma, stop breathing,
and die. And since this happens not infrequently in this situation, again it
is likely that no one would question his death. Common narcotics used in this
situation would be Oxy-Contin, Morphine, and Fentanyl, which comes a topical
patches called Duragesic. The famous San Diego case of Kristen Rossum involved
the use of Fentanyl. Google her name and read about it. Fascinating case.
At an autopsy,
if one were done, the finding of excess narcotics in the blood would not be
unusual unless the amount was extremely high. But since his lung function and
general health is already extremely poor, a large dose would not be needed
to do him in. Just a little extra would work.
Would an
autopsy be done? Not likely since his death was expected. Only if someone became
suspicious would the ME even consider doing one and this is very unlikely in
this situation.
2-10-07: Drug That
Mimics Death
Q: I
want to have a character in my story fake their death for a
short period of time. What possible ways could a person stop
their heartbeat (or at least slow it to a slow enough rate
that Joe Average wouldn't be able to tell the difference) and
their breathing? They would need to remain in this state for
nearly an hour if it's physically possible.
Jason Arthur, West Virginia
A: Your
best bet is one of the neurotoxins. These are chemicals that
interfere with nerve transmission throughout the body. Most
can be ingested and many will absorb directly through the skin.
Since they affect the function of nerves and muscles, the symptoms
of intoxication with one of these drugs include: dizziness,
nausea, shortness of breath, muscular weakness, numbness and
paresthesia (tingling) of the hands, feet, and face, blurred
vision, slurred speech, and loss of coordination. If enough
is given, the victim will be barely able to move and the rate
of breathing will be very slow. Also the heart rate will decline
and the blood pressure (BP) will drop. The victim will appear
pale, and may even show a bit of bluish discoloration of the
hands, feet, and lips. This discoloration is called cyanosis.
This, coupled with the very weak pulse (may be hard to feel)
and the very slow respiration, can make a person appear dead.
And indeed if enough is given, the victim will stop breathing
and die from asphyxia.
Tetrodotoxin
(TTX) is a neurotoxin that is found in the puffer fish (blow fish). It acts
very quickly when ingested. It can also absorb through unbroken skin and works
in 10 to 15 minutes, sometimes less. The puffer fish is used to make the Japanese
delicacy fugu. When the diner eats it, he develops a pleasant warm, numb, and
tingly feeling. This is because the specially trained and licensed chefs that
prepare this dish do so in a manner that leaves behind a small amount of the
toxin. Just enough to cause mild symptoms of poisoning. Sometimes they mess
it up and deaths have been reported. Sort of like gastrognomic Russian roulette.
TTX is also
used in some voodoo rituals and in zombie making. Yes, this does happen. The
victim is given the TTX, often by sprinkling the TTX-containing zombie powder
is his shoes. The toxin is absorbed through the skin and in a few minutes he
collapses and his BP and heart rate fall very low. As does his breathing. This
causes a deprivation of oxygen to the brain. The victim is left this way for
12 or so hours. When the drug’s effects wear off, he might have suffered
brain damage from the reduced oxygen to the brain. Predominantly, this affects
the frontal lobes of the brain. The victim will then have a flat personality,
be very compliant, and will be a good field worker. This is sort of a chemical
frontal lobotomy. The surgical version was used in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s
Nest, when Jack Nicholson’s character underwent this procedure.
Similar
effects occur with toxins known as Paralytic Shellfish Poisons (PSPs). These
are also neurotoxins. Members of this family of poisons include Saxitoxin (sometimes
found in the Alaska Butter Clam and the California Sea Mussel) and Maculotoxin
(from the Blue-ringed Octopus).
Any one
of these should suit your needs. TTX could be extracted from a puffer fish
or could be purchased as zombie powder in Haiti or in the Algiers area of New
Orleans, where voodoo is alive and well. The PSPs would have to be extracted
from one of the above marine animals or perhaps pilfered from a marine research
lab. Only a very small amount if need. A drop or two will do it.
A small
dose on any of these could make your character appear dead for an hour or longer.
2-10-07: Accidental Death and Autopsy
Q: I
have a character in my book who dies from an apparent skiing
accident in Colorado. Would an autopsy necessarily be done?
If not, who makes the decision? Can the family turn down an
autopsy? If so, what kind of paperwork is required?
LN, Peoria, IL
A: It
would be left to the coroner or ME. He has the final say so.
If he is comfortable with the cause of death being trauma from
a skiing accident then he can sign the death certificate out
as that and that is the end of it. Unless a court intervenes.
This could happen if the family or law enforcement or some
other party petitioned the court for a review of the case.
Then the judge could decide whether to issue a court order
for an autopsy or not.
Also, if
the ME or coroner himself is unsure or in any way suspicious of the true cause
and manner of death, he could perform an autopsy. Since he is ultimately responsible
for issuing the death certificate and determining its accuracy, he will do
whatever he deems necessary to make that determination. Including an autopsy
or sophisticated toxicological testing or anything else he thinks might help
him get to the truth.
2-9-07: Blunt Head Trauma
Q: I
have a character who will be hit in the head from behind with
a bust of Shakespeare (weighing about 7 pounds) and then hit
again as she lies on her side on the floor. Are there places
on the skull where such a blow would be bloody but not fatal?
Where are they and what kind of injuries would such blows inflict?
Helen, Chevy Chase, MD
A: This
type of injury is called blunt force trauma. This occurs whenever
someone is struck with a blunt object as opposed to an instrument
with a sharp or cutting edge such as a knife or axe. When the
blow is to the head it is called blunt head trauma. Such trauma
can lead to almost any level of injury from a minor bump to
death.
Severe injuries
would include skull fractures, brain bruises, and bleeding into or around the
brain. Since you want your victim to suffer more minor injuries, blows to the
head as you describe could cause several types of minor injury:
Abrasions (scrapes): These are injuries to
the skin in which the superficial layer is removed by the blow.
These may bleed but not usually a great deal.
Contusions (bruises) result from damage to the small blood
vessels in the tissues. These injured vessels then leak blood,
which imparts a blue-black color to the injured area. There
is no external bleeding in a contusion.
Hematomas: In these blood collects in a pocket beneath the
skin (goose egg). Heme means blood and toma means
tumor. So, a hematoma is a tumor or mass of blood. Again, there
is no external bleeding.
Lacerations (cuts or tears): Here the blow rips open the skin
and these often require suturing to repair. These tend to bleed
profusely since the scalp is very vascular (loaded with blood
vessels) so this type of injury is probably what you are looking
for in your scene.
Concussion: This is where a blow to the head causes unconsciousness.
This usually lasts only a minute or two or up to maybe 5 minutes.
Longer durations of unconsciousness are rare in minor head
injuries. Once the victim comes around she might be a bit groggy
at first, but in the absence of any significant brain injury
she will be back to normal (maybe with a headache) in a few
minutes.
These injuries can occur in any combination, any location
on the scalp, and in any degree of severity so you have a very
broad range of injuries to consider in your story.
2-8-07:
Blood Transfusion Effects
Q: What
would happen if a healthy adult male who had experienced no
blood loss was given--or you might say "force fed"--a
blood transfusion? Can the body absorb an extra pint without
stress, or would this cause a spike in blood pressure or other
symptoms? Would it be dangerous?
A: A
healthy adult could receive a pint of blood with no problems
and no change in his heart rate or blood pressure. Three or
four pints given fairly quickly--over an hour--could cause
problems, but a single pint would be unnoticed. What problems?
Maybe none, but possibly increased blood pressure, shortness
or breath, and maybe even pulmonary edema---lungs filled with
water.
2-7-07: Hot Poker
in the Throat
Q: I
have a character in the book I'm currently writing who is murdered
by being tied to the bed and having a red hot poker rammed
down her throa | 
