Matricide by person with bipolar disorder and dependent overcompliant personality

Matricide is an infrequent form of homicide. This paper is to present a case of matricide with typical characteristics of the act but interesting particularities as well. The perpetrator was a 43-year-old man, respected member of his community, with over compliant characteristics, eagerness in serving people and caring his parents, good social adaptation before and after the crime. He abandoned his family and work in order to better serve his old, disabled but over demanding mother who frequently insulted and humiliated him. Suddenly he came to a state of "mental confusion" and strangled her. After the crime, the perpetrator manifested the symptoms of a bipolar disorder and also received the diagnosis of dependant personality disorder. Years later, he presented again a crisis of escalating aggressive urge for which he was hospitalized. Many people and associations of his hometown actively demanded the minimal possible punishment for him. The case is discussed especially concerning: a) hypotheses about the aetiopathogeny of the act, b) the constant support provided to the perpetrator by his family and social environment.     

Hart's Jurisprodence: Its relation to Philosophy

The essay concerns the way jurisprudence adapts to the challanges set by contemporary philosophy concentarting upon the case of Hart"s legal theory. Hart produced one paradigm of linking philosphical considerations to jurisprudential analyses. He seemed to believe that the investigation of legal phenomena must itself raise and answer the underlying philosophical questions (only occasionally relying on philosophical sources). Although Hart was well aware of the rising new philosophy of his time, he sought to elaborate an autonomus conceptual framework for philosophical jurisprudence. The essay often takes Wittgenstein as an example for elucaidating Hart"s relation to philosophy (although critizing those who believe that Hart"s is a key figure in the jurisprudential reception of Wittgenstein"s later philosophy). The essayjustifies Hart"s claim to gain theoretical autonomy but points to three mistakes in that prespect. (1) He sometimes misconcieved his philodophical sources owing to the fact that he refrained from analyzing them. (2) Hart justified some of his crucial claims by a combination of arguments that is not entirely consistent. (3) His standpoint often raised philosophical issues but sometimes failed to make an identifiable point upon them. The essay concludes that Hart was right in thinking that the time had come to reconsider the conditions of making theories about law but he couild not justify his assumption that the reconsideration would lead to certain kind of comprehensive theory of law.     

Self-impalement after thoracic stab wound. An unusual method of suicide in psychotic symptomatology

A 35 year-old male was found dead within a vast collection of garbage in his parent's house with 13 stab wounds of the thorax. 6 years before death he had suffered from a severe cerebral trauma with intracranial hemorrhage, after which an organic psychosis had ensued. At autopsy besides the stab wounds measuring 1-3.5 cm in length and partly exhibiting a so-called "fish-tail" formation a piece of wood was detected, having penetrated the fourth intercostal space along the sternal border and lacerated the pericardium, right pulmonary hilum and the pleura parietalis at the paravertebral line between the eight and ninth rib. There the leading part of the tool had apparently broken and bent to the left in a nearly 90 degrees angle, thus penetrating the left pleural cavity with a slight laceration of the lower lobe of the lung. From the forensic pathologist's point of view this case of multiple stabbing and additional impalement was at least remarkable and at first sight might have raised a suspicion of homicide due to the extent of the rib penetrations and especially the intrusion of the wooden device, which had been pushed by substantial force into an already existing wound. The police presupposed a suicide based on the personal history and situation at the site, where no traces suggesting an activity of somebody else could be ascertained. Reconstruction of the case and resulting differential diagnostic considerations are to be discussed.     

The black soldier-fly, Hermetia illucens (Diptera, Stratiomyidae), used to estimate the postmortem interval in a case in Amapá State, Brazil

The black soldier-fly (Hermetia illucens) is a generalist detritivore which is commonly present in corpses in later stages of decomposition and may be useful in forensic entomology. This paper describes the estimation of the postmortem interval (PMI) based on the life cycle of the black soldier-fly in a case in northern Brazil. A male child was abducted from his home and 42 days later his corpse was found in an advanced stage of decay. Two black soldier-fly larvae were found associated with the body. The larvae emerged as adults after 25-26 days. Considering the development cycle of H. illucens, the date of oviposition was estimated as 24-25 days after abduction. Since H. illucens usually (but not always) colonizes corpses in more advanced stages of decay, this estimate is consistent with the hypothesis that the child was killed immediately after abduction.     

Suicide with a butcher's bolt

The captive bolt pistol is an atypical firearm exclusively produced and used for butchery of breeding animals, but in some rare cases, it has been used as a lethal weapon for committing suicide by butchers, breeders and other people who have access to such weapons during their professional activities. This study describes the suicide committed by a butcher in the province of Udine (N. Italy) in 2001 who shot himself with his own captive bolt pistol that produced in the right temporal region a circular wound and a bone lesion of the temporal squama with a groove involving the frontal lobe; he died five days later of the fatal consequences of the meningo-encephalic lesions. The medico-legal issues implicated in this case, seen in the light of the data reported in the international literature, illustrate the difficulties faced when diagnosing these types of lesions, bearing in mind their rarity and peculiar nature, and introduce elements of differential diagnosis regarding lesions produced by similar weapons that lead to ascertainment of the event as accidental, suicidal, or homicidal.     

An elliptical incised wound of the breast misinterpreted as a bite injury

Bite injuries upon homicide victims are most often initially identified by the forensic pathologist during the course of the autopsy examination. Following such recognition, the injury or photographs of the traumatized site are then referred to a forensic odontologist for his or her examination, further characterization, and subsequent comparison with any suspect's dentition. However, if the pathologist misidentifies an injury caused by another mechanism as a human bite, this mistake can potentially be perpetuated by the dental consultant, since relatively few dentists regularly examine traumatic injuries other than those arising from bites. To illustrate such an event, a case is presented involving an incised wound of the breast, which was originally identified as an avulsive bite wound. Detailed examination by two odontologic consultants confirmed the wound as having been caused by human teeth, and further, they related the "bite injury" to a specific individual. The bite injury interpretation represented the only scientific evidence implicating the suspect at a subsequent trial for capital murder. Later examination of the tissues and photographs by a forensic pathologist and another dental consultant revealed that the injury was not due to human dentition, but rather resulted from a sharp-edged instrument. These consultants conducted a unique experiment to reduplicate the injury and prove its causation. This information was presented to the jury during the suspect's trial and resulted in his acquittal on all charges.     

Secondary combined suicide viewed by the wife]

A 47-year-old man was found dead at the bottom of a wall outward the door of the cellar of his house. Preliminary physical examination at the scene of the death revealed a laceration of the scalp, an incised wound in front of the neck and several stab wounds in the left chest penetrating through the clothing. Questioned by the police his wife told that her husband who suffered from severe depression had inflicted the incised and the stab wounds himself, had made an unsuccessful attempt at self-strangulation and had finally jumped down from the wall beside the stairs declining to the cellar of their house. As the circumstances of the scenario were suspicious and as the pattern of injuries arose doubts concerning self-infliction homicide was taken into consideration as well. Autopsy showed additional hesitation marks adjacent to the left end of the incised wound in front of the neck. The stab wounds of the chest were restricted to the region of the heart and displayed only minimal penetration of the chest-wall, findings characteristic of self-infliction. As a consequence the manner of death could be determined as prolonged suicide, and exact reconstruction was possible with the help of the wife's testimony.     

Multiple suicidal gunshots to the head

We report two cases of suicide by multiple gunshots to the head. The first victim (of two shots) fired the first shot, which was observed, into his mouth, leading to damage to the left optic nerve and frontal lobe. The man still was able to drive his car home, where he shot himself in his right temple. He died 2 days later. The second victim (of three shots) was a 58-year-old man who was found dead on his bed. Reconstruction of the case disclosed that the first shot had passed through his tongue and slightly damaged the second cervical vertebral body. He then shot himself in his right temple, leading to damage of the temporal lobe. Finally, he shot himself in his left temple, resulting in destruction of the pons. In the first case, an amateurishly modified 8-mm blank revolver firing 6.35-mm- (.25)-caliber ammunition was used; in the second case, a rifle firing 5.6-mm (.22)-caliber ammunition with a reduced charge was used. In both cases, low-energy transfer to brain tissue by the initial bullets was due to low bullet energy or due to the bullets' missing the brain or vital centers.     

Acute poisoning involving the pyrrolidinophenone-type designer drug 4'-methyl-alpha-pyrrolidinohexanophenone (MPHP)

A 36-year-old woman consulted the medical emergency unit of a private health center for abdominal pain and gastroenteritis of 5 days duration. Acute right pyelonephritis was diagnosed. Five hours after admission she became unconscious in a state of clinical shock. She was transferred to an intensive care unit but resuscitation attempts were unsuccessful and she died 3 h later. Three days after death, she was buried in the family vault. Five days after the burial, her husband lodged a complaint with the public prosecutor because he had not received a clear explanation from the physicians concerning the cause of his wife's death. After analysis of the medical records of the deceased by two forensic pathologists, a medicolegal autopsy was ordered by the public prosecutor. The corpse was exhumed and autopsy performed 9 days after death. Massive hemoperitoneum was diagnosed with a macroscopically ruptured subcapsular hematoma. Pathological study confirmed acute right pyelonephritis and demonstrated the precise cause of the hemorrhage: rupture of the hepatic artery at the hilar part, following infectious arteritis which was probably secondary to the acute pyelonephritis. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first published report of such a case.     

The King of Farum—A Danish Corruption Tale

With the background knowledge that Denmark is one of the least corrupt nations in the world, this article explores the case of a mayor who for eight years worked ‘miracles’ for ‘his’ municipality but was later revealed to have built this community on circumvention of control mechanisms and laws. For this (and for his overwhelming consumption of expensive wines at the taxpayers’ expense) he was later sentenced to four years of imprisonment. He was not driven by personal economic gain, but more likely by a mixture between creating a municipality of his dreams and the almost absolute power that he ended up with just before the scandal hit the headlines. The case was revealed by two journalists from a yellow newspaper, but very soon police and other authorities as well as his fellow politicians followed up on the revelations, and his former political friends turned their back on him. It is not the story of a mayor who was bribed – but of a mayor who turned out to be ‘corrupt’ in a wider sense of the word.     

Fracture of the hyoid bone associated with atlantoaxial subluxation: a case report and review of the literature

Hyoid bone fractures secondary to blunt trauma other than strangulation are rare. Only 27 cases have been reported in the literature. They have few, if any, complications, such as dysphagia, hypoxia, cardiorespiratory collapse, laceration of the pharynx, mandibular fracture, thyroid cartilage fracture, and facial fracture. No report of hyoid bone fracture associated with spinal column injury was reported in the English literature. The authors reported a 46-year-old male patient who complained of neck pain and odynophagia after a traffic accident. After systemic examination and cervical CT scan, the diagnosis of hyoid bone fracture at the right great horn and atlantoaxial subluxation was made. The patient was observed in ICU for 48 hours. A nasogastric tube was inserted for feeding. Fifteen milligrams of dexamethasone was given once a day for 3 days to reduce the swelling and pain. We performed a cutaneous traction for the subluxation and carefully watched the hyoid bone and the patient's respiration. No lethal complications occurred. Two weeks later, the patient was allowed to ambulate with cervical collar protection and to resume oral intake. Three months later, he was asymptomatic. This case, with hyoid fracture and atlantoaxial subluxation, is the only case reported in the literature. The importance of hyoid fracture, however, rests not with the rarity of it, but with the lethal potential of missing diagnosis. Nonsurgical management may be effective in most of the cases.     

Asphyxia protracted after shaking trauma

A case of "shaken baby syndrome" (SBS) is reported. A 3 1/2 months old female baby has been found by his mother death in bed. The circumstances predicted a case of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), but the father, a disc-jockey, who had to look for the baby, had left a notice: "Gitti--i didn't want it, I don't know what had happened, I'm sorry!". The corpse of the baby had no external signs of violence. At the medicolegal examination we found small subarachnoidal and subdural hemorrhage from ruptured bridge veins and signs of prolonged asphyxia. Few hours later the father could be arrested. He told that he had shaken the baby, because she didn't stop crying. The infant lost conscious and he layed him down to the bed with his face below. Then he looked TV for at least a few minutes. After insufficient reanimation he had left the house. The court found the man to be guilty of fatal infant child abuse and convicted him to detention of 8 months. The main signs of SBS are discussed (subarachnoidal and subdural hemorrhage, intraretinal and periretinal hemorrhages, brain edema). Especially in the german speaking Europe many medical examiners are not familiar with this form of infant child abuse.     

人体皮肤各类创伤区纤维连接蛋白免疫组织化学的研究

本文应用免疫组织化学ＰＡＰ法对人体皮肤的切创、枪弹创、挫伤、挫裂创进行了ＦＮ染色观察研究，发现不同类型的创伤，由于致伤条件不同，即使创伤所经历的时间相同，而不同创伤区ＦＮ阳性染色的宽度和深度并不一样。     

A fatal elephant attack

A rare case of an elephant attack is presented. A 44-year-old man working as an elephant keeper was attacked by a cow elephant when he tripped over a foot chain while the animal was being medically treated. The man fell down and was consequently repeatedly attacked with elephant tusks. The man sustained multiple stab injuries to both groin regions, a penetrating injury to the abdominal wall with traumatic prolapse of the loops of the small bowel, multiple defects of the mesentery, and incomplete laceration of the abdominal aorta with massive bleeding into the abdominal cavity. In addition to the penetrating injuries, the man sustained multiple rib fractures with contusion of both lungs and laceration of the right lobe of the liver, and comminuted fractures of the pelvic arch and left femoral body. The man died shortly after he had been received at the hospital. The cause of death was attributed to traumatic shock.     

The man in the scarlet cloak. The mysterious death of Peter Anthony Motteux.

Peter Anthony Motteux (1663-1718), a Huguenot refugee in London, established a literary reputation by completing Sir Thomas Urquhart's translation of Rabelais' Gargantua and Pantagruel, then Cervantes' Don Quixote. He later became an import-export merchant. On his 55th birthday he donned his scarlet cloak and went out on the town. He picked up a prostitute and after some dalliance returned to her bordello. Shortly thereafter he was found dead, although the evidence is that he was in good health when he arrived. Literary evidence is that he died from assisted erotic asphyxia, a variant of autoerotic asphyxia, cf. the case of Frantisek Koczwara (Am J Forensic Med Pathol 5:145-149, 1984.)     

Wound ballistics of the Kr?nlein shot

The "Kr?nlein" shot (evisceration of the brain) is a very rare injury of the skull caused by a high-velocity bullet. The requirement for this type of low-range shot wound is a broad opening of the skull with laceration of the dura mater. In the past, several cases of this particular injury have been reported and all led to immediate death.     

Alberta court orders methadone maintenance therapy for prisoner on interim basis

On 2 May 2003, Justice VO Ouellette of the Alberta Court of Queen's Bench ordered the Director of the Fort Saskatchewan Correctional Centre to provide methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) to Milton Cardinal on an interim basis. Prior to his arrest and incarceration, Mr. Cardinal had been receiving MMT to treat opiate addiction. Following the expiration of 30 days from his arrest and incarceration, he was placed under the blanket "mandatory withdrawal policy" enforced by Alberta correctional authorities.     

Survival time, capacity of action and radiological diagnosis after gunshot wounds of the cranium (author's transl)]

Three cases of suicidal temporal gunshots. Different circumstances in the clinical course and in the ability of action.--In one case there was a bullet tract in the lower temporal region with considerable destruction of the base of the skull, followed by immediate inability of action and early death. Another case with a transtemporal gunshot without radiological signs of a laceration of the base of skull showed severe disturbance of cerebral functions for some days and remaining blindness. In the third case there was a pistol shot in the temporal region with retained missile, full ability of acting and undisturbed consciousness. Causative for the differences in the effect of the gunshots are differences of weapons and amunition and the anatomical position of the wound track in the temporal region. Discussion about the role of concussion of the brain by different rate of transgression of energy from the missile to the skull. Reference to the importance of X-ray analysis and to a radiographic documentation of the findings in such cases.     

Eugen Bleuler and forensic psychiatry

The list of Eugen Bleuler's writings shows that he grappled with forensic issues quite early, even before he became a full professor in 1898. Bleuler regularly prepared forensic criminal expert's reports himself until emeritus status was conferred on him in 1927. Analysis of his writings indicates that his position remained explicitly deterministic. In Bleuler's later work, that position was integrated into the natural philosophy vitalistic theory of mnemism, itself part of a more comprehensive theory, without any corrections to its content. Eugen Bleuler always remained a critic of criminal law, although it can be seen from later expert's reports that he for the most part accepted the existing system for the administration of justice for practical reasons. However, Bleuler always defended the idea that punishment should not be based on the moral guilt of the perpetrator but rather on the prospect of curing him.     

An unusual case of self-harm with petroleum distillate

After surgical treatment of an inguinal hernia, a 26-year-old male was discharged from hospital with a well healing surgical wound. Four weeks later he was admitted again with a major localized painful swelling of the soft tissues, whereas the clinical examination revealed no further local or systemic signs of inflammation. The immediate operation disclosed no abscess formation, but a large colliquation necrosis of the subcutaneous tissue with an outstanding petroleum-like odour. On toxicological examination of the necrotic tissue, a respective petroleum distillate was found. The patient was confronted with the suspicion of having injected the petroleum preparation himself to prolong the wound healing and finally admitted the self-mutilating behaviour. The pathophysiology, clinical history and morphological findings are discussed in comparison with case reports of chemically induced self-mutilation.