Homicide by blunt force in 2 Scandinavian capitals

In the Oslo and Copenhagen areas, 77 instances of blunt force homicides were committed from 1985-1994, accounting for 18% of all homicides in that 10-year period. Fifty-four (70%) of the victims were male, often killed by an acquaintance during a fight. Almost 70% of the female victims were killed in their own home, whereas that was the case for only 30% of the male victims. The majority of the victims (of both sexes) had been hit in more than 1 region of the body. A female offender was encountered in 4 instances; none of their victims were children. Of the 3 children in the blunt force victim group, 2 were battered children. Many of the victims with a blood alcohol level of 0 turned out to have lived for some time after the injury.     

Homicides in two Scandinavian capitals.

In this study we investigated homicides in the two Scandinavian capitals, Copenhagen, Denmark and Oslo, Norway, for the 10-year period from 1985 to 1994. The total number of homicides was 431; 63.8% occurred in Copenhagen and 36.2% in Oslo. The average homicide rate was 1.6/100,000 in Copenhagen and 1.8/100,000 in Oslo. Blunt force, sharp force, and strangulation were the most common methods. Firearms were also used but did not account for >20% in either of the two cities. This is probably due to strict gun laws in both countries. There was no clear difference between the homicide victim populations in the two cities with regard to age, gender, or social and marital status. The proportion of alcoholics and unemployed persons was much higher than in the background population and to a similar extent in both cities, indicating that the homicide victim populations differ from the background populations. The perpetrator knew the victim in the majority of the cases. The most frequent motives or circumstances in both cities were fights, family rows, financial controversies, or jealousy.     

Asphyxial homicide in two Scandinavian capitals

In the Oslo and Copenhagen capital areas, 94 asphyxial homicides were committed in the 10-year period 1985-1994, accounting for 22% of all homicides in that period. Sixty-nine (73%) of the asphyxia victims were female. The most common method of asphyxiation was manual strangulation. Seventeen (18%) of the victims were below the age of 10, accounting for 59% of all homicides in that age group. Whereas 38% of the female victims were killed by their spouse, this was the case for only one male victim. The motive was not known in a great proportion of cases. Fifty-seven percent of the victims had been subjected to additional violence, and in this respect there was no difference between the sexes. In 12 of the cases the offender was female; in 9 such cases the victim was her offspring. More than half of the victims had no blood alcohol. When disregarding the victims less than 10 years of age, 33% of the male and 49% of the female victims had no blood alcohol. The crime scene was the victim's domicile among 72% of female and 52% of male victims. Forty-two percent of the female and 11% of the male victims above the age of 10 years were married or cohabitant.     

Significance of inflammatory changes in the brainstem in forensic autopsy cases

Brain stem encephalitis is an uncommon disease. In order to assess the significance of inflammatory changes in the brain stem in a forensic autopsy material we reviewed the findings over a 12-year period. Between January 1st 1982-December 31st 1993, neuropathological examination of the brain was carried out in 29% of the autopsy cases from the Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Oslo. Out of 4546 brains, 110 (2.2%) showed microglial nodules and perivascular lymphocytic cuffing in the lower brain stem. In 66 of the cases (60%), the abnormalities were limited to the nucleus and/or the spinal tract of the fifth cranial nerve. Only 16 of the 39 cases with more widespread changes, diagnosed as brain stem encephalitis, had a serious underlying or concomitant disease. Three particular cases of brain stem encephalitis are reported in more detail. In all three cases we suggest that the brain stem inflammatory changes may be either the direct or a contributory cause of death.     

Homicide by sharp force in two Scandinavian capitals

In the Oslo and Copenhagen capital areas, 141 homicides by sharp force were committed in the ten-year period 1985-1994. This method accounted for 33% of the homicides in this period. Thirty-five percent of the victims were female, and most of the victims were between 20 and 50 years of age. The majority of the male victims were killed by an acquaintance, the females by their spouse. Sixty-five percent of the male and 37% of the female victims had alcohol in their blood. The majority of the female victims had lesions in 3-4 anatomical regions, while the males most often had lesions in only one anatomical region. Seventy-nine percent of the females and 36% of the males had self-defence injuries in the upper extremities. In 21 cases (15%) the offender was a woman, 19 of their victims being male; the weapon in these cases was most often a kitchen knife. Seventy-eight percent of the females and 49% of the males were killed in their own home. The most common circumstance was family row when the victim was female, while a fight was the most common circumstance when the victim was male. Three offenders committed suicide after having committed homicide(s) (seven victims; three offenders).     

Homicide by firearms in two Scandinavian capitals

In the Oslo and Copenhagen areas, 83 homicides by firearms were registered in the 10-year period 1985 to 1994, accounting for 19.3% of all homicides in that period. The majority of the victims were between 20 and 50 years old, and 58% were male, 42% female. The yearly number of firearm homicides varied between 4 and 15, with neither an increase nor decrease throughout the period. Most of the victims had no detectable blood alcohol at autopsy. Female victims were typically shot in their own domicile with a shotgun by their spouse, mostly because of jealousy or in a family argument, whereas male victims were shot on different locations, predominantly with a handgun, for many different reasons. Most victims were shot in the head, and few had entrance wounds in more than one anatomic region.     

Fatal combined intoxication with new antidepressants. Human cases and an experimental study of postmortem moclobemide redistribution.

Three cases are presented in which death was caused by suicidal intoxication with moclobemide in combination with a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor. Both antidepressant drug types are considered to be relatively safe with regard to lethal overdose. However, the combination may cause the serotonin syndrome, a condition with a high mortality rate. In one of the cases, there was clinical information consistent with the serotonin syndrome, in the two other cases, there was no information of the clinical course. Postmortem redistribution of the selective monoamine oxidase inhibitor moclobemide was investigated in a rat model. Postmortem concentrations in blood from the vena cava and the heart were found to be in good accordance with antemortem concentrations. Postmortem concentrations in vitreous humour and various tissues were also measured. The apparent volume of distribution was calculated to be 0.95 +/- 0.10 l/kg, which is in the same range as that reported in man.