Forensic odontology lessons: multishooting incident at Port Arthur,Tasmania

On Sunday 28 April 1996 a lone gunman killed and injured many people at the historic penal settlement ruins at Port Arthur in South Eastern Tasmania, Australia. Thirty-two victims were shot dead and 19 were injured in a short time inside a cafe and along the roadway leading to the site entrance. The gunman then took one hostage to a nearby guest house which was occupied by a married couple. Police stood siege during the night. Early the next day the cottage began to burn and a man suspected to be the gunman eventually ran unarmed from the building with his clothes alight and was arrested. The house burned to the ground. Three bodies were later located in the burnt ruins. Forensic odontology played a role in the retrieval of evidence and identification of the incinerated victims. Lack of antemortem dental records for one victim necessitated the reliance on a single CT scan radiograph for matching with the remains. Fire scene procedures, evidence collection and other issues were reviewed. The overwhelming scale of this tragedy and its adverse effects on the Tasmanian community, especially the victims' families and survivors, cannot be overestimated. While acknowledging this, it is important that lessons are learnt from tragedies such as these. This paper is presented with a view to assisting forensic odontologists in the investigation of complex incidents.     

YOU HAZE, I SUE: A FRATERNITY STEW

A male student who was bound with duct tape and barricaded in a room was rescued from a fire early Saturday morning at the Sigma Nu fraternity house at Washington State University. No one was injured in the fire, which left the residence uninhabitable…. The student was found by firefighters who were checking that everyone had left the building, and was not in a wing of the house where the blaze began. [A university spokesperson]… said that hazing was 'strictly against the rules' and that the student appeared to be the victim of 'someone playing a prank.'     

Circumstances surrounding male sexual assault and rape: findings from the National Violence Against Women Survey

Much work in the area of male sexual assault and rape relies on small clinical samples. From these samples, researchers reported that most male victims were physically injured during the attack and that penetration occurred. This work rests on a subsample of 219 men from the 1994-1996 Violence and Threats of Violence Against Women and Men in the United States Survey. Findings from the National Violence Against Women Survey (NVAW) show that the vast majority of male sexual assault victims reported that they were not physically injured during the assault, that a weapon was not used, that there was no substance use at the time of the assault, and that penetration did not occur. Only 29% of male respondents in the NVAW sought medical or psychological help after the assault. Prior work may have overrepresented men who reported being physically injured and/or penetrated. An analysis is presented of how those who presented for help in the NVAW differ from the whole sample. Results show that men who presented for help were more likely to have reported being physically injured during the assault and that penetration occurred. Thus, findings from prior work make sense; however, they may not be representative of male assault victims as a whole.     

The assassination of the late President John F. Kennedy. An academician's thoughts

Another look is taken at the murder case of the late President John F. Kennedy. The overall pattern established by various investigations should force any reasonable person to conclude that a conspiracy of greater or lesser proportions did exist. The actors in that conspiracy have not been identified. The role of Lee Harvey Oswald in the event is still obscure. The art and science of pathology, in this case, failed the nation. Federal agencies were incompetent and possibly criminally negligent in their handling of the case. The fact that more than a single gunman was involved in the murder seems indubitable. Scientists, as scientists, have contributed all that they can to resolving the case. Suppression, modification, and destruction of evidence crucial to the case by those having it in custody have been completed so effectively that one esteemed historian has asserted, "at least some of those responsible for the murder of a President of the United States got away with it."     

The impact of general versus specific expert testimonyand eyewitness confidence upon mock juror judgment

Subjects (n=128) initially viewed an eyewitness of high or low confidence. Subsequently, participants viewed a psychologist who gave either espert testimony on the unreliability of eyewitness identification, specific expert testimony, or no expert (control) testimony. Subjects viewing expert testimony believed the eyewitness identified the gunman significantly less often, gave the defendant lower guilt ratings, estimated a lower general percentage of correct identifications under similar circumstances, estimated a lower percentage of general accurate eyewitness testimony, and gave significantly lower ratings to the belief that one can generally tell from eyewitness confidence whether an eyewitness is accurate than subjects in control conditions. Significant differences were also obtained between general and specific expert testimony. Participants viewing specific expert testimony estimated lower general percentages of correct identifications under the circumstances of the crime and reported relying more upon the psychologist's testimony than subjects viewing general expert testimony. Additionally, subjects viewing general expert testimony had significantly less confidence in their gunman vs. innocent person decision than subjects in specific testimony or control conditions. Subjects who viewed the high confidence eyewitness decided that the eyewitness correctly identified the gunman more often, gave the defendant higher guilt ratings, and estimated the general percentage of accurate eyewitness testimony to be significantly higher than jurors in low eyewitness confidence groups. The finding that jurors may continue to rely on eyewitness confidence to gauge the accuracy of the witness even after viewing expert testimony is discussed.     

论被害人被害后心理及其救助

本文从被害人被害后心理的内涵出发,探讨被害人被害后几种常见的心理表现,并有针对性地提出被害人被害后的心理救助措施,旨在于帮助被害人建立有效心理防范机制,以期更好保护被害人的权益。     

The genuine victim and prosecutors’ charging decisions in sexual assault cases

This study examined the effect of victim characteristics and evidence factors on prosecutors’ decisions to file charges in sexual assault cases. Social scientists and legal scholars argue that sexual assault case processing decisions are affected by stereotypes of real rapes and genuine victims. They assert that complainants whose backgrounds and behavior conform to the image of a genuine victim will be taken more seriously, and their allegations treated more seriously, than complainants whose backgrounds and behavior are at odds with this image. We used a sample of arrests for sexual assault made by the Detroit Police Department in 1989 to test these assertions. We combined six victim characteristics to create a genuine victim scale, and we examined the effect of this scale, as well as a number of evidence factors, on prosecutors’ charging decisions. We performed separate analyses on cases with child victims and cases with adolescent or adult victims. We found that the genuine victim scale did not influence charging decisions in cases with child victims, but was theonly significant predictor in cases involving adolescent or adult victims. In contrast, none of the four evidence factors affected charging in cases with adult victims, and only one of these factors was related to charging in cases involving children. These findings suggest that prosecutors attempt to avoid uncertainty by screening out sexual assault cases unlikely to result in a conviction because of questions about the victim’s character, the victim’s behavior, and the victim’s credibility. This paper is based on work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. SES-9010826. Points of view are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the position of the National Science Foundataion.     

Injuries due to deliberate violence in areas of Argentina. II. Lesions. Copenhagen Study Group

As part of a transcultural investigation of violent behavior in Argentina and Denmark, the lesions from accidents involving deliberate violence registered in the emergency wards of Hospital Fernandez and Hospital Pinero in Capital Federal Buenos Aires over a period of 13 and 17 months, respectively, were studied. Among the 281 victims entering the two emergency wards blunt violence without use of instruments was most often reported to be the violation method. Frequently indicated violation instruments against the male victims were batons (18.7%), sharp instruments (17.7%), and firearms (17.7%), the corresponding figures for female victims being 9.6%, 8.4% and 4.8%. The use of firearms and batons was considerably more pronounced in Argentina than in Denmark, particularly against male victims. A total of 373 primary and secondary diagnoses were reported from the patients, the most frequent diagnoses being contusions and open wounds in the head/neck region. Forty-three percent of the diagnoses were related to the head/neck region, being the most frequently injured region and the trunk the second most frequently injured region (30%). The degree of predominance of lesions in the head/neck region was much less than in the Danish material. Injuries of internal organs of the trunk were considerably more frequent in Argentina than in Denmark. Eighty-five percent of the victims had moderate or less serious lesions when assessed on the basis of the scores in the Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS), (score less than or equal to 2). The AIS scores of the lesions in female victims were on average only slightly higher than those recorded in the Danish study, while 16.1% of the male Argentinian victims had lesions scored greater than or equal to 3 compared to 1.8% in male Danish victims. The need for treatment and hospitalization was more pronounced than in the Danish study. It may be concluded that the frequency of serious cases of deliberate violence probably would decrease if more restrictive rules for the possessing of firearms were enacted and enforced.     

Injuries due to deliberate violence in Chile

An analysis was made over a period of 6 months of the incidents involving deliberate violence as registered in 'Vicaria', the clinic for out-patients within the Cathedral of Santiago de Chile. A total of 236 victims of deliberate violence were observed. Men aged 15-24 years were found to be victims of deliberate violence most frequently. 'Under education' was the most frequently registered occupation for both sexes, and a large group of male victims were 'Unemployed'. 82% of the victims were men and 14% women, 1.5% were boys and 1.5% girls less than or equal to 14 years of age. None of the victims were alcohol intoxicated when arriving in the clinic. The incidents took place in streets for 81% of the male victims and 79% of the female victims, and in the majority of the cases the aggressor(s) was one (or several) police officer(s). Six percent of the female victims had been injured at home. There was no reporting of the aggressor being a relative or acquaintance. The most frequent type of violence was blunt violence from baton(s) (44%), while blunt violence without the use of instruments was reported less frequently (33%). The use of firearms was registered in 18% of the cases, and of sharp instruments, combustion, electro-shock and chain in 1.4%, 1.4%, 1.1% and 0.4% of the cases respectively. A total of 517 primary and secondary diagnoses were applied to the patients. Most of the victims (99%) had moderate or less serious lesions according to the Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) (score less than or equal to 2). Twenty-four percent of the victims had more than 4 lesions, and 7% more than 10 lesions. The head/neck region and the trunk were affected with equal frequency, the frequency of injuries of the head/neck region being comparable with that observed among torture victims and in contrast to the pronounced predominance of injuries of the head/neck region observed in a Danish emergency ward study of deliberate violence.     

Victims’ motivations for reporting to the ‘fraud justice network’

ABSTRACT

It is well-established that (online) fraud has one of the lowest reporting rates across all crime categories. However, there is a large gap examining why some victims choose to report online fraud offenses. Therefore, this paper examines the under-researched group of online fraud victims who reported their crimes to authorities. Based on interviews with 80 victims across Australia, who lost at least AUD10,000 to online fraud, this paper demonstrates two motivations behind reporting: a sense of individual justice, and an altruistic notion of protecting others. The paper also highlights the negativity associated with the reporting process. The paper uses these findings to determine what can be learnt from the victims who were willing to report. It concludes with a discussion of the challenges evident in seeking to improve the confidence of victims reporting to authorities.     

A study on house fire victims: age, carboxyhemoglobin, hydrogen cyanide and hemolysis.

Correlation among age, concentrations of carboxyhemoglobin and hydrogen cyanide, oxygen density and hemolysis were studied in 120 house fire victims. Victims aged over 60 years comprised approximately 50% of the pooled subjects. Blood samples were mainly collected from the left ventricle, but sometimes from both the right and left ventricles. The concentration of carboxyhemoglobin ranged from 1-95%, of which 71 persons (59.7%) died with carboxyhemoglobin concentrations below 60%. Carboxyhemoglobin concentrations below 10% were found in 9 persons (7.5%). Most of these cases involved the elderly persons. In this paper, we report on the death of elderly victims as a result of low carboxyhemoglobin concentrations. A significant correlation of blood carboxyhemoglobin concentrations existed between the right and left ventricles. The concentration of carboxyhemoglobin in the left ventricle was significantly higher than that in the right. Two out of 31 victims whose hydrogen cyanide concentrations were determined, succumbed to hydrogen cyanide poisoning, having a high concentration of hydrogen cyanide and a low concentration of carboxyhemoglobin. On analysis, oxygen density was found to be low in 13 persons. A negative correlation was shown between carboxyhemoglobin concentration and hemolysis. Inasmuch as hemolysis may indicate the extent of heat dissociation, hemolysis should provide an index of carbon monoxide dissociation from carboxyhemoglobin. In the present study of victims, possible causes of death i.e., carbon monoxide gas poisoning, hydrogen cyanide poisoning, oxygen deprivation, burning, shock due to burns and others were estimated. The survival time for elderly victims was considered to be short.     

Injuries due to deliberate violence in areas of Argentina. I. The extent of violence. Copenhagen Study Group

As part of a transcultural investigation of violent behaviour in Argentina and Denmark an analysis was made of the incidents involving deliberate violence as registered in the emergency wards of Hospital Fernandez and Hospital Pinero in Capital Federal Buenos Aires over a period of 13 and 17 months, respectively. In the two emergency wards a total of 281 victims of deliberate violence were observed corresponding to a rate of approximately 0.2/1000 per year in a mainly middle income area of the metropolis Buenos Aires, the catchment region of Hospital Fernandez, and 0.6/1000 per year in a mainly low income area of Buenos Aires, the catchment region of Hospital Pinero. Men aged 20-24 years and 40-49 years were found to be the most frequent victims of deliberate violence, 13% and 11%, respectively. Elderly women greater than or equal to 60 years of age were rarely found to be victims of deliberate violence (2%). Skilled and unskilled male workers were over-represented as victims of violence. Sixty-four percent of the victims were men and 29% women, 6% were boys and 0.7% girls less than or equal to 14 years of age. Twenty-one percent of the male victims and 5% of the female victims were alcohol intoxicated when arriving in the emergency ward. The incidents took place in restaurants or in the vicinity of restaurants for only 7% of the male victims, while 55% of male victims and 34% of female victims had been injured in the street, most often by non-acquainted men. Fifty-eight percent of the female victims had been subject to deliberate violence at home, in the majority of the cases beaten by their spouse. Twelve percent of the male victims and 8% of the female victims were estimated to be under the influence of drugs. The incidence of deliberate violence seems to be lower in Argentina than in Denmark. However, serious lesions appear to be considerably more frequent in male Argentinian victims compared to male Danish victims, maybe because the practice of seeking medical assistance is different in the two countries. The pattern of deliberate violence appears to be associated with socio-economic and cultural factors. Influence of alcohol does not appear to play a role that is comparable to the situation observed in Denmark. A considerably larger percentage of victims in Argentina than in Denmark had been injured in the street.     

Injuries due to deliberate violence in areas of Denmark. V. Violence against women and children. Copenhagen Study Group

As part of an European-South American study of deliberate violence cases of violence against women greater than or equal to 15 years of age and violence against and among children under the age of 15 years were registered at 3 Danish emergency wards and at the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Copenhagen. 352 cases of violence against women and 46 cases of violence against children were registered in the three emergency wards corresponding to rates of about 1.6/1000 per year for women, 0.6/1000 per year for boys and 0.7/1000 per year for girls in a provincial/rural district, the catchment region of Holbaek County Hospital, 3.4/1000 per year for women, 2.8/1000 per year for boys and 0.6/1000 per year for girls in a mainly middle income area of the metropolis Copenhagen, the catchment region of Frederiksberg Hospital, and 4.0/1000 per year for women, 4.0/1000 per year for boys and 0.9/1000 per year for girls in a mainly low income area of Copenhagen, the catchment region of the Rigshospital. Nineteen live adult female victims and 17 dead adult female victims of violence were registered in the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Copenhagen, where also one was registered as a victim of homicide. Nearly half of the adult live female victims of violence had been injured at home while this was the case for approximately three fourth of the dead victims. In 35% of the live cases the husband was the aggressor and in 12% a former cohabitant. In 71% of the homicide cases the husband was the aggressor. The live women appeared to have fewer but more serious lesions than men. The pattern of deliberate violence against women appears to be associated with socio-economic and cultural factors. In cases with a preceding quarrel there is statistically a link to alcohol intoxication. In half of the cases of violence against children the aggressor was known to the victim, in 15% the aggressor was one of the parents, while 42% of the cases were violence among children. The pattern of violence according to sex, and the distribution and severity of lesions for 10-14 years old children showed resemblance to the situation for adults. The lesions were more serious in young infant victims, especially boys, than in adult victims.     

The Consequences of the COVID-19 Lockdown on Stalking Victimisation

Stalking involves repeated unwanted communication, harassment, and intrusive behaviour. This brief report draws on a service evaluation undertaken immediately prior to and during the 2020 COVID-19 crisis. The pandemic creates a paradox when considering safety in the home, but it is important to recognise the dangers this presents to many victims of stalking. The information presented in this report is based on existing literature and early evidence from semi-structured interviews and discussions with 15 victims and six practitioners. Whilst lockdown measures might appear to be a time when victims are less accessible to their stalkers, early evidence from this study suggests that their vulnerability is increased. Technology has helped to facilitate stalking behaviours by providing stalkers with new approaches to control, humiliate, threaten and isolate their victims. Some lockdown restrictions have provided increased opportunities for stalkers to monitor their victims and the professional uncertainty and recognition around stalking has continued, coupled with delays in the criminal justice system. The COVID-19 crisis has reversed gains made by stalking victims and has imprisoned some victims in their homes making their whereabouts easier to monitor. Stalking behaviour has not ceased as a result of the COVID-19 restrictions and the risk of harm to victims remains significant. Effective practice, policy and legal responses are required for both the victims and perpetrators of stalking during the pandemic and afterwards.

     

Intentional Homicide: A Fifteen-Year Study (2000–2014) at the Department of Forensic Medicine,University of Rome “Sapienza”

This study analyzes postmortem records from 260 homicide cases autopsied by the Department of Forensic Medicine in Rome from 2000 to 2014. The victims were mainly males (74%) and young (61% aged from 21 to 50 years). Although the victims were mostly Italians, the number of foreign victims (33%) has increased since 1990, primarily due to immigration. The offenders frequently used firearms (39%), particularly in multiple murders. An increase in blunt (20%) and sharp force (32%) weapons was also seen. The primary crime scene was residential (42%), and the head was the most frequently injured body region. Male victims occurred frequently in the context of organized crime (7.6%). In family or intimate-sexual relationships, women were the majority of victims (8%). Forensic pathologists play an important role during investigation. They should consider all the information available to them, including autopsy information, crime scene information, and crime investigation data.     

Persistence of Biological Traces at Inside Parts of a Firearm from a Case of Multiple Familial Homicide

Backspatter from wounds caused by contact shots against a biological target had before been shown to be propelled into firearms' barrels where they can persist and be retrieved from as relevant forensic evidence. Herein, that insight was applied to the investigation of a case of multiple familial homicide with a firearm. Samples of backspatter were collected from the firearm using DNA‐free swabs. DNA was extracted from the swabs, and 16 STR systems were PCR‐amplified to generate DNA profiles of all victims shot by the firearm. The quality of the resulting DNA profiles was sufficient to exclude the perpetrator as donor and to differentiate the three closely related victims thereby proving that all three victims had been shot by the same firearm from very close or contact distance. A key insight gained from this case was that not only a firearms' barrel inside but other inner surfaces may be charged with profilable DNA.     

Judicial responses to the protected confidential communications legislation in Australia

The article examines the background, aims and scope of recent legislation enacted in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia to protect from disclosure in court of "confidential communications" generated in the context of counselling persons who allege that they were victims of sexual offenses. In drafting the "confidential communications" legislation, the legislators undertook a difficult task of balancing the public interest in therapeutic confidentiality that would encourage victims of sexual assaults to report these offenses and seek psychological and psychiatric care on the one hand, and the public interest in fairness of the trial, which may be prejudiced by exclusion of evidence pertinent to the forensic process on the other. In South Australia this task was fulfilled with greater success than in New South Wales and Victoria.     

Improving forensic responses to residential burglaries: results of a randomized controlled field trial

Objectives

Residential burglaries (or break and enters) can cause great concern to the public but are typically a routine police job. The present study sought to evaluate an enhanced police approach to this high-volume crime by emphasizing police–victim interactions and more thorough forensic examinations.

Methods

Scenes of crime officers (forensic examiners) were randomly assigned to either a control (business-as-usual) or experimental condition. Officers in the experimental condition received additional training and resources to upskill them in DNA and fingerprint evidence collection and crime scene evaluation. Experimental officers also received additional training on procedurally just approaches to dealing with victims and were encouraged to be more thorough and spend more time at these high-volume crime scenes.

Results

The trial revealed that the enhanced, experimental, approach offered a number of benefits, including greater evidence collection, identification, and incidents solved. Further, this enhanced approach boosted victims’ perceptions of officers’ procedural justice and satisfaction with the procedures used. However, this approach was more costly in relation to time, and the additional collection of extra DNA evidence did not greatly add to the crime solvability of these incidents.

Conclusions

High-volume crimes such as break and enters have a significant impact on the victims and often go unsolved. This study provides causal evidence that enhancing officers’ attendance and attention to victims and evidence at these scenes can increase solvability and enhance victim experiences.

     

Sexual assaults in Geneva between 2006 and 2010

In Geneva, all sexual assault victims are examined both by a gynaecologist and a forensic pathologist with special training in clinical forensic medicine. Between 2006 and 2010, 473 victims were examined following such an assault. Over the years, the number of sexual assaults rose steadily. Most victims were aged between 15 and 30 years. The majority of the assaults occurred at night and on the weekend and often happened at the place where the perpetrator or the victim lived. Usually, the offender acted alone and was known to the victim. Many victims hesitate to present for an examination, which makes it difficult to collect evidence. Penetration was usually vaginal and without the use of a condom. Injuries on the body or genitals were seen in only half of the cases for the first ones and in less than one third for the second ones. Quite often (at least in 42 % of the cases), the victim consumed alcohol before the assault and the use of drugs--especially cannabis--was not uncommon either.     

How many DNA analyses are performed on adult sexual assault victims in Milan (Italy): A ten-year review

The aim of this study is to evaluate the actual use of serological/DNA analyses in the investigations carried out on adult sexual violence victims in Italy during the years 2006–2015.The victims were assisted in the largest Italian rape center, in Milan (Soccorso Violenza Sessuale e Domestica – SVSeD - Service for Sexual and Domestic Violence).The total number of sexual violence victims examined during the years 2006–2015 (adults and minors) was 3521, in 1697 of cases, biological evidence had been collected, while the number of adult victims (>18 y.o.) examined was 2300, in 1211 of cases biological evidence had been collected.Biological evidence was collected from the victims’ bodies using two swabs in five anogenital areas (labia maiora, labia minora, perineum, perianal and anal/rectum regions) and two swabs in all other skin areas suggested by the victims as areas of possible contact (double swab technique). Clothes were also collected on a case by case basis for the search of biological stains. Despite the proper collection, handling and chain of custody for all the swabs/items collected, serological/DNA analyses were requested in 86 cases out of 1211 only (710%). This percentage dropped to 190% when considering adolescent victims (13–19 y.o.).The reason why Italian Magistrates make little use of the powerful tool of DNA analyses in sexual assault cases, still remains unclear. Legal and procedural aspects are therefore also discussed.