Suicidal yew ingestion

A 41-year-old man was found dead, lying in prone position on the ground near a parking area, where the car of the person was parked. Remarkable were the spasm-like hands of the decedent, cause of death was unknown. Primary an epileptical attack was assumed. A medicolegal autopsy was performed followed by histological and forensic toxicological analysis. Furthermore a plant anatomical investigation was applied. Autopsy revealed fragments of greenish needle-like leaves in the stomach and the intestines, but not in the colon. Plant anatomical investigation indicated the presence of yew. Histological findings were in concordance with the literature, in addition the investigation of bone marrow was performed for the first time. Forensic toxicological analysis revealed the presence of 3,5-dimethoxyphenol, the marker for intoxication with taxus baccata.This case reports the importance of medicolegal examinations in order to avoid misdiagnosis. Here the suspection of an epileptical attack as a possible cause of death was excluded by an autopsy, in addition an intoxication by yew leaves was proved.     

A case of disguised suicide

A case of disguised suicide is presented. A 77-year-old man had made technical arrangements so that the pistol with which he shot himself was thrown aside by the elasticity of a rubber band, to which it was tied, and was thereby hidden. After the shot the man fell and crushed his head, which initially concealed the bullet wound. A scrutinizing technical investigation at the scence of the death with close collaboration between the experts involved, revealed the true circumstances. No explanation for the attempt to conceal the suicide was found.     

Ecstasy and suicide

Deaths due to the ring-derivative amphetamines are not common and are usually accidental involving dehydration and hyperthermia. Suicides from 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and related ring-derivative amphetamines overdose are rare. A 15-year-old female who had a history of depression and previous suicide attempts was found dead with a suicide note. Toxicology demonstrated lethal serum concentrations of MDMA (9.3 mg/L), with 34 mg/kg of MDMA in the liver, 2.4 mg/L in the urine, and 530 mg/kg in the stomach. The cause of death was MDMA toxicity, the manner suicide. While MDMA may be detected in victims in other drug-related or traumatic deaths, it is only rarely used in isolation in suicide, with a predominance in the 21- to 25-year-old range. Despite the rarity of such events, the possibility of a nonaccidental manner of death should be considered when high levels of MDMA and associated amphetamines are found at autopsy.     

Fatal taxine poisoning from yew leaf ingestion

A case of fatal taxine poisoning from the ingestion of yew leaves by a young college man is reported. The toxicity of the plant is discussed, and the limited medical literature is reviewed.     

九种有毒植物中毒的尸检报告

本文报道17例有毒植物中毒尸检资料(毒蕈4例、苍耳子3例、栝楼2例、乌头类3例、雷公藤1例、钩吻1例、夹竹桃1例、豆薯子1例,野山薯1例),其中意外15例,自杀2例。着重分析了这些有毒植物对机体选择性毒作用部位。根据病理变化探讨中毒机理和死因,并综合讨论了有关的法医学问题。根据作者的经验,在法医学尸体检验和鉴定中应重视对尸体系统全面的法医病理学检验,以及请有关专家对可疑的有毒植物进行品种鉴定,有毒植物中毒是法医学鉴定中较常遇到而又较困难的问题之一,应引起进一步重视。     

Planned complex suicide: report of three cases

Three cases of planned complex suicide in a 3-year period are reported. A 40-year-old man was found dead, in his garage, hanging by his neck, with a gunshot in the head from a pen gun. A 50-year-old man was found dead in the sea with a gunshot to his head. A third man was found in a field hanging by a tree and burned. The investigation of the scenes and the methods used pointed toward a suicidal etiology. The main difference between planned complex suicide and those cases defined in medicolegal literature as combined suicides lies in the complex mechanism used by the victim as a protection against the failure of one of the mechanisms.     

民粹主义司法

民粹主义正在席卷我国司法领域并形成了史上罕见的民粹主义司法现象.民粹主义司法的主要表现形式是利用现代网络平台如微博等实施舆论审判.在民粹主义司法形成过程中,社会精英扮演了重要角色.司法在我国是政府展开社会治理的机构之一,如此之司法职能定位决定了满足民粹主义诉求不可避免地成为司法的一项基本政策.民粹主义司法在谋求案件裁判实质公正的同时表达着对现行法律体制的愤懑与期待等多种民粹主义私货.无核心价值观的民粹主义犹如毒树,民粹主义司法堪称毒树之果,它导致程序公正的应然司法观在我国的确立和巩固阻碍重重.消除民粹主义司法现象需要法院、政府、社会精英和大众传媒的共同努力.     

An unusual case of fatal accidental paraquat poisoning

Paraquat, a useful contact herbicide is now used in over 130 countries of the world, including Sri Lanka. The number of cases of accidental poisoning reported with paraquat is small, relative to instances of suicide. When a clear history is not available, accidental paraquat poisoning is sometimes difficult to diagnose. A 9-year-old boy was admitted to a peripheral hospital with a history of diarrhoea and vomiting. He later developed abdominal pain, subcutaneous emphysema and difficulty in breathing. Following transfer to a district hospital and then to a teaching hospital, poisoning with paraquat was suspected only on day 11 of the illness. On persistent questioning, on day 13 of the illness the child remembered that the day prior to the onset of illness, on his way from a shop, he felt thirsty and having found an empty bottle of Gramoxone (paraquat) on the wayside he used it to drink water from a water tank. The child died on day 17 and the histology of the lung showed typical changes of paraquat poisoning. This tragic episode emphasises the need for proper disposal of empty containers of all poisonous substances.     

德美证据排除规则之放射效力研究

从美国法中的“毒树之果”规则的演进以及“沃沦法院”时期的宪法判例看,是否排除“毒果”要视“毒树”与“毒果”之间的因果关系而定。德国的证据禁止规则包括证据取得之禁止与证据使用之禁止,证据取得之禁止与证据使用之禁止都可以产生放射效力,其“假设的侦查”理论与美国判例观点相似。我国引入“毒树之果”规则具有一定的可行性,可以从刑讯逼供来寻找改革的突破点,赋予法院排除“毒果”的权力,我国法院应当运用平衡理论来审查衍生证据与违法证据间的因果关系。     

Colchicine poisoning by accidental ingestion of meadow saffron (Colchicum autumnale): pathological and medicolegal aspects

Although intoxications with colchicine, the alkaloid of Colchicum autumnale (meadow saffron), are well known, in most cases the intoxications are evoked by oral or parenteral preparations traditionally used as medication against gout. The accidental ingestion of Colchicum autumnale, on the other hand, is a rare event and has to our knowledge only twice been described in detail. We report a further case in which two persons confused this highly poisonous plant with wild garlic (Allium ursinum), a popular spice in the Central European cuisine. While one person merely complained about a 3-day episode of nausea, vomiting and watery diarrhea, the second person died of multi-organ system derangements 48 h after the ingestion of the colchicum leaves. At autopsy hemorrhagic lung oedema, hypocellular bonemarrow, centrilobular fatty necrosis of the liver and necrosis of the proximal convoluted tubuli of the kidneys were observed. A colchicine concentration of 7.5 micrograms/ml was found in the bile whereas no substance was detected in the postmortem blood.     

Sudden unexpected death due to Taxus poisoning. A report of five cases, with review of the literature.

The toxicity of yew (Taxus) has been known since antiquity. However, in the past 31 years, to our knowledge only six cases of Taxus poisoning have been reported in the literature. In the present paper we add five cases. From a forensic point of view, intoxication with Taxus has three important aspects: (i) the clinical presentation, which among other causes should suggest Taxus intoxication; (ii) the fact that the diagnosis may often be easily made by examination of the contents of stomach, duodenum and small bowel and (iii) the widespread availability in the near future of Taxol, an anti-neoplastic drug which is an alkaloid extracted from Taxus. The clinical and autopsy findings are summarized, the diagnostic aspects are discussed and the literature concerning Taxus is reviewed.     

Preliminary test with chlorindazone DS for zinc in Sintox residue

So-called exit bags are voluminous, transparent plastic bags, each with a collar to go round the neck, and a Velcro fastening. In conjunction with the consumption of sleeping pills, the bags are recommended as an aid to commit suicide by organizations in favour of "humane death". It is reported on four such suicides by elderly people between 79 and 87 years of age. In two of these cases, there was assistance in committing suicide, one corresponding to a suicide protocol from the Swiss organization for euthanasia, EXIT. In two cases, detailed instructions for committing suicide were found. The morphological findings were not very specific in any of the cases. If the plastic bags are removed by a third party, this type of suicide may remain undetected even after performance of an autopsy. Exit bags tend to be used by older people with either real or feared life-threatening illnesses, in suicides which have usually been planned for some time. From the criminological point of view, the possible active participation of other persons in pulling the covering over the head can often not be proved. Assisting a suicide, in the sense of giving instructions on how to accomplish it, is not punishable in German law.     

Global functioning and suicide among Chinese rural population aged 15-34 years: a psychological autopsy case-control study

As the relationship between global functioning and young suicide remains unclear in rural China, this study was aimed to explore the relationship between them. Data of 391 rural suicides and 416 controls, all aged 15-34 years in three provinces in China were used for this study. The Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) scale was adopted to assess global functioning of suicides and controls. The results showed that GAF score was stronger than mental illness in predicting suicide in China. Different correlates of GAF score were found between suicides and controls. Unsurprisingly, GAF score was significantly correlated with mental illness in both suicides and controls. Different characteristics were also found among three types of suicide which were classified using GAF score. Assessing global functioning is useful and GAF scale should be regularly used in suicide prevention practice.     

Why Do People Hang Themselves on Trees? An Evaluation of Suicidal Hangings on Trees in Konya,Turkey, between 2001 and 2008

Hanging is the most common method of suicide in the world, and many public places offer a means or opportunity to carry out the activity. Of 4,452 death examinations and autopsies, there were 378 (8.5%) suicides and suicide method was hanging in 185 (48.9%) cases. In 20 of these (10.8%), the suspension point was the branch of a tree. The incident location was the garden of the victim's house in nine cases, the woodlands in seven cases. The suicides were attributed to psychiatric disorders in nine cases, economic problems in six cases, and family problems in five cases. It is concluded that hanging on a tree as a suicide method is often committed by males and the underlying motive may be different in suicidal hangings on trees occurring at daytime and night. For preventional purposes, the reporting of such suicides in public places by the media may be restricted by local authorities.     

A case of suicide by ingestion of sodium nitroprusside.

The study reports a case of suicide by ingestion of sodium nitroprusside which resulted in acute cyanide poisoning. Analyses carried out on body fluid yielded the quantitation of total (5.00 mg/L) and free (3.30 mg/L) cyanide in blood and of methemoglobin (blood = 10.5%). At the scene, some solid reddish-brown material was found in a glass, which on toxicological analysis was found to contain sodium nitroprusside; about 9 g of the same substance was identified in stomach contents. The detection and quantification of cyanide and methemoglobin in biological samples from the case indicated that the lethal effect was due to both metabolic products (cyanide and methemoglobin).     

Analysis of human remains recovered from a shark

Trauma caused by marine scavengers and predators, especially sharks, is not well known. This paper describes the effect of shark attack on human remains. They were found in the stomach of a tiger shark caught by fishermen near Hollywood Beach, Florida. The remains belonged to a white male in his late twenties or early thirties with a stature of 175 cm. The damages to the skeleton and the association of these damages with the behaviours of tiger sharks is also analyzed. The trauma affecting long bones are circular punctures around the epiphyseal ends. Other changes include unique crescent shape grooves horizontal to the shaft of the bone. Although all of the bones are affected, none of them is fractured or crushed, suggesting that the body parts are first dismembered and then swallowed and digested.     

A rare fatal case of silicone resin precursor (SH792) poisoning.

A 39-year-old man committed suicide by ingesting a large quantity of SH792. SH792 is a silicone resin precursor used as a hardener for waterproof paints. It is polymerized in water; this process is then followed by the formation of silicone resin and the release of N,N-diethylhydroxylamine. In this decedent, analysis by infrared spectroscopy showed that polymerized silicone resin was present in the stomach contents. The amount of silica in his tissues was within levels seen in control subjects. N,N-diethylhydroxylamine was detected in the urine (0.7 microliters/ml) but not in the stomach contents. The data suggest that SH792 was polymerized in the stomach and the released N,N-diethylhydroxylamine (DEHA) was absorbed into the body. The mechanism of SH792 poisoning is also discussed.     

Suicide by ingestion of methyl ethyl ketone peroxide

Methyl ethyl ketone peroxide (MEKP) is a free radical-generating compound used as a fiberglass resin hardener. A 41-year-old Haitian man developed severe metabolic acidosis, hemolysis, esophageal and gastric necrosis, and perforation of the stomach after drinking an undetermined amount of MEKP in a successful suicide attempt. The biochemical effects of free radicals explain the necrosis and hemolysis observed.     

Observed Characteristics of Suicidal Hangings: An 11-year Retrospective Review

Many studies have been published regarding suicidal hanging deaths, and most forensic pathologists and coroners are very familiar with such causes of death. Forensic pathologists are challenged over their rulings regarding manner of death in part because the general public has a limited scope of knowledge. One such challenge centers on the question of whether a hanging can be a suicide if the individual is not fully suspended. The authors designed a retrospective study to review suspension in hangings and to analyze other criteria used to help in deciding manner of death. We examined 229 suicidal hanging deaths over an 11-year period (1997 through early 2009) using the data from two separate jurisdictions in Ohio. In conclusion, we found that the vast majority (83.4%) of people who hanged themselves were found partially suspended. Among other criteria analyzed, only the presence of petechial hemorrhages and acute neck injury was statistically significant.