Forensic case profiling aspects on multiple homicides from the Cologne-Bonn metropolitan area 1985-2000

The medicolegal and subsequent criminologic interpretation of forensic and pathological findings in cases of homicide makes up an important tool of case profiling. In a retrospective study of 26 cases of "multiple homicides" involving 31 perpetrators (30 males, 1 female, mean age 33.5 years) and 73 victims (33 males, 40 females, mean age 36 years, 68 fatalities, 5 survivors), autopsy reports and prosecution authorities' files were investigated with regard to individual characteristics of victims and offenders, circumstances as well as mode of commitment. The major aim of this study was to comprehensively elucidate and characterise relevant forensic and criminologic features, which may gain importance for forensic case profiling. Forty-six victims were found in the close social environment of the perpetrator and 45 homicides were committed either in the victim's, the perpetrator's or the shared domicile. The main motives included concealment of a crime (n=13), personal conflicts/domestic arguments (n=7) and greed (n=12). The relevant injuries with regard to the cause of death were attributable to sharp force (n=13), blunt force (n=7), gunshot wounds (n=24), ligature strangulation (n=3), smothering (n=5), fire/carbon monoxide (n=4) and combined impacts (n=11). In 15 cases, so called defence injuries were found. In 5 victims a post-mortem blood alcohol concentration >1.5 g/l was determined. In six perpetrators, a severe psychiatric impairment of juridical responsibility was ascertained (Section 20 German criminal code, n=2, psychosis; Section 21 German criminal code, n=4, acute alcohol intoxication). As far as conviction data were available, 27 crimes were juridically assessed as murder, 12 as manslaughter and one as bodily harm with fatal consequences.     

Pneumomediastinum and soft tissue emphysema of the neck in postmortem CT and MRI; a new vital sign in hanging?

Spontaneous pneumomediastinum commonly occurs in healthy young men or parturient women in whom an increased intra-alveolar pressure (Valsalva maneuver, asthma, cough, emesis) leads to the rupture of the marginal pulmonary alveoli. The air ascends along the bronchi to the mediastinum and the subcutaneous space of the neck, causing cervico-fascial subcutaneous emphysema in 70-90% of cases. Ninety-five forensic cases, including five cases of hanging, were examined using postmortem multi-slice computed tomography (MSCT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) prior to autopsy until December 2003. This paper describes the findings of pneumomediastinum and cervical emphysema in three of five cases of hanging. The mechanism of its formation is discussed based on these results and a review of the literature. In conclusion, when putrefaction gas can be excluded the findings of pneumomediastinum and cervical soft tissue emphysema serve as evidence of vitality of a hanged person. Postmortem cross-sectional imaging is considered a useful visualization tool for emphysema, with a great potential for examination and documentation.     

Reporting recidivism rates: The criterion and follow-up issues

Although the topic of recidivism invariably elicits much interest, there appears to be considerable conflict and uncertainty as to even crude estimates of the recidivism rate for persons released from prison. The purpose of this research was to examine the extent to which this apparent confusion may be explained by different methodological choices of criterion measure or length of follow-up. Through the cooperation of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, rap sheet follow-up information for a six-year period was obtained for a relatively large random sample of federal prisoners released in 1970. This data enabled calculation of recidivism rates using various criterion measures and follow-up periods applied to the same sample. The effect of varying these definitions on the recidivism rate obtained can then be directly observed.     

STR analysis of artificially degraded DNA-results of a collaborative European exercise

Degradation of human DNA extracted from forensic stains is, in most cases, the result of a natural process due to the exposure of the stain samples to the environment. Experiences with degraded DNA from casework samples show that every sample may exhibit different properties in this respect, and that it is difficult to systematically assess the performance of routinely used typing systems for the analysis of degraded DNA samples. Using a batch of artificially degraded DNA with an average fragment size of approx. 200 bp a collaborative exercise was carried out among 38 forensic laboratories from 17 European countries. The results were assessed according to correct allele detection, peak height and balance as well as the occurrence of artefacts. A number of common problems were identified based on these results such as strong peak imbalance in heterozygous genotypes for the larger short tandem repeat (STR) fragments after increased PCR cycle numbers, artefact signals and allelic drop-out. Based on the observations, strategies are discussed to overcome these problems. The strategies include careful balancing of the amount of template DNA and the PCR cycle numbers, the reaction volume and the amount of Taq polymerase. Furthermore, a careful evaluation of the results of the fragment analysis and of automated allele calling is necessary to identify the correct alleles and avoid artefacts.     

„Spielarten des Kapitalismus“ und institutionelle Komplementaritäten in der Makroökonomie — Eine empirische Analyse

Der Beitrag geht der Frage nach, wie national unterschiedliche politökonomische Institutionen die Leistungskraft entwickelter Marktwirtschaften beeinflussen und ob institutionelle Komplementaritäten in der Makroökonomie existieren. Der Ansatz der ?Spielarten des Kapitalismus“ behauptet, dass es diese Komplementaritäten gibt und sich die Länder entsprechend dem in den ökonomischen Sphären vorherrschenden Modus der Koordination in klare Gruppen unterscheiden lassen. In dem Artikel werden die Kernaussagen des Ansatzes einer Reihe von empirischen Tests unterzogen, die auf einer zusammenfassenden Analyse einer Reihe von Fallbeispielen beruht, Die empirischen Ergebnisse bestätigen die Annahmen in überzeugender Weise. Dieliberalen undkoordinierten Marktwirtschaften variieren systematisch entsprechend dem relativen Verhältnis zwischen marktförmiger und strategischer Koordination. Institutionelle Komplementaritäten finden sich in beiden Typen, und sie bringen gesamtwirtschaftliche Leistungszuwächse hervor. Abschließend werden die Muster des institutionellen Wandels in den entwickelten politischen Ökonomien analysiert und einige politische Implikationen der Befunde diskutiert.     

Evaluation of ephedrine, pseudoephedrine and phenylpropanolamine concentrations in human urine samples and a comparison of the specificity of DRI amphetamines and Abuscreen online (KIMS) amphetamines screening immunoassays

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the ability of two amphetamine class screening reagents to exclude ephedrine (EPH), pseudoephedrine (PSEPH), and phenylpropanolamine (PPA) from falsely producing positive immunoassay screening results. The study also sought to characterize the prevalence and concentration distributions of EPH, PSEPH, and PPA in samples that produced positive amphetamine screening results. Approximately 27,400 randomly collected human urine samples from Navy and Marine Corps members were simultaneously screened for amphetamines using the DRI and Abuscreen online immunoassays at a cutoff concentration of 500 ng/mL. All samples that screened positive were confirmed for amphetamine (AMP), methamphetamine (MTH), 3,4-Methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA), 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), EPH, PSEPH, and PPA by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The DRI AMP immunoassay identified 1,104 presumptive amphetamine positive samples, of which only 1.99% confirmed positive for the presence of AMP, MTH, MDA, or MDMA. In contrast, the online AMP reagent identified 317 presumptive amphetamine positives with a confirmation rate for AMP, MTH, MDA, or MDMA of 7.94%. The presence of EPH, PSEPH, or PPA was confirmed in 833 of the 1,104 samples that failed to confirm positive for AMP, MTH, MDA, or MDMA; all of the 833 samples contained PSEPH. When compared to the entire screened sample set, PSEPH was present in approximately 3%, EPH in 0.9%, and PPA in 0.8% of the samples. The results indicate that cross reactivities for EPH, PSEPH, and PPA are greater than reported by the manufacturer of these reagents. The distribution of concentrations indicates that very large concentrations of EPH, PSEPH, and PPA are common.     

Medicolegal aspects of witnessed suicide due to gunshot to the head. II. Legal medicine aspects and examination of the firing hand

The second part of the paper on suicides by gunshots to the head in the presence of witnesses focuses on relevant morphological autopsy findings such as entrance site, signs of close range or contact shots, bullet path etc. and also discusses selected aspects of ascertaining gunshot residues. For the identification of the shooter an integral medicolegal assessment of all the facts including the investigation results and the autopsy findings is essential. However, the morphological findings alone do not allow safe diagnosis, as for example in a homicide the temporal region, which was affected in all our cases, may have been deliberately chosen by the perpetrator as a localization typical of suicide. Thus methods to ascertain gunshot residues on the firing hand (by means of adhesive films and the polyvinyl-alcohol collection method--PVAL) are of great practical importance. In seven cases adhesive films and/or the polyvinyl-alcohol collection method were used. In one case the gunshot residues (GSR) were analysed by means of tape lifts and subsequent scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It was found that especially the combined application of topographical (adhesive tape/PVAL) and cumulative (SEM) methods allowed for the doubtless identification of the shooter, thus usually confirming the suicide. By the example of one case it is demonstrated that without the immediate collection of evidence at the scene objective reconstruction of the event becomes impossible. On the basis of the reported cases recommendations are finally given for a differentiated approach in the medicolegal evaluation of alleged witnessed suicide by gunshot (to the head).