Cyanide quantification in post-mortem biological matrices by headspace GC-MS

Cyanide is a powerful chemical asphyxiant found in some forensic cases following voluntary (suicide) or involuntary ingestion (fire, accidental exposure). A quantification method for cyanide that is specifically suited to post-mortem forensic purposes was developed. Determination was performed by headspace gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry using a GS-GASPRO column on an HP-6890 gas chromatograph with an HP-5973N mass detector. The biological sample was treated with an internal standard, frozen, glacial acetic acid was added and the sample was then incubated at 60°C for 15min. The headspace was sampled with a disposable syringe, and analyzed to quantify hydrogen cyanide. Isotopically labeled cyanide ((13)C(15)N) was used as the internal standard to minimize matrix effect and sampling error. The method produced an extended linear dynamic range (0.07-50μg/mL), and a method detection limit of 0.02μg/mL. Identical calibration curves were obtained when blood, gastric contents and aqueous solutions were used as the calibration standard matrix. This method was also successful in quantitating cyanide in gastric contents, one of the most variable biological fluids. The method has been validated and is being used for current forensic cases such as fire victims and suicides.     

The murderer is the bed: an unusual case of death by traumatic asphyxia in a hotel folding bunk bed

This paper presents the first referenced case on a death by traumatic asphyxia in a folding bunk bed. A middle-aged man was found dead in a hotel room trapped into a lower folding bunk bed where he had been sleeping after a party. The autopsy showed signs of asphyxia and excluded signs of struggle and sexual intercourse. Toxicological analyses revealed alcohol intoxication. A differential diagnosis of the manner of death including a technical study of the bed which contributed to understand the circumstances of death was made. The medico-legal investigation of the case strongly supported the hypothesis of an accidental death by traumatic asphyxia.     

On Mimicry and the Psychology of the Belief in a Just World: Imitating the Behaviors of Others Reduces the Blaming of Innocent Victims

Innocent victims of crime are often blamed for what happened to them. In this article, we examine the hypothesis that victim blaming can be significantly reduced when people mimic the behavior of the victim or even a person unrelated to the crime. Participants watched a person on a video after which we assessed the extent of their spontaneous mimicry reactions (Study 1) or participants were instructed to mimic or not to mimic the movements of this person (Study 2). Then, they were informed about a rape and criminal assault and judged the degree to which they thought the victims were responsible for the crime. One of the crimes happened to the same person as the person they previously did or did not mimic. The other crime happened to a person unrelated to the mimicry situation. Results of both studies revealed that previously mimicking the victim or an unrelated person reduced the degree to which victims were being blamed.     

论欧盟宪法公投的失败

于2005年5月29日,法国作为第一个欧盟成员国,以公投方式近55%的投票率反对主要由前任法国总统拟定的欧盟宪法;后三天,于6月1日荷兰也跟进,以公投方式用将近62%的投票率反对欧盟宪法.这结果震撼了欧盟其它国家.到底法国人的反对是反对欧盟宪法还是反对其无法反映法国人身为欧洲人的忧虑与价值观?     

An Evaluation of Statistical Methods for the Determination of Age of Death Using Dental Root Translucency and Periodontosis

Abstract: Lamendin and colleagues (1992) proposed to assess age‐at‐death from root translucency and periodontosis. Several teeth from the same individual were included in their study. In our work, we evaluate the reliability of their formulas without introducing this bias. Our sample was constituted of 214 individuals (114 males and 100 women) selected from the Terry collection (U.S.A.). The R² between age and both indicators is equal to 0.33 and 0.08 (p < 0.001). Based on linear regression, the mean of standard error for individual age prediction was equal to 13.67 years, and the mean interval length is equal to 53.89 years. Multinomial logistic regression and Bayesian approach failed to give satisfactory results when classifying the individuals in age categories. Therefore, the use of root translucency and periodontosis may lead to incorrect age‐at‐death assessment, and it is thus necessary to complement this approach with other techniques to assess age‐at‐death.     

Bloodstains on Leather: Examination of False Negatives in Presumptive Test and Human Hemoglobin Test

Presumptive tests for blood are very simple and sensitive tests used in the search for evidence. They also provide initial information on the nature of stains. A second test can confirm their nature. However, these tests can present false–negative results for different reasons. Some of those reasons have been studied, while others, those caused by the substrate material that contains the stain, are less well known. This work studies the effect of one component of a leather substrate—quebracho extract—on presumptive and human hemoglobin blood tests. Assays were performed using samples of blood dilutions contaminated with quebracho extract and others formed on a substrate containing the contaminant. Results show an undoubted interference that causes false negatives and even visible to the naked eye stains and also indicate that some tests (phenolphthalein) are more affected than others. Examiners should be taken into account when working on this kind of substrates.     

Sudden Death by Spontaneous Epiglottic Hematoma Secondary to High Blood Levels of Warfarin

A 67‐year‐old man was found dead, at his home. On external examination, we found a voluminous purplish black ecchymosis of the anterior neck area. On internal examination, we found a voluminous epiglottis hematoma completely obstructing the upper airway. It was associated with other sites of intra‐abdominal hemorrhage. Toxicological studies revealed the presence of warfarin at a concentration of 8.4 mg/L in peripheral blood, which supposes an INR well above 4.5. To conclude, we supposed death was due to asphyxia secondary to a spontaneous epiglottic hematoma caused by a high blood concentration of warfarin. Hemorrhage in the epiglottis is very rare. To our knowledge, our patient is the only case of “sudden death” reported with spontaneous epiglottic hematoma due to high blood concentration of warfarin. In forensic practice, an anterior neck ecchymosis, without trauma, may suggest hemorrhage into soft airway tissues. Pathology findings make it possible to exclude exogenous trauma.     

Police students’ perceptions of professional competences: a comparative study of Catalonia and Sweden

This study is part of the European cooperation project, Recruitment, Education, and Career in the Police. The overall aim of this study is to compare how Swedish and Catalan police students perceive different competence dimensions in relation to their future profession, and how the perceptions of these competence dimensions change from the beginning to the end of the training program. The empirical data is based on identical questionnaires that were distributed to police students in Sweden and Catalonia. The results show different patterns in how Catalan and Swedish police students perceive the importance of the different competences at the beginning and at the end of their basic training programs. The implications of this study show that more knowledge is needed about the next step; that is, how the police students use these competencies in their professional work.     

Guilty Pleas in an Inquisitorial Setting – An Empirical Study of France

Anglo‐American guilty pleas have inspired criminal justice reformers in many inquisitorially based systems in recent years, in response to caseload pressures. In France, two different procedures based on the defendant's confession were introduced in 1999 and 2004 respectively: an out‐of‐court disposal (the composition pénale) and a prosecution pathway (the comparution sur reconnaissance préalable de culpabilité). Basing its analysis upon direct observations and interviews with French public prosecutors, this article examines the impact of these procedures on the French criminal justice system and its actors. Rather than a move from an inquisitorial to a more adversarial system, data collected for this study show a bureaucratization of the French criminal justice process. The role of public prosecutors is changing from that of judicial officers to caseload managers who have delegated part of their workload to less qualified staff for efficiency purposes.     

Fetal visceral maturation: a useful contribution to gestational age estimation in human fetuses

With regard to the law, estimating fetal age is essential to assess viability (after 20 weeks according to the WHO) and the proposed methods generally use long bone measurements. Here, we evaluated the accuracy of soft tissue maturational stage and compared it with long bone measurements. First, eight kinds of tissues or organs from 448 fetuses with known medical history were studied (macroscopically or histologically). We clearly demonstrated that adrenal glands and skin were very good age indicators, because some characteristics appeared only after 20 weeks. We established a linear regression with a 95% confidence interval of +/- 2.9 weeks. Second, we applied our original formula using femur measurement and we combined soft tissues and bones in a multiparametric regression. The confidence interval was reduced to +/- 2.5 weeks. We conclude that the pathologist must use both histological and anthropometric data to determine fetal age as accurately as possible.