Accidental drowning due to tropane alkaloid abuse

The cause of drowning deaths in good swimmers may be difficult to solve. After homicide, suicide and other kinds of immersion deaths have been ruled out, not only alcohol and narcotics, but also other psychotropic substances such as thornapple and angel's trumpet should be taken into consideration--at least in adolescents and young adults. The article reports on an accidental death by drowning under the influence of tropane alkaloids after consumption of a decoction of the flowers of angel's trumpet.     

Luis Alfredo Garavito Cubillos: criminal and legal aspects of serial homicide with over 200 victims

This is the first scientific report on the crimes of the homosexual paedophile sadist Luis Alfredo Garavito Cubillos, based on a research stay of the authors in Columbia, and including discussions with the investigators, and the offender. Between 1992 and 1999, Garavito killed more than 200 children in the core age span between 8 and 13 years (as an exception, 6 to 16 years). His modus operandi remained stable. During daytime, he lured children of a lower social status out of crowded parts of the city into hidden areas that were overgrown with high plants. Garavito promised either payment for easy work, or drugs, or made other socially believable offers. The children were tied up, tortured, raped, and killed by at least one cut in the lateral part of the neck, or by decapitation. During the killings, Garavito was drunk. Even after his arrest (for attempted sexual abuse under a wrong identity) it was not immediately possible to track his crimes since Garavito had frequently changed his places of stay and his jobs. He also grew different hairdos and used wrong names. During his still ongoing confessions, he directs the investigators correctly to all scenes of crime spread over large parts of Columbia. In our report, we give an overview over the course of investigations, hint to similarities in the cases of the German serial killer Denke (1920's) and homosexual paedophile serial killer Jürgen Bartsch (1960's), and give preliminary impressions on the offender's personality. Furthermore, the violent environment and juridical peculiarities in Columbia are discussed. In spite of a total penalty of 2600 years in prison, it is formally well possible that Garavito will be released out of prison within the next 10 to 20 years, i.e. even before the maximum sentence of 40 years will be over.     

Hemopericardium caused by endocarditis ulcerosa: an unusual cause of sudden death in adolescence

The authors report on the case of a 18-year-old student who died suddenly and unexpectedly of a pericardial tamponade after perforated ulcer-polypous endocarditis of the aortic valve. The detection of aerococcus urinae--which usually causes urinary tract infection--on the inflamed aortic valve demonstrates an unusual pathogenetic chain linking complexes of findings in the urogenital system and the heart.     

The effect of 1,2-indanedione,a latent fingerprint reagent on subsequent DNA profiling

The compound 1,2-indanedione was recently introduced in our laboratory as an operational reagent for developing latent fingerprints on porous surfaces. As part of the reagent implementation, a study was carried out in order to determine whether either of the two operational 1,2-indanediones formulations interferes with further DNA profiling. Both formulations are based on HFE7100 solvent. One is acidic and the other neutral. In a controlled experiment, known donors attached stamps to envelopes by licking them. The stamped envelopes were initially treated with either one indanedione formulation or the other, and DNA was then extracted for STR typing. No differences were observed between the STR profiles obtained from treated and untreated stamps and envelopes, indicating that 1,2-indanedione does not adversely affect the extraction and subsequent amplification of the STRs examined. However, preliminary results indicate that potential DNA analysis depends on the time interval between the indanedione treatment and DNA extraction as no DNA can be recovered six days following treatment. For this reason, it is strongly recommended to extract DNA from treated items of evidence as soon as possible after indanedione treatment.     

A fatal case of cocaine poisoning in a body packer

A 27-year-old man was carrying in his digestive tract 99 packages each containing about 10 g of a 86% cocaine powder. The courier died by acute cocaine intoxication due to inflation and rupture of four packages during a flight from Bogotá to Rome. At the autopsy, the external examination was unremarkable. The internal examination showed edema and generalized congestion of the organs. Toxicological analyses were performed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry after solid phase extraction using Bond Elut Certify columns and derivatization with BSTFA/TMCS. High levels of cocaine and benzoylecgonine were found in blood (4.0 microg/mL and 17.0 microg/mL), urine (152.0 microg/mL and 512.0 microg/mL), bile (99.8 microg/mL and 54.0 microg/mL), vitreous humor (7.1 microg/mL and 5.8 microg/mL), brain (7.5 microg/mL and 3.5 microg/mL), and hair (55.5 ng/mg and 27.7 ng/mg). The presence of the cocaine and its metabolite in the hair suggested that the man was a cocaine user.     

Shame and guilt in child sexual offenders

In this article, the authors build on previous discussions of the possible role of shame and guilt in sexual offending. They review the general psychological literature on shame and guilt and conclude that the distinction between internal and external shame is an important one in considering sexual offenders. The effects of shame and guilt on victim empathy and relapse are discussed, and it is proposed that the phenomena of shame and guilt have implications for treatment beyond those identified in previous studies. Shame is a salient feature in the initial presentation of many sexual offenders against children. Furthermore, aspects of the treatment of sexual offenders can be characterized as a shift from shame toward guilt. Implications of shame and guilt for treatment of sexual offenders are described.     

On-column derivatization for determination of amphetamine and methamphetamine in human blood by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

A simple determination method of amphetamine (AP) and methamphetamine (MA) in human blood was developed using on-column derivatization and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). AP and MA were adsorbed on the surface of Extrelut and then derivatized the N-propoxycarbonyl derivatives using propylchloroformate. Pentadeuterated MA was used as an internal standards. The recoveries of AP and MA from the spiked blood were 89.7 and 90.3%, respectively. The calibration curves showed linearity in the range of 12.5-2000 ng/g for AP and MA in blood. The coefficients of variation of intraday and interday were 0.42-4.58%. Furthermore, this proposed method was applied to some medico-legal cases of MA intoxication. MA and its metabolite AP were detected in the blood samples, and the correlation of the blood level of amphetamines and the behaviors of the victims was in good agreement with the criteria proposed by Nagata [Jpn. J. Legal Med. 37 (1983) 513].     

Assisted suicide and human rights

The case of R (Pretty) v. Director of Public Prosecutions, gave the House of Lords the opportunity to comment on the issues surrounding the application of the European Convention on Human Rights to the crime of assisted suicide in the case of the terminally ill. A conservative approach was taken in relation to both this issue and indeed in relation to the possibilities of judicial control of the Law Officers of the Crown.