Fatal outcome of poisoning with the benzodiazepines flunitrazepam and diazepam

On a wintry day a 29-year-old woman was found dead beside her car showing head injuries and signs of hypothermia. Several empty packets of sedative and hypnotic drugs were lying inside the car. Toxicological analysis revealed the presence of flunitrazepam (heart blood of the left and right chamber 0.033 mg/L each), norflunitrazepam (left heart blood 0.029 mg/L, right heart blood 0.027 mg/L), 7-amino-flunitrazepam (left heart blood 0.090 mg/L, right heart blood 0.104 mg/L), diazepam (left heart blood 0.395 mg/L, right heart blood 0.386 mg/L), nordazepam (left heart blood 0.112 mg/L, right heart blood 0.115 mg/L) and temazepam (left heart blood 0.034 mg/L, right heart blood 0.033 mg/L). Neither alcohol nor other drugs were found. It was concluded that benzodiazepine intake led to a disturbance of consciousness. Whether the woman died in this situation due to the icy temperature as a result of hypothermia or whether she died or would have died solely due to benzodiazepine overdosage could not be clarified.     

A method for the longitudinal sectioning of single hair samples

A simple technique is presented for the longitudinal sectioning of hair samples without the need for any embedding medium. The technique applies to single hair samples that are placed in a groove of a particular depth and can either be scraped or cut to the desired level. Planar sections are obtained that reveal the internal structure of the sample and are ideal for the application of surface analytical techniques for the study of internal transverse and longitudinal distributions of xenobiotics.     

A new improved method for extraction of DNA from teeth for the analysis of hypervariable loci

A new method for better recovery of DNA suitable for amplification of hypervariable loci from fragments of teeth, consisting of two steps-scraping and aspiration, and extensive decalcification-is reported. Higher yields of high molecular weight DNA were obtained from the root, pulp, and crown of all kinds of 120 teeth, irrespective of gender, age, and source of teeth. HLA DQA1, 5 poly markers (LDLR, GYPA, HBGG, D7S8, and Gc), and other 12 short tandem repeat loci (HPRTB, F13B, LPL, D13S317, D7S820, D5S818, D21S11, D18S51, FGA, D8S1179, D3S1358, and vWA) could be successfully amplified and typed from recovered DNA.     

Murder-suicide in New Hampshire, 1995-2000

Combined murder-suicide is defined as homicide(s) followed by the perpetrator's suicide within 1 week of the homicide(s). This phenomenon is observed worldwide with generally similar incidence rates. The authors report data from New Hampshire, a population distinguished from those in previous United States studies by its location, racial homogeneity, nonurban character, and low homicide rate. Sixteen murder-suicide events occurred in New Hampshire between October 1995 and October 2000. This represents an incidence of 0.26 per 100000 person-years, a rate similar to previously reported values. Murder-suicide events accounted for 14.7% of all homicides in the state, higher than previous studies but not unexpected in view of the state's lower homicide rate. Most perpetrators were male (94%), and most victims were female (88%), often in a spousal or consortial relationship. Firearms accounted for the majority of deaths. Various cofactors are examined, and a comparison of two recently proposed classification systems is discussed.     

Adolescent Development and the Measurement of Juvenile Psychopathy

Researchers are currently seeking antecedents of psychopathy among children and adolescents. Instruments developed for this purpose are likely to be used in the future in ways that may have serious implications for youths in delinquency and criminal cases. In this regard, and because the concept and measurement of psychopathy have been developed in reference to adults, there is reason to be concerned about potential developmental sources of false positives when measuring psychopathic traits in juvenile offenders. We provide the basis for our concern, as well as standards regarding the types of research evidence that should be provided before psychopathy measures are accepted for use in juvenile forensic assessments.     

Understanding Children's Use of Secrecy in the Context of Eyewitness Reports

To investigate socioemotional influences on children's eyewitness accuracy, we examined children's reports for activities they were motivated to conceal. Forty-eight 3–6-year-old children participated in a standardized play session with their mothers. Half of the children were told by an experimenter not to play with certain toys, but did so at the urging of their mothers, who told their children to keep the play activities secret. The remaining children were not restricted from playing with the toys, nor told by their mothers to keep the play activities secret. Later, all children were interviewed about the activities with free narrative and detailed questions. Half were given an interview that consisted of highly suggestive questions; half were given an interview consisting of specific, less suggestive questions. Results indicated that older children who were instructed to keep events secret withheld more information than did older children not told to keep events secret. Younger children's reports were not significantly affected by the secret manipulation. There were no significant effects associated with interview type. We discuss implications for understanding the development of children's knowledge and use of secrecy, and applications of the research to issues that arise when child witnesses give reports in legal contexts.