Homicidal electrocution disguised as an accidental death

Deaths due to electrocution are mostly accidental. Homicide by electrocution is rarely reported in the literature. However, the location and pattern of the electrocution wound can raise concern for a possible homicidal manner of death. We are reporting an unusual case wherein the dead body of a middle-aged man was found lying in a suspicious condition on the roadside of desolated area. There were circumferential, grooved electrocution lesions over the left and right second toes with oval electrocution lesions on the medial aspects of both the left and right third toes. There were split lacerations over the right high parietal region, right pinna, and forehead. There was avulsion of the nail of the left thumb. Pressure abrasion was consistent with a ligature mark on the lower part of the left leg. The locations and pattern of these injuries raised the possibility of torture infliction. Death was attributed to electrocution, which was confirmed by histopathology. Autopsy findings and possible inferences were furnished to the police. This case highlights the careful observation of different characterizations and locations of the wounds and deducing inferences about the possible manner of death. This information can be useful to investigating agencies.     

故意杀人罪中被害人过错对量刑的影响

刑法意义上的被害人过错有其特定的内涵,本文从互动论、谴责性降低理论和量刑理论三方面论证了被害人过错在故意杀人罪中的量刑意义,同时参照域外刑法的相关规定,分析我国量刑现状对司法活动造成的消极影响,从而指出将被害人过错在故意杀人罪中量刑法定化的必要性。     

Body Disposal Patterns of Sexual Murderers: Implications for Offender Profiling

Offender profiling postulates that crime scene behavior should predict certain offender characteristics. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between offender characteristics, situational factors, and body disposal patterns. Sequential logistic regression analysis on a sample of 85 sexual murderers shows that those who were in a relationship at the time of the crime and who present organized psychological characteristics are more likely to move the victim’s body after the homicide. However, when the victim is older and a conflict with the offender occurred prior to the crime, the body is more likely to be left at the crime scene. Implications for offender profiling are discussed in light of the results.

肖志军案中的刑法难题和价值取向——不作为、因果关系与间接故意之新界

丈夫拒绝签字导致妻子死亡的行为属于间接故意杀人。肖志军因具有法定的救助义务而成立不作为;刑法应偏向患者利益,在医疗领域中采用风险增高理论来判断因果关系;在拒签时,肖志军认识到了妻子死亡的具体危险性,这决定了他属于间接故意的杀人。在社会救助体制缺失时,刑法期待通过强化个人责任而确立"全力救助患者生命"的价值导向。     

Alcohol-Related Mortality Risk in Natural and Non-Natural Death Cases

Abstract:  Determination of the associations between alcohol influence and sudden natural death represents challenges for medicolegal investigations. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of alcohol influence in medicolegal autopsies. In our study of natural and non-natural deaths cases (5496 total: 4045 males, 1451 females) were examined. Blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) were detected by headspace gas chromatographic method. We investigated the alcohol-related mortality using hierarchical log-linear statistical models. Severe BACs were detected among suicidal victims in the oldest age group (>65 years) (In F  = 0.442) and among the homicide victims between the age of 40–65 years (In F  = 0.234). Correlations we found between manner-of-death and sex suggested that the rate of males in accidents (ln F  = 0.140) and the rate of females in homicides (ln F  = 0.193) were higher. It was concluded that the accurate statistical mortality database may provide a huge support for the determination of alcohol effects on human health and mortality.     

Decapitation and Dismemberment of the Corpse: A Matricide Case*

Abstract: Dismemberment of a corpse has always been viewed by society to be a more hideous crime than the homicide itself. In this study, we present a case of a 57‐year‐old woman who was decapitated and her right arm and both hands were dismembered. It was determined that the victim was murdered and dismembered by her 33‐year‐old daughter, who had been receiving treatment for schizophrenia for 15 years. On the victim’s head and back there were 71 incised and stab wounds in total. They were superficial, except the five stab wounds which were connected to the right chest cavity and which incapacitated the victim. Although there is not a regulation for the act of dismembering the corpse in the Turkish Penal Code, since this type of case is rare, the crime scene and the autopsy findings were evaluated together with other pertinent data available in the literature.     

“Murder–Suicide” or “Murder–Accident”? Difficulties with the Analysis of Cases

Abstract: Homicide where a perpetrator is found dead adjacent to the victim usually represents murder–suicide. Two incidents are reported to demonstrate characteristic features in one, and alternative features in the other, that indicate differences in the manner of death. (i) A 37‐year‐old mother was found dead in a burnt out house with her two young sons in an adjacent bedroom. Deaths were due to incineration and inhalation of products of combustion. (ii) A 39‐year‐old woman was found stabbed to death in a burnt out house with her 39‐year‐old de facto partner deceased from the combined effects of incineration and inhalation of products of combustion. The first incident represented a typical murder–suicide, however, in the second incident, the perpetrator had tried to escape through a window and had then sought refuge in a bathroom under a running shower. Murder–accident rather than murder–suicide may therefore be a more accurate designation for such cases.     

犯罪：环境诱因与人格缺陷的结合——杨佳案件心理分析

近十几年来,中国发生过不少起恶性的暴力杀人案。这些案犯的作案动机和理由不外乎恶意报复,或心理变态,或黑社会的亡命之徒恣意妄为。唯独杨佳案,因其作案对象、作案地点、作案手段等众多的特殊性,而令其作案动机蒙上一层迷雾。那么,究竟是什么原因导致了杨佳的残暴的犯罪行为？对于了解杨仕的犯罪心理和犯罪行为,如果从环境诱因和人格缺陷的结合的角度来探讨,可能可以给我们一些启示,并为预防此类恶性案件的再次发生有所帮助。     

论故意杀人罪中被害人与犯罪人的互动关系

互动关系是故意杀人罪被害人与犯罪人之间最基本的关系。在杀人犯罪前、犯罪中和犯罪后这三个阶段,被害人与犯罪人相互影响、相互作用,共同促成、影响甚至推动了杀人犯罪的产生和发展。在杀人犯罪行为发生和发展过程中,被害人过错这一因素是客观存在的。