Homicidal poisoning. A dying modality of lethal violence?

Review of the experience of the Cuyahoga County (Cleveland, Ohio and its suburbs) Coroner's Office with homicidal poisonings over the past 3 1/2 decades reveals that this modality of felony homicides constitutes but a tiny fraction of the total case load and small percentages of overall homicides and drug- and chemical-caused deaths of all types. These findings are representative of selected medicolegal establishments across the country, as well as in the United States as a whole. Precise definition of the several types of felonious homicidal poisonings is suggested in the interest of clarity and accuracy of statistical data.