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The body of a deceased human and 4 deceased cats were found in a house while a fire was being extinguished. As a result of these findings, arson, homicide, and animal death investigations were opened. As part of the animal death investigation, all of the cats were submitted for veterinary forensic autopsies. All cats had soot on the fur and had soot deposits within the oral cavity, esophagus, and respiratory tract. Two cats had soot within the stomach. Cardiac blood was analyzed for carboxyhemoglobin using a CO-oximeter, and all cats had levels >65%. The cause of death was determined to be due to toxic smoke inhalation from the structure fire. Case findings support the potential use of CO-oximeter for determination of carboxyhemoglobin levels in cats and continued research in this area of forensic practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Violence against women is a form of gender violence, and the lethal aspect of it, defined as femicide, is a global health and human rights problem. This study looked at 330 cases of femicide that occurred in North West Italy, between 1970 and 2020, committed by 303 male perpetrators. The victims included women who were prostitutes and those who were not. Findings show that only a small proportion of femicide occurs within an anonymous setting: Victims were mostly killed by a man they knew. The type and intensity of the relationship was likely to affect how the violence occurred. In those cases in which victims and perpetrators had an intimate relationship, the risk of overkill, that is, an excessive use of violence that goes further than what is necessary to cause death, was four times higher in comparison with the murder of unknown victims. As with non-prostitutes, the risk of overkill was almost fourfold for those prostitutes who knew their perpetrators. Furthermore, when comparing prostitutes with any unknown victims, the risk of being overkilled was almost five times higher for the former, suggesting that prostitutes are more at risk of being murdered with excessive violence. In addition, prostitutes were more likely to be victims of sexual murder, postmortem mutilation, and being killed by men who had previous criminal records. Women who are victims of violence are not a homogeneous group, although some of the psychosocial correlates are the same and relevance should be given to the features behind the type, intensity, and nature of the relationship between prostitutes and non-prostitutes and their perpetrators. These variables are what make violence against women a preventable problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sadistic offenders are often described as individuals who are forensically aware, who carefully plan their offenses, and preselect the location of their crime. Despite this emphasis on strategies to avoid police detection, no study has specifically examined whether this behavior or trait was specific to sadistic offenders. Utilizing a sample of 350 cases of sexual homicide from Canada, sadistic sexual homicide offenders (SHOs) are compared with nonsadistic SHOs on their investigative awareness. Results from logistic regression analyses show that sadistic SHOs are more likely to use various precautions to avoid detection and select a deserted location, in comparison with nonsadistic offenders. In addition, sadistic SHOs, despite having a lesser time to body recovery than nonsadistic offenders, are more likely to see their case remain unsolved. Implications for the assessment of sexual sadism as well as for the police investigations will be discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study seeks to establish whether medico-legal practitioners differ in their autopsy conclusions within and across medico-legal institutions. Data include 459 violent deaths (homicides, suicides, and accidents) autopsy reports written by more than 20 death certifiers from four medico-legal institutions in two countries (France and the United States). Multinomial models show that compared with accidental deaths, weapon use and decedents' characteristics both influence a homicide verdict, but not a suicide one. In addition, French practitioners are more likely than Americans to reach a conclusion of homicide or suicide compared with accident, and homicides are more likely to be certified by male practitioners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rise of forensic pathology in human medicine has greatly contributed to the administration of justice, public safety and security, and medical knowledge. However, the evolution of human forensic pathology has been challenging. Veterinary forensic pathologists can learn from some of the lessons that have informed the growth and development of human forensic pathology. Three main observations have emerged in the past decade. First, wrongful convictions tell us to use a truth-seeking stance rather than an a priori “think dirty” stance when investigating obscure death. Second, missed homicides and concealed homicides tell us that training and certification are the beginning of reliable forensic pathology. Third, failure of a sustainable institutional arrangement that fosters a combination of service, research, and teaching will lead to stagnation of knowledge. Forensic pathology of humans and animals will flourish, help protect society, and support justice if we embrace a modern biomedical scientific model for our practice. We must build training programs, contribute to the published literature, and forge strong collaborative institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]