Search

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 article presents a forensic analysis on strangulation injuries of homicide victims in the U.S. It sites several clinical features of potentially lethal strangulation including the presence of facial petechiae, loss of consciousness, and fecal or urinary incontinence. Moreover, it indicates that the outcome from strangulation is worse if the patient has cerebral edema on computed tomography scan or is comatose on emergency department arrival.

In recent years, behavioural analysis in unsolved homicide cases is playing a more and more important role in the field of police work in Germany. The method of behavioural analysis was developed in the USA and first carried out in Germany at the end of the 80s by the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA). Since 1998 each Federal State has set up behavioural analysis units. In Germany, behavioural analysis is defined as complex information processing system for the purpose of enabling an overall view of a case and of supporting the case work in ongoing investigations. The procedure of behavioural analysis is based on empirically and scientifically proven knowledge, on case information (e.g. crime scene characteristics, medico-legal findings) and on methods of combining the existing knowledge on statements relevant to the case. To assess the role of legal medicine in the process of behavioural analysis, a retrospective examination of more than 40 case analyses in unsolved homicide cases was performed. It turned out that medico-legal findings played a major role in the process of case analysis because the results were of central importance for the case reconstruction and further deductions (e.g. offender aims, organized/disorganized components, escalation). In a vast majority of cases though, the autopsy reports did not provide sufficiently detailed information, explanations and/or interpretations of injuries, wound patterns and sequence of events. Various examples are presented to elucidate the significance of medico-legal findings for the process of behavioural analysis. As a basic principle, the role of the forensic scientist as independent, unbiased, unprejudiced expert for the court should not be influenced by speculative interpretations within the process of behavioural analysis. This can be established by a very precise and comprehensive autopsy protocol on the one hand and – separately – an interpretation by another experienced specialist who works for the behavioural analysis unit but not for the court. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]