Detection of Cyanide in a Decomposed Exhumed Body: A Case Report

Abstract

Cyanide is a lethal poison that induces immediate fatality. Infrequently employed as a homicidal poison, it is not an ideal choice for homicide as it causes a ‘dramatic’ death causing suspicion among others. Cyanide is a rapidly metabolized poison that also rapidly disintegrates after death, posing challenges for chemical analysis, particularly when dealing with decomposed bodies. Detection of cyanide from a decomposed body is infrequent. A suspected case of intentional poisoning resulting in death was interred without conducting a postmortem examination. The exhumation process revealed the presence of hydrogen cyanide in the postmortem fluids collected from the body cavities three years after interment.