Homicidal poisoning series in a nursing home: retrospective toxicological investigations in bone marrow and hair

Willeman, Théo; Allibe, Nathalie; Sauerbach, Laura; Barret, A; Eysseric-Guerin, Hélène; Paysant, F.; Stanke‐Labesque, Françoise; Scolan, V.

doi:10.1007/s00414-021-02703-y

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…Furthermore, redistribution after death is influenced by the postmortem interval, even in the post-sampling and storage periods [ 12 , 13 ]. Previous reports stated the issues and limitations of toxicological analysis in exhumation cases, highlighting that conventional biological matrices may not be available due to putrefaction processes and that different postmortem phenomena may contribute to the reliability of toxicological findings [ 14 , 15 ].Therefore, toxicological analysis of exhumed human remains is still a significant challenge. In this case report, we report our forensic investigation experience of a death in prison for which toxicological investigations were requested two years after the death.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Toxicological Analysis in Tissues Following Exhumation More Than Two Years after Death (948 Days): A Forensic Perspective in a Fatal Case

Albano

Zerbo

Spina

et al. 2023

Toxics

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Exhumations are performed in accordance with a court order and are crucial instruments in the investigation of death allegations. When a death is thought to be the result of drug misuse, pharmaceutical overdose, or pesticide poisoning, this process may be used on human remains. However, after a protracted postmortem interval (PMI), it might be difficult to detect the cause of death by looking at an exhumed corpse. The following case report reveals problems associated with postmortem drug concentration changes following exhumation more than two years after death. A 31-year-old man was found dead in a prison cell. Onan inspection of the place, two blister packs, one with a tablet and the other empty, were taken and kept by the police officers. The evening before, the deceased would have taken cetirizine and food supplements consisting of carnitine–creatine tablets. No relevant autopsy findings have been observed. The toxicological analysis was performed by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry and was negative for substances of abuse. Proteomic analysis was positive for creatine detection and negative for other drugs (clarithromycin, fenofibrate, and cetirizine). The presented case shows the methods, the findings, and the limitations of toxicological analysis in an exhumation case with a long postmortem interval (PMI).

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