Homicide by drowning

Leth, Peter Mygind

doi:10.1007/s12024-018-0065-9

Cited by 11 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 28 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Thirdly, in some cases, the victim may have been drowned (Copeland A. R., 1986;Missliwetz J., Stellwag-Carion C., 1995;Lau G., 2002;Leth P. M., 2019). This can involve drowning the victim while being in the water together or pushing the victim, who cannot swim, underwater.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Submerged corpse found 24 years after the murder - a case study

Gawliński¹,

Szczechowicz-Raś²,

Szczechowicz³

et al. 2023

JoMS

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

ObjectivesThe main objectives of this paper are to define the issues related to a search for a drowned corpse, fishing it out and procedures to take evidence when the victim's body has not been found. MethodsA case analysis was performed in which the criminal covered up traces by drowning the corpse. An extensive study in this regard was conducted covering 500 criminal cases concluded with a final and binding judgement. Finding a corpse in a lake 24 years after the crime is a case described in detail in this paper. The authors obtained the SUBMERGED CORPSE FOUND 24 YEARS AFTER THE MURDER -A CASE STUDY journal of modErn sciEncE 2/51/2023 353 consent of the District Prosecutor and the District Court in Olsztyn for publishing the case materials. ResultsNeither the process of the corpse search nor fishing it out were carried out properly in the case under study. The large number of search attempts was caused by poor coordination of the search groups and by using unsuitable tools. Most methods were ineffective given the small size of the package resting on the water reservoir bed. ConclusionsA search for a drowned corpse requires good cooperation between the search team and law enforcement authorities and later with forensic medicine specialists in establishing the cause of death.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In some cases, a victim can be drowned (Copeland A. R., 1986;Missliwetz J., Stellwag-Carion C., 1995;Lau G., 2002;Leth P. M., 2019) or their body disposed of by throwing it into a water body or submerged with the use of additional weight.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Submerged corpse found 24 years after the murder - a case study

Gawliński¹,

Szczechowicz-Raś²,

Szczechowicz³

et al. 2023

JoMS

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Selvmord ved drukning, hvor den pågaeldende har tynget sig ned ved at binde noget tungt til krop eller lemmer, må også give anledning til en grundig udredning (Stephenson et al, 2020, Leth, 2019.…”

Section: Diskussionunclassified

Retsmedicinske findestedsundersøgelser

Mygind Leth,

Hovvang,

Hedegård Thomsen

2023

NTfK

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

During the years 2000 to 2020 the Department of Forensic Medicine at the University of Southern Denmark performed 293 medical crime scene investigations in Southern Denmark involving 320 deceased (200 men). The medical examiner was called out in homicides (24%), suspicious cases (58%), fire related deaths (15%) and bone findings (2%). The medical examiner was responsible for the medical examination of corpses in cooperation with the crime scene technicians. The goal was to determine the cause of death, the manner and mechanism of death, and the time of death. Most were autopsied after the crime scene investigation. The scene was considered suspicious if displacedor broken furniture, or bloodstains, were found. Actions by alcohol or drug intoxicated individuals may resemble a crime scene. Blood stains can arise from natural causes. Suicide by stabbing or shooting may give rise to a suspicious scene, as may deaths during autoerotic procedures and deaths due to hypothermia. Most crime scenes were indoors, but a quarter occurred outside. The deceased included a high proportion of individuals with chronic alcoholism (36%) and many suffered from psychiatric disease (23%). Based on autopsy, manner of death was determined to have been homicide (30%), accident (27%), suicide (18%), natural death (14%) and unknown causes (6%). 5% was not autopsied.The pattern of lesions are important in determining the mechanism of death, but must always be viewed in relation to findings at the scene and the deceased’s history. Medical crime scene investigation underwent improvements during the period, most notably the introduction of DNA-trace analysis. Photo and video documentation also improved.Photogrammetry and the use of drones are being introduced.

show abstract

Role of postmortem toxicology in drowning investigations

Ojanperä,

Kriikku

2023

WIREs Forensic Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Drowning is the third most common cause of unintentional injury death worldwide. In forensic medicine, drowning refers to an event in which the victim dies due to liquid penetrating into the airways or due to submersion in a liquid. Medico‐legal examination of bodies found in water is a challenging task. Establishing proper cause and manner of death requires the joint efforts of the police, medical examiner, and representatives of postmortem toxicology. Information of the circumstances, the victim's individual characteristics and medical background, together with postmortem findings is required. The presence of alcohol and drugs revealed by postmortem toxicology can give insight into the decedent's medical history, drug abuse history, and possible impairment at the time of death. There is ample epidemiological research indicating that alcohol is the most important single contributing factor for fatal drowning, while hypno‐sedative medicines and illicit drugs, especially amphetamines, also appear to pose a risk. Evidence shows that alcohol can be produced postmortem in a submerged body by microbial contamination and fermentation, and this phenomenon is even more significant the higher the water temperature and the longer the submersion time. The reliability of the blood alcohol concentration obtained can be verified in many ways, for example by comparing the ratios of blood, vitreous and urine alcohol concentrations with reference values, or by testing for non‐oxidative ethanol metabolites, the presence of which suggests antemortem alcohol ingestion. Compared to alcohol postmortem changes, very little is known about the long‐term stability of drugs in bodies found in water.This article is categorized under: Toxicology > Analytical Toxicology > Post‐Mortem

show abstract

Homicide by drowning

Cited by 11 publications

References 28 publications

Submerged corpse found 24 years after the murder - a case study

Submerged corpse found 24 years after the murder - a case study

Retsmedicinske findestedsundersøgelser

Role of postmortem toxicology in drowning investigations

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About