Archiv fur Kriminologie最新文献

In medicolegal practice, evidence of trauma or damage on human skeletons or single bones raises the question whether this was inflicted in an antemortem, perimortem, or postmortem time frame. Trauma that occurred around the time of death, i. e., perimortem trauma, is of special forensic interest, as it can yield clues about the manner and cause of death. Perimortem traumas thus need to be carefully distinguished both from antemortem injuries that were evidently survived (these can still be useful for identification purposes) and from postmortem damage, as may occur during retrieval of remains. This study offers an up-to-date review of the specialist literature, e. g. textbooks and pubmed-listed publications, identifying differentiation criteria for ante- and perimortem traumas and postmortem damage. The results that are useful for practice in actual medicolegal casework are presented, and an overview of all macroscopically visible criteria (including simple magnifications, i. e., magnifying glass) that can be used to distinguish between ante- and perimortem traumas on the one side, and postmortem damage on the other is given. The difficulty of distinguishing antemortem trauma and postmortem damage from perimortem trauma rises sharply the closer in time they were inflicted to the time of the death event. Additional postmortem changes due to exposure of the bones to the surrounding deposition conditions may also occur after the relevant postmortem damage or antemortem trauma was inflicted and further complicate the problem. In this context, the "perimortem interval" and the "Fracture Freshness Index" (FFI) are discussed as means to classify the time frame of traumas.

53% of the forensically autopsied decedents in Hamburg were overweight. The cause of death and any comorbidities, especially coronary heart disease, are often associated with the obese condition. This correlation is illustrated by two examples, viz. a 65- and a 56-year-old man with grade III obesity, which do not only show the medical but also the logistical problems that come along with it.

The characteristic wedge-shaped fracture was first described by Messerer (1880) and Bruns (1884) after performing experiments on long bones. Not much later, Messerer (1885) formulated the forensic significance of the direct bending fracture for the detection of the location and direction of blunt impact trauma. He developed the basic biomechanical theory of the origin of this fracture type, which is therefore called Messerer's fracture in the German-speaking world. In the following decades, the findings concerning the origin, specificity and forensic usability of Messerer's fractures were confirmed and supplemented by experiments and case studies. For forensic examinations, it is important to bear in mind that there are exceptions to the rule according to which the level of the wedge-shaped fracture corresponds exactly to the point of impact. The possibility of "false" or "reversed" wedges must also be considered. Already in the 19th century, authors had pointed out the mechanism of indirect formation of wedge-shaped bone fragments. That is why a forensic examination always has to consider the investigation results and medical findings in their entirety. Autopsy of traffic victims is of paramount importance. It must include a thorough examination of clothing, skin, soft tissues and skeletal system using special preparation techniques. The examination of bone injuries in living victims also requires special expertise. If properly applied, valuable results can be obtained by the forensic expert from the wedge-shaped fracture. Until recently, Messerer's fracture was a typical injury sustained by pedestrians hit by vehicles with protruding frontal elements. In modern car production, not only the dimensions of cars have been changed, but the front-end structures have also been modified, e. g. by integrated bumpers. These constructional changes are likely to reduce the frequency of narrow points of impact in collisions. However, further research on the frequency and significance of Messerer's fractures in road traffic accident victims is required.

A 66-year-old female alcoholic was killed in a sexually motivated homicide. After peranal insertion of the hand large parts of the intestine were torn from the mesentery and pulled out through the anus. The findings are discussed and compared with the pertinent literature.

When death certificates already completed are submitted during forensic post-mortem examinations or autopsies, blatant errors are often found, especially with regard to the classification of the manner of death. This is partly attributable to insufficient knowledge of the classification criteria, but also to the fact that the post-mortem examination was not properly performed and even clear signs of unnatural death (e.g. a strangulation mark or sharp force injuries) are overlooked. To avoid such misinterpretations, a thorough reformation of the post-mortem examination system and a regular continuing specialized training of the physicians performing post-mortems seem necessary.

Many objections were raised to breath-alcohol analysis upon its introduction in the field of traffic law enforcement in Germany, but in the meantime this issue has become less relevant in forensic routine work. In the present case, the defending lawyer claimed that the ethanol concentration in the blood and hence in the breath of his client, which was 0.35 mg/l according to the Dräger Alcotest 7110® Evidential and thus above the legal limit of 0.25 mg/l, had been changed by diuretics taken 4 hours before the breath alcohol test, viz. 10 mg of torasemide, a loop diuretic, and 50 mg of spironolactone, a competitive aldosterone antagonist. According to the literature, the maximum urinary output in healthy subjects within the first 4 hours after 10 mg torasemide was 1450 ml. In patients suffering from heart failure, the urinary volume was reduced by a factor of 2.5-3; after chronic intake of torasemide, water loss did not differ from placebo. Spironolactone, which acts on the distal tubule, has little effect on urinary output. In a publication, the loss of water in excess within 24 hours was 90 ml. Co-administration of 100 mg spironolactone and 20 mg furosemide, which roughly compares to 10 mg torasemide, resulted in a mean urinary volume of 1566 ml within the first 4 hours. In terms of the reported case and provided that no compensatory fluid had been taken, a purely theoretical maximum shift of 0.007 mg/ may occur in the breath-alcohol concentration due to the smaller distribution volume even considering maximum urinary excretion values. On the other hand, already mild levels of dehydration may be associated with negative symptoms affecting driving ability.

The topic of sexual assault during sleep is discussed again on the basis of two case reports and several incidents published in the media. The authors support the assumption of Hohner and Püsche1 (2011). There is evidence that it is indeed possible not to wake up during a sexual assault--even without being under the influence of alcohol, illicit drugs or medication--and that a sexual assault during sleep can pass unnoticed. In such cases the outcome of the criminal trial often depends on the careful assessment of the expert, as the faculty of imagination of those passing judgment varies greatly. Based on new findings regarding sexsomnia, even sexual offenders may use the "sleepwalking defense" in specific cases.

During the autopsy of fire victims, one often sees intensive reddening of the inner vascular layers resembling changes due to putrefaction. To determine the frequency of this phenomenon and the circumstances under which it occurs, in particular the presence of putrescence, signs of vitality and the extent of destruction by the fire, the fire fatalities autopsied at the Institutes of Legal Medicine in Freiburg, Halle and Würzburg were analyzed. In the concrete study, 259 fire deaths were investigated retrospectively and 21 prospectively. The study material included 191 males and 68 females aged 0 to 93 years. Vital exposure to the fire was found in 70%, perimortal exposure in 23 % and postmortem exposure in 7% of the cases. Red discoloration of the intima of the central vessels was seen in 106 victims (41%). This finding is most likely caused by postmortem heat-induced hemolysis, which occurs when the temperature in the body rises above 52 °C due to the effect of external heat. Therefore, a reddish discoloration of the intima cannot be regarded as sign of vitality.

If the order of a judge to take a blood sample can only be obtained with a marked delay after the incident, evidence proving that a suspect had been driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs of abuse may be lost. The evaluation of blood analysis results from the Institute of Legal Medicine in Frankfurt/Main from the years 2012-2014 shows that in 1.6 to 11.6% of positive cases, the drug concentrations were near the legal limits (20.2% of alcohol-positive and 7.5% of illicit drugs-positive samples). A loss of evidence can thus be expected in a large number of cases when the time between the police check of a driver and the collection of a blood sample increases. Blood concentrations of alcohol and drugs of abuse, especially tetrahydrocannabinol, cocaine, methamphetamine, and morphine, may already have dropped significantly after a delay of only half an hour. These delays are typically due to the time elapsing until the order to take a blood sample has been obtained from a judge and a medical doctor becomes available and arrives at the police station to draw a blood sample. The recommendation of medicolegal experts is to keep the time between police check of a suspect and blood sampling as short as possible. In routine cases, a realistic maximum of one hour should not be exceeded.

In a case of aggravated extortion under threat of force, the medicolegal expert was asked to give an opinion on the drying time of human saliva. Fresh traces of saliva were applied to composite stones similar to those at the scene of the crime and their drying behavior was examined in a climate test chamber. Air temperature and air humidity during the experiment corresponded to the values of the measuring station located nearest to the crime scene. After one hour and 40 minutes no salivary spots were discernible on the stones any more. Depending on various influence factors, the traces could have originated both at the time of the offence and within a time window of up to 3 hours before.