Enrico Muccino

Transphobic Murders in Italy: An Overview of Homicides in Milan (Italy) in the Past Two Decades (1993-2012)

In Europe, 71 murders resulting in the death of transgendered persons were reported between 2008 and 2013, 20 of which perpetrated in Italy, the second highest rate in Europe after Turkey. We retrospectively analyzed the homicides of transgender people recorded at the Medicolegal Bureau in Milan from January 1993 to December 2012. First we considered the sociodemographic data of 20 victims and the circumstantial details of their deaths, then we examined the data related to the cause of death from the autopsy reports. Our data show that victims are mostly immigrants, biological males presenting with a feminine attire and with varying degrees of feminization. The large majority of the victims were sex workers from South America. As for murderers, they were unknown in 7 cases (35%); all the 13 murderers identified were males, aged between 17 and 63 (M age = 31 years). In 38% of the cases, the murderer was the victim’s current or former partner. For half of the homicides, it was possible to identify at least one primary indicator of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) hate crime. Our findings call for the need to make explicit in Italian legislation that a crime perpetrated on the ground of sexual orientation and gender identity constitutes a hate crime.

The comparative performance of PMI estimation in skeletal remains by three methods (C-14, luminol test and OHI): analysis of 20 cases

When estimating post-mortem interval (PMI) in forensic anthropology, the only method able to give an unambiguous result is the analysis of C-14, although the procedure is expensive. Other methods, such as luminol tests and histological analysis, can be performed as preliminary investigations and may allow the operators to gain a preliminary indication concerning PMI, but they lack scientific verification, although luminol testing has been somewhat more accredited in the past few years. Such methods in fact may provide some help as they are inexpensive and can give a fast response, especially in the phase of preliminary investigations. In this study, 20 court cases of human skeletonized remains were dated by the C-14 method. For two cases, results were chronologically set after the 1950s; for one case, the analysis was not possible technically. The remaining 17 cases showed an archaeological or historical collocation. The same bone samples were also screened with histological examination and with the luminol test. Results showed that only four cases gave a positivity to luminol and a high Oxford Histology Index (OHI) score at the same time: among these, two cases were dated as recent by the radiocarbon analysis. Thus, only two false-positive results were given by the combination of these methods and no false negatives. Thus, the combination of two qualitative methods (luminol test and microscopic analysis) may represent a promising solution to cases where many fragments need to be quickly tested.

Preservation of histological structure of cells in human skin presenting mummification and corification processes by Sandison's rehydrating solution

INTRODUCTION To overcome the difficulties of construction and interpretation of microscopic material from corpses presenting mummification and corification processes, a variety of techniques and tricks are used: in this research the results of applying the Sandisons rehydrating solution are presented, generally used in archeological field on Egyptian mummies of different ages, in human cadaveric material in an advanced state of decomposition. MATERIALS AND METHODS Nineteen skin specimens were taken from corpses presenting corification and mummification processes, discovered in a time ranging between one and four months and exhumed after 11 years. Each biological sample was divided into two parts: one, directly fixed in buffered formalin 10%; the other, preliminarily treated with the Sandisons rehydrating solution and, therefore, post-fixed in 10% buffered formalin. All samples were then carried out the routine histological preparation, and the sections were stained by hematoxylin-eosin and by other histochemical stains. RESULTS Under the microscope, the samples placed directly into formalin, showed marked structural changes of the various components, while those previously rehydrated with the Sandisons rehydrating solution allowed the clear recognition of different structures. CONCLUSIONS The use of the Sandisons rehydrating solution on skin samples presenting corification and mummification processes, preserving significantly its general setting, stands as an indispensable procedure in the study of such cases.

An unusual case of homicide with a crossbow and a hunting knife

Traumatic lethal injuries caused by crossbows are a rarity in forensic pathology. They occur as accidents, suicide and, more rarely, as murders. We report a case of murder received at the Institute of Legal Medicine in Milan carried out by two weapons – a crossbow and a hunting knife – that resulted in multiple thoraco-abdominal wounds. The case is also rare because of the unique circumstances involving the victim – a local service psychiatrist – and the perpetrator – a former medical specialist in psychiatry, suffering from a delusional psychotic disorder. The crossbow was the decisive instrument in the realization of the murder; it was chosen with premeditation for its high destructive capacity and the fact that it was easily obtainable, and it was used with darts that were specially modified to increase its harmful capacity. The presented case, as well as providing an opportunity to highlight the damaging effects of a rarely used weapon, stresses the problems inherent with access to tools such as the crossbow that are used in sport, and which are potentially dangerous but easily accessible, even to those with serious mental disorders, rendering them legally unfit for using firearms.

Characterisation of the weapon used in a patricide by SEM/EDS analysis of a microscopic trace from the object

This article presents a case of patricide. The murder was characterised by multiple blunt traumas and asphyxia. A mass of contused wounds was localised to the head and neck, and included the complete avulsion of the left eye (by an unknown tool), which was recovered near the cadaver. This case is of interest due to the possibility of identifying microscopic traces of the object that was used for the homicide by examining the skin margins around the ocular injury. The analysis was conducted using scanning electron microscopy combined with energy dispersive X-ray analysis (SEM/EDX). Analysis of the skin margins allowed microscopic inorganic traces to be detected, which were identified as ceramic material. This result focused the attention of the investigation on a small fish-shaped statue that had been previously found by the police when examining the crime scene. The use of SEM/EDX was therefore essential in determining a match between the microscopic traces detected on the perilesional skin and the composition of the statue. This led to the suspicion that the statue was the murder weapon.

Analysis of metallic medical devices after cremation: The importance in identification

The recovery of a charred cadaver raises many issues concerning personal identification; the presence of prosthetic materials may provide very important and decisive information. Who is involved in the recovery of a charred body or of burnt human fragments, should therefore be able to recognize medical devices even if modified by fire effects. Metallic residues (585kg) that came from 2785 cremations were studied. Medical devices were then divided by type and material in order to esteem the representativeness of each typology. The study illustrates the great presence of metal medical devices that could be of great help in identifying bodies and underlines that metallic medical devices types and morphology should be known by forensic practitioner involved in identification cases and that this kind of material can still be identified by physician and dentists, even if exposed to very high temperatures.

Technical note: A histochemical approach in diagnosing hanging mechanical asphyxia on cadavers undergoing advanced putrefactive phenomena

The authors used a particular protocol on putrefied corpses to highlight the cutaneous furrow. Two groups of cadavers were selected: in the first group (suicide by hanging mechanical asphyxia), the authors sampled cutaneous lozenges on the furrow still macroscopically recognisable, while in the second group (corpses deceased by different means), we sampled cutaneous lozenges in the hypostatic leaning. All specimens were divided in two: one underwent standard fixation while the other, previously rehydrated in Sandison’s solution, was then fixed in formalin. All specimens were stained with hematoxylin and eosin and Resorcin-Fuchsin. Samples processed with formalin and the H&E staining underlined various artifacts; vice versa, the Sandison solution associated with Resorcin-Fuchsin staining demonstrated the compression of the elastic fibres, with focal positivity in hanged corpses, and diffuse positivity in the entire hypostatic leaning. Sandison’s rehydrating solution and Resorcin-Fuchsin staining exalt the supposed application of an asphyctic mean even on putrefied corpses in those cases burdened by a diagnostic doubt.

The effect of the medico-legal evaluation on asylum seekers in the Metropolitan City of Milan, Italy: a pilot study

In the present-day situation, the clinical forensic documentation of an asylum seeker’s narrative and his or her examination, together with the physical and psychological findings, may have very important effects on the outcome of the request for political asylum. Since 2012, the Municipality of Milan, the University Institute of Legal Medicine, and other institutions have assembled a team with the task of examining vulnerable asylum seekers and preparing a medical report for the Territorial Commission for International Protection (Prefecture, Ministry of Interiors), who will assess the application. We compared medico-legal reports and outcomes of 57 cases which were evaluated by the Commission after having undergone a medico-legal evaluation through the Istanbul Protocol criteria and examined, in particular, which medico-legal variables seem associated to the outcome. The results show that forensic assessment seems to have a significant and interesting correlation with the final assessment given by the Commission. For example, the higher the level of consistency, according to the Istanbul Protocol, the more frequently protection is granted. These data show how important clinical forensic medicine can be in such scenarios and how the presence of clinical forensic experts should be encouraged in such evaluations, as has been recently enshrined in Italy in the guidelines of a Ministerial Decree of April 3rd, 2017 for the assistance and the rehabilitation as well as the treatment of psychiatric disorders in refugees and asylum seekers who have undergone torture, rape, and other severe forms of psychological, physical, or sexual violence.

The medico-legal observation of an aggressive urogenital fibromatosis with isolated development not related to any traumatic event.

Desmoid tumor is a fibroproliferative neoplasm with an intermediate malignancy and it can be localized in every bodily district: some locations are considered exceptional, like the urogenital localization. The Author point out a rare case of giant idiopathic scrotal fibromatosis that was found during an autopsy. A widower, that lived alone in poor hygienic conditions, was found dead in his house. The Judicial Authority ordered the autopsy, that was performed two days later at the Medico-Legal Section of Milan University. External examinations revealed only the considerable dimension of the scrotum (cm 24 × 41). The cause of death was fixed in a cardiac tamponade due to a natural heart laceration localized in correspondence of a transmural infarction. The toxicological exam resulted negative, while the histopathological and immunohistochemical analysis qualify the scrotal mass as a desmoids tumor. Due to the absence of predisposing conditions and of fibroproliferative infiltration in bladder and retroperitoneal space, the neoplasm was configured as an idiopathic desmoid tumor. The presented case gives the reason for the discussion concerning medico-legal aspects that are typical of rare neoplasms.

Applicability of cranial models in urethane resin and foam as a substitute for bone: are synthetic materials reliable?

As literature is poor in functional synthetic cranial models, in this study, synthetic handmade models of cranial vaults were produced in two different materials (a urethane resin and a self‐hardening foam), from multiple bone specimens (eight original cranial vaults: four human and four swine), in order to test their resemblance to bone structure in behavior, during fracture formation. All the vaults were mechanically tested with a 2‐kg impact weight and filmed with a high‐speed camera. Fracture patterns were homogeneous in all swine vaults and heterogeneous in human vaults, with resin fractures more similar to bone fractures. Mean fracture latency time extrapolated by videos were of 0.75 msec (bone), 1.5 msec (resin), 5.12 msec (foam) for human vaults and of 0.625 msec (bone), 1.87 msec (resin), 3.75 msec (foam) for swine vaults. These data showed that resin models are more similar to bone than foam reproductions, but that synthetic material may behave quite differently from bone as concerns fracture latency times.