Jørgen Voigt

Determination of the Time of Death by Continuous Post-Mortem Temperature Measurements:

In 20 cases with known times of death continuous post-mortem measurements of the temperature fall in brain, calf, liver, axilla and rectum of the bodies have been made, and, in addition, the environmental temperature has been recorded. The observations were not made under standardized conditions, and the clothing of the bodies was left untouched as far as possible. The measurements of the brain temperatures have given the greatest accuracy in determining the time of death; for temperatures above 25 °C the uncertainty was of the order of magnitude of ±2 1/2 hours, at lower temperatures greater. The other sites of measurement permitted less reliable estimates of the post-mortem time, but none of them were found to be appropriate beyond 20 hours after death. There is one factor which cannot be calculated. It is the temperature at the moment of death. All investigations show that it may vary enormously. In the present study the difference between the maximum and the minimum starting temperature ranges between 5 °C and 8 °C, dependent on the site of measurement. As the fall in temperature—irrespective of the site of measurement—during the first few hours post mortem is of the magnitude of 1 °C per hour, the above variation gives an inaccuracy which by far exceeds what can be achieved of greater accuracy by the aid of brain temperature measurements. For this reason the authors feel justified in concluding that the determination of the time of death will always be encumbered with great uncertainty, but that the most reliable estimate within the first 20 hours after death can be based upon the measurement of the brain temperature associated with an evaluation of the development of the signs of death. None of the other methods tested so far appears to have offered a greater reliability.

Deaths among narcotic addicts in Denmark in 1978 and 1979

Since 1968 the number of deaths registered among narcotic addicts has increased considerably from 9 deaths in 1968 to 121 in 1979. Data concerning 215 deaths among narcotic addicts in 1978 and 1979 examined at the three Danish University Institutes of Forensic Medicine are presented. Four-fifths of the cases were males; the average age in both males and females was 26 years. In most cases a mixed abuse was present, the predominant drug being heroin. In 27% of the cases there was an abuse of alcohol. The material was divided into two groups. Group A included 181 cases in which the cause of death was poisoning by one or more drugs. In group B (34 cases) narcomania was a contributory factor to death. The place of death, gross autopsy findings and toxicological data are reported. The manner of death was in 62% of the cases stated as accident, in 19% as suicide, in 14% as accident?/suicide?, in 3% as natural death and finally in 1% as homicide. Next to traffic accidents narcotic addiction today is the greatest single cause of death in the age group 18 - 35 years. These facts call for active political steps against narcotic addiction.

Forensic medicine and human rights

The forensic scientist is used to evaluate lesions with regard to their age, the weapon used, the seriousness, etc. Based on a material of examinations of alleged victims of torture some of the types of lesions are discussed. The importance of being strictly objective and using a scientific approach is stressed. The Committee of Concerned Forensic Scientists and Physicians for the Documentation of Human Rights Abuses (CCFS) was formed in 1984. The aims and the work of the committee are described.

The killing pencil

IN medicine casuistics are not held very much in esteem, but in our special field, forensic medicine, I feel that casuistics are most helpful; it is of great importance to be able to refer to other similar cases in the literature when you meet an extremely uncommon case in your daily work. That is my apology for giving an account of the following case. The scene is the palace courtyard of Amalienborg, the Kings residence in Copenhagen. The plan (Fig. 1) shows the courtyard between the four palaces. Facing south is the Colonnade where the Life Guards have their local headquarters. (Note: Figiu-es 1-4 referred to in this article appear between pp. 32 and 33.) One rainy morning, when the roads were very slippery, a nineteen year-old young man was driving his scooter in a southerly direction towards the Colonnade and just before reaching it his rear wheel slipped, the scooter skidded and be slid along the pavement. A car was approaching him through the Colonnade and the scooter-driver hit the front bumper of the car and was thrown eight metres backwards. The scooter-driver—^who wore a crash helmet—^was immediately knocked unconscious, and on his arrival at the hospital in the ambulance he was found to be dead. The police requested a medico-legal autopsy and as the sole sign of violence—besides quite insignificant bruises—we found a small punc-