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| The cause
of death refers to why death occurred (e.g. due to excessive
loss of blood) and shouldn't be confused with how the
victim was killed i.e. the manner of death. A variety
of measures are taken by coroners/pathologusts to establish
whether the manner of death was accidental, natural,
suicide or murder, depending on the situation and case
type. |
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Select one of the folowing topics
for more information:
--> The
causes
--> Arson
victims
--> Victims
hanged
--> Victims
drowned
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| Copyright
2004-2005 Thinkquest Team 00206 |
| The
Causes |
|
| An autopsy is generally
the most accurate method available to determine the
cause of death during murder cases and consequently,
whether the fatality was innocent or in fact a disguised
murder. Different measures are taken under different
situations and with it being rather difficult to explain
every single scenario possible, below are some common
examples, which may likely perk your interest. |
| Copyright
2004-2005 Thinkquest Team 00206 |
| Scenario
One (Arson Victims) |
|
| When
dealing with a body found at the scene of a fire,
the corpse is firstly examined for any traces
of soot present in the breathing passage. The
presence of soot would suggest that death was
caused via asphyxiation, whereby the victim dies
to due to a lack of oxygen.
Next, blood samples are analysed for the presence
of carbon
monoxide, cyanide
or other poisons in the bloodstream, indicating
a death caused by cyanide poisoning, generally
a result of the burning of synthetic
materials, usually furniture. In other cases,
burns on the corpse with inflamed edges (caused
by red blood cells trying to repair the burned
skin), would suggest that the victim died from
burns. Wounds and lacerations on the body would
at first seem to have been a result of the fire,
however, if signs of underlying bleeding are present,
it would conclude that the victim was already
dead before the fire began and the arson may have
been a means to cover up a more sinister crime. |
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| *
Victims of fire commonly die of either one of
two deaths - asphyxiation or from the burn of
the flames. Photo courtesy of www.freefoto.com.
|
|
| Copyright
2004-2005 Thinkquest Team 00206 |
| Scenario
Two (Victims Hanged) |
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| A
body discovered hanging or suspended in some way, usually
contains telltale signs of a death due to the lack of
oxygen. These include such signs as blue skin colour,
burst blood vessels in the eyes and inflated lungs.
Forensic pathologists examine the rope marks on the
neck to determine if they contain evidently inflamed
edges, a sign that the victim was alive before being
hanged. However, when no inflammation marks are present,
it suggests that the victim was dead before being hanged
and the hanging was a form of cover up. The rope marks
on the victim's neck are examined to check that they
match the rope found at the scene of crime. The slightest
difference of the rope impression from the actual rope
itself, would undoubtedly imply that the rope was not
the murder tool and where the victim did die of a lack
of oxygen and does have evident bruises on the neck,
the murder weapon is sought using the markings as a
guide. As a general rule, all rope markings on the neck
should be in the shape of an upside down V, where the
knot would cause a bruise on the back of the neck, creating
the point of the V. |
 |
Other
facts pointing to murder may also be revealed
when an examination of the neck is carried out.
Strangulation usually breaks the hyoid bone located
in the neck, but the bone is very rarely broken
during hanging. The breakage of the hyoid
would suggest manual strangulation, whereby the
victim was strangled using the hands, or via means
of another implement (e.g. cord, belt etc). When
strangulation is the case, death may be caused
due to a lack of air, but more likely, as a result
of the deliberate compression of the neck, causing
a vegal inhabitation, the situation where the
stimulation of the neck's vagus
nerve causes the heart to stop. In cases
where the hyoid bone is not broken, but bruising
is evident around the nose and mouth, a death
caused by smothering is indicated, thereby dying
due to a lack of oxygen. |
| *
The rope marks (bruises) on the neck of the victim
should correspond to the type of rope used. Photo
courtesy of www.imageafter.com.
|
|
| Copyright
2004-2005 Thinkquest Team 00206 |
| Scenario
Three (Victims Drowned) |
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| Bodies
discovered in the water are examined to see whether
water is actually present in the airway and stomach
of the victim and if the lungs have swollen up.
If such signs are apparent, then the victim did
actually die due to drowning, although whether
it was murder or accidental will be left for investigators
to determine. Further examination of the corpse
will reveal if bleeding occurred in the lungs,
suggesting that there was a struggle for breath
during the drowning. Other signs coroners pick
up are such things as leaves, twigs or other objects
near the death scene, found grasped in the victims
hands, indicating that the victim tried to clutch
an object to save themselves. |
 |
| *
An average of 9 people drown per day in the US
( Poseidon : 2004). Photo courtesy of www.imageafter.com.
|
|
However, in the case that an examination of
the larynx
reveals that a spasm occurred, the victim may
have died from sudden exposure to the cold,
which caused an immediate heart attack. To reveal
whether bodies were alive or dead upon entering
the water, an analysis of single celled algae,
(known as diatoms) is performed. Certain diatoms
found in the body are compared against those
found in the water and if these samples match,
then the body was alive upon entering the water,
but if otherwise, the body was dead upon entering
the water and the coroners will continue searching
for other injuries that may point to murder.
|
| In some cases, hypothermia
may have been the cause of death rather than drowning.
When the core temperature of the human body drops
below 305K, the motion of the enzymes in the body
begins to slow down and hypothermia is the eventual
result of prolonged exposure to the cold. Below
is a table of estimated survival times in water
against the water temperature: |
|
| |
| Liquid
Temperature (degrees Celcius) |
Estimated
Hours of Survival |
| 0 |
0.25 - 0.75 |
| 0 - 4 |
0.5 -1.5 |
| 4 - 10 |
1.0 - 3.0 |
| 10 - 16 |
1.0 - 6.0 |
| 16 - 21 |
2.0 -40 |
| 21 - 27 |
> 3.0 |
| > 27 |
Undeterminable |
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