Death investigation is the other half of the intriguing field of forensic science and is just as detailed oriented as the investigation of a crime scene.
Of course, death investigation only occurs when there is a death and not all serious crimes end with that particular outcome. Those crimes that produce injuries will result in another type of investigation, but ultimately they both use many of the same analytical techniques.
The two things that will not happen in the absence of death are the post mortem period and the autopsy. In many instances a medical
examination at a hospital will take the place of the autopsy. This might also involve the use of a forensic psychologist and/or psychiatrist if there is emotional trauma involved.
Keep in mind that a psychiatrist is a medical doctor, while a
psychologist will typically have a Master’s Degree or a PhD in a specific field of counseling, such as children or families. This might not sound like a huge difference, but when presented before a court, the jury may be persuaded if one side has a psychiatrist and the other a psychologist. A psychologist cannot make a medical diagnosis.
Always, always, always keep in mind that forensics involves building a case. You must always assume that everything you do in the field, and every decision you make will be presented in a court room for
evaluation by a judge or jury. Everything must stand up in court or your investigation is worthless. That means you must follow procedure.
38
The death investigation begins with the crime scene investigation.
Once the preliminaries are out of the way, personnel from the coroner or medical examiner’s office will arrive to remove the body.
A side note here: There is a difference between a coroner and a medical examiner. A state will have one or the other but not both. A coroner is usually an elected official, is not a doctor, and relies on a pathologist to perform the autopsies. The medical examiner is almost always a pathologist and has a medical degree, oversees the office of the medical examiner, may or may not perform the autopsies himself, is appointed by an elected official.
Which one is better? That is matter for debate. The important thing to remember is that only a pathologist, or trained personnel under the direct supervision of a pathologist, can perform an autopsy.
In an ideal world, every coroner and medical examiner would be a forensic pathologist, but that is not always the case. A forensic
pathologist is specially trained to perform a medicolegal investigation, or an investigation of death which is of legal concern.
The Autopsy
Not all deaths will need to be investigated but the following list will give you a good idea of when an investigation should and will take place:
“Sudden, suspicious, unexpected and unexplained” deaths include the following:
• Any uncertified death
• Deaths from vehicular, aircraft or rail accident
• Deaths occurring during employment (accident, disease, poisons)
• Deaths due to poisoning (gases, drugs, etc.)
• Suicides and apparent suicidal deaths
• Deaths associated with anesthesia
39
• Accidental deaths at home or in hospital, institution or public place
• Deaths following an abortion or attempted abortion
• Deaths apparently caused by neglect (malnutrition, etc.)
• Deaths in custody (police, prison or secure hospital)
• Death of a newborn child
• Death (not in a house) where deceased’s residence is unknown
• Deaths by drowning
• Child deaths from suffocation
• Deaths from smallpox, typhoid or other reportable infectious diseases
• Deaths from fire or explosion
• Sudden death
• Violent, suspicious or otherwise unexplained deaths
Deaths occurring while under medical care are also subject to scrutiny.
These include deaths which are:
• Clinically unexplained deaths
• Associated with lack of medical care
• Associated with or during the administration of general or local anesthetic
An autopsy is a postmortem examination involving the dissection of the body. The word “autopsy” is derived from the Greek “auto” and “opsis”
(literally “looking at the self”).
The purpose of the autopsy depends on the circumstances of the death. In the forensic setting an autopsy is carried out to primarily establish the cause of death. This is then put on record via the death certificate.
The Post Mortem Period
One of the most important pieces of evidence in any case involving a dead body is the obvious question - “when did the person die?” The
40
Sherlock Holmes method is to glance down at the smashed watch on the deceased’s wrist and to then proclaim that the time of death is the time shown on the broken face.
Unlikely, gov’na!
We must do things the hard way as the smashed wristwatch method rarely applies.
The deceased body goes through many changes over a set period of time and these changes can be documented. You can estimate a time of death based on which stage of change the body is in.
Some changes, like rigor-mortis, are biochemical and electrical, causing the muscles to stiffen, while others are induced by micro-organisms.
The rate of most of them depends upon the temperature of the
environment. A hot environment tends to speed up these changes and a cold one slows them down.
Postmortem cooling, then, is the best method available and without an eye-witness to corroborate the time of death, the most influential person will ultimately be the forensic pathologist.
Other factors in Death Investigation How did they die?
Several methods are used to establish cause and time of death such as toxicology, entomology, pharmacology, and wound evaluation due to specific circumstances, such as fire or water.
Each process and method of evaluation used for the autopsy and post mortem interval will be explored in detail in the upcoming units.
41
The Case Study
In the next unit you will be presented with a crime scene case study.
You will enter the scene as an investigator and all successive units will allow you to follow the crime to the final court decision where you will be both judge and jury.
Did the investigative team get the right suspect? Was the chain of custody maintained? Were proper procedures followed during
collection and evaluation of evidence? Does the evidence support the prosecution? Is the suspect guilty? Only patience and determination will tell!
Complete the exercises for Unit Three on the following pages.
42
43