Death Scene Research Articles

Post-mortem CT radiomics for the prediction of time since death.

Post-mortem interval (PMI) estimation has long been relying on sequential post-mortem changes on the body as a function of extrinsic, intrinsic, and environmental factors. Such factors are difficult to account for in complicated death scenes; thus, PMI estimation can be compromised. Herein, we aimed to evaluate the use of post-mortem CT (PMCT) radiomics for the differentiation between early and late PMI. Consecutive whole-body PMCT examinations performed between 2016 and 2021 were retrospectively included (n = 120), excluding corpses without an accurately reported PMI (n = 23). Radiomics data were extracted from liver and pancreas tissue and randomly split into training and validation sets (70:30%). Following data preprocessing, significant features were selected (Boruta selection) and three XGBoost classifiers were built (liver, pancreas, combined) to differentiate between early (< 12h) and late (> 12h) PMI. Classifier performance was assessed with receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves and areas under the curves (AUC), which were compared by bootstrapping. A total of 97 PMCTs were included, representing individuals (23 females and 74 males) with a mean age of 47.1 ± 23.38years. The combined model achieved the highest AUC reaching 75% (95%CI 58.4-91.6%) (p = 0.03 compared to liver and p = 0.18 compared to pancreas). The liver-based and pancreas-based XGBoost models achieved AUCs of 53.6% (95%CI 34.8-72.3%) and 64.3% (95%CI 46.7-81.9%) respectively (p > 0.05 for the comparison between liver- and pancreas-based models). The use of radiomics analysis on PMCT examinations differentiated early from late PMI, unveiling a novel image-based method with important repercussions in forensic casework. This paper introduces the employment of radiomics in forensic diagnosis by presenting an effective automated alternative method of estimating post-mortem interval from targeted tissues, thus paving the way for improvement in speed and quality of forensic investigations. • A combined liver-pancreas radiomics model differentiated early from late post-mortem intervals (using a 12-h threshold) with an area under the curve of 75% (95%CI 58.4-91.6%). • XGBoost models based on liver-only or pancreas-only radiomics demonstrated inferior performance to the combined model in predicting the post-mortem interval.

Anticipatory, Active, and Participatory Grief in Malory's Morte Darthur

Abstract: Malory employs three types of emotional experience to engage his readers in the scenes of King Arthur's death: anticipatory, active, and participatory grief. Through tragic plot and literary art, Malory leads the audiences of Le Morte Darthur to grieve with, and then for, the king.

Using Natural Language Processing to Predict Fatal Drug Overdose From Autopsy Narrative Text: Algorithm Development and Validation Study.

Fatal drug overdose surveillance informs prevention but is often delayed because of autopsy report processing and death certificate coding. Autopsy reports contain narrative text describing scene evidence and medical history (similar to preliminary death scene investigation reports) and may serve as early data sources for identifying fatal drug overdoses. To facilitate timely fatal overdose reporting, natural language processing was applied to narrative texts from autopsies. This study aimed to develop a natural language processing-based model that predicts the likelihood that an autopsy report narrative describes an accidental or undetermined fatal drug overdose. Autopsy reports of all manners of death (2019-2021) were obtained from the Tennessee Office of the State Chief Medical Examiner. The text was extracted from autopsy reports (PDFs) using optical character recognition. Three common narrative text sections were identified, concatenated, and preprocessed (bag-of-words) using term frequency-inverse document frequency scoring. Logistic regression, support vector machine (SVM), random forest, and gradient boosted tree classifiers were developed and validated. Models were trained and calibrated using autopsies from 2019 to 2020 and tested using those from 2021. Model discrimination was evaluated using the area under the receiver operating characteristic, precision, recall, F1-score, and F2-score (prioritizes recall over precision). Calibration was performed using logistic regression (Platt scaling) and evaluated using the Spiegelhalter z test. Shapley additive explanations values were generated for models compatible with this method. In a post hoc subgroup analysis of the random forest classifier, model discrimination was evaluated by forensic center, race, age, sex, and education level. A total of 17,342 autopsies (n=5934, 34.22% cases) were used for model development and validation. The training set included 10,215 autopsies (n=3342, 32.72% cases), the calibration set included 538 autopsies (n=183, 34.01% cases), and the test set included 6589 autopsies (n=2409, 36.56% cases). The vocabulary set contained 4002 terms. All models showed excellent performance (area under the receiver operating characteristic ≥0.95, precision ≥0.94, recall ≥0.92, F1-score ≥0.94, and F2-score ≥0.92). The SVM and random forest classifiers achieved the highest F2-scores (0.948 and 0.947, respectively). The logistic regression and random forest were calibrated (P=.95 and P=.85, respectively), whereas the SVM and gradient boosted tree classifiers were miscalibrated (P=.03 and P<.001, respectively). "Fentanyl" and "accident" had the highest Shapley additive explanations values. Post hoc subgroup analyses revealed lower F2-scores for autopsies from forensic centers D and E. Lower F2-score were observed for the American Indian, Asian, ≤14 years, and ≥65 years subgroups, but larger sample sizes are needed to validate these findings. The random forest classifier may be suitable for identifying potential accidental and undetermined fatal overdose autopsies. Further validation studies should be conducted to ensure early detection of accidental and undetermined fatal drug overdoses across all subgroups.

An Atypical Asphyxial Death: A Case Study.

An atypical asphyxial death is presented. The deceased was found wrapped like a mummy with multiple layers of plastic and adhesive tape, lying face down on the floor of his home. The death scene was in the lounge area of a large, poorly-kempt, free-standing house. No obvious evidence of illicit drugs or other medications were identified. There was no pornographic material or other paraphernalia of a sexual nature in proximity to the body. According to the brother, the deceased had attempted similar incidents like this in the past, where someone was available to release him.Because of the similar behaviour in the past, the background psychiatric history, and statements from the girlfriend and relatives, the authors propose that this represents an atypical asphyxia death.

Case Report of Lethal Concentrations of the Over-the-Counter Sleep Aids Diphenhydramine and Melatonin.

Over-the-counter (OTC) medications are not typically considered "drugs of abuse" by the public, yet they are implicated in a portion of overdose cases. Although the toxicity of some OTC medications (such as acetaminophen, aspirin, and diphenhydramine [DPH]) has been extensively reported in the medical literature, the lethality of other substances (including melatonin) has not been well established.We report the case of a 21-year-old woman who was found deceased within her secure residence. Scene investigation revealed the presence of 5 empty containers of DPH and a partially empty container of melatonin, as well as a handwritten note of apparent suicidal nature. Upon autopsy examination, the gastric mucosa was notable for a green-blue discoloration, and the gastric contents were consisted of a green-tan viscous material with admixed blue particulate material. Further analysis revealed elevated concentrations of both DPH and melatonin within the blood and gastric contents. The death was certified as a suicide by acute combined DPH and melatonin toxicity.This paper will review the pharmacology of OTC sleep aid medications and provide a brief outline of their documented toxicity, in addition to reinforcing the role of death scene investigation and its correlation with autopsy findings.

A comparative study of the injury pattern between suicidal and accidental falls from height in Northern Tunisia

BackgroundFalls from height are a common cause of marbidity and mortality. The aim of this study is to examine the characteristics of the victims, the circumstances of the fall and distribution of the injuries of accidental and suicidal falls from height. Materials and methodsIt was a retrospective cross-sectional study, based on autopsies performed over 16 years (January 2005 to December 2020). The recorded variables included demographic data of the victim, height of fall, death scene findings, length of hospital stay, autopsy findings, and toxicological results. ResultsOf the 753 victims of fall from height, 607 were fallers and 146 were jumpers. We found that male victims were predominant in the accidental group (86.8% vs. 69.2%). The mean age at death was 43.6 ± 17.9 years. Suicidal falls occurred in a private house in the majority of cases (70.5%), while accidental falls occurred most frequently at workplace (43.8%). Suicidal falls were higher than accidental falls (10.4 ± 7.3 m vs. 7.1 ± 5.7 m). Injuries in the thorax, abdomen, pelvis, upper and lower extremities were more frequentl in the suicidal falls group. Pelvic fractures were 2.1 times more likely to occur in the suicidal falls. Head injuries were more frequent in the accidental falls group. The survival delay was shorter in the suicidal falls group. Conclusionsour study highlights the differences in the profile of the victims and in the pattern of injuries caused by falls from height, depending on the victim's intention to fall.

Men Becoming Gods in “Style”

Men Becoming Gods in “Style”

The San Diego SIDS Definition - 20 Years On.

As it is now 20 years since the San Diego definition of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) was proposed it is timely to examine the impact of this consensus statement. Concerns at the time were expressed that 'death scene' had been replaced by circumstances of death' and so it may have been more useful to have a more inclusive statement of 'death scene, including circumstances of death'. The category of unclassified sudden infant deaths (USID) that was proposed has not been widely adopted. More disturbing, however is the increasing failure to use either the San Diego or earlier definitions in published research, with recent studies showing that almost two-thirds of peer-reviewed SIDS publications (2019-2021) did not quote or reference internationally accepted definitions. This is a decrease of 33% from the 68% of papers that correctly used SIDS definitions in 2011. The definition is therefore not being uniformly applied and in addition, diagnostic shift is occurring, with more pathologists favouring 'undetermined' over a designation of SIDS. Given these developments how can we correctly interpret conclusions relating to SIDS research, and can we accurately monitor trends in SIDS mortality? The authors would suggest that unfortunately at present we cannot with any precision.

Bishops in Early Iceland

Bishops in Early Iceland

Dalit Histories, Pandemic Histories

Dalit Histories, Pandemic Histories

Spatializing Narrative: Postcolonial Spaces of Oswald Andrew Bushnell’s Ka’a’awa

This study explores the representation of space in O.A Bushnell’s Ka’awa in which the seemingly contradictory spatial scene of the urban, the rural, the picturesque and the macabre delineates the complexity of postcolonial spaces. Ka’a’awa foregrounds the journey of Hiram Nihoa through his travel all around O’ahu in the 1850’s. Nihoa’s first-person account provides a vivid avenue for the readers through textual cues delineating spaces as they mentally mapped the slowly unfolding and unfamiliar spaces as his narration progresses. This study is the intersection between environmental/eco-criticism and geo-criticism which focuses on the complexities between spatial referents and their real-world referents as is stated by Tally Jr and Prieto, especially the postcolonial contexts of Hawai’i-West interaction during the second half of the 19th century. The finding posits how the readers familiarize themselves with the picturesque landscape of O’ahu through Nihoa’s evocative narration and how the spatial scene later resurfaces as space connotes death and diseases due to epidemic which defamiliarizes readers from prior spatiality. The spatial scene narrating scene of disease, despair and death highlights the discursive and material condition of Hawai’i as a postcolonial space. Space in Ka’a’awa alludes both toward the referential condition of 1850’s Hawai’i and symbolically represents the decline of the Hawai’ian natives.

Death by artery injury: two peculiar cases of sharp force fatality.

As sharp force injury accounts for 10-20% of clinical forensic examinations, forensic pathologists are often asked to investigate deceased victims of stab wounds. Moreover, homicide by sharp force (stabbing) is one of the most common in European countries, involving generally domestic or interpersonal conflict. Stabbing as a suicide method constitutes a low percentage of all suicides, 2% to 3%. Accidental death due to sharp force is even rarer (0-3%) and usu-ally caused by an impact or a fall into different type of glass surface. Death due to stabbing is usually caused by exsanguinating incisions to organs or large blood vessels (such as arteries), leading to haemor-rhagic shock. Penetrating artery injuries are well known in clinical settings, and extremities are the most common sites of such injuries. Indeed, 50% to 60% of injuries occur in femoral or popliteal arteries, 30% in brachial artery. The aim of this paper is to present two rare cases of sharp force fatality, showing how a thorough forensic pathology methodology, including death scene investigation, autopsy examination, and toxicological analyses, are pivotal to detect the manner of death. This paper presents two peculiar cases of sharp force fatalities: the first, a single and accidental stab injury on the right armpit which caused a complete transection of the axillary artery; the second, a single homicidal stab wound on the lower leg causing a full-thickness lesion of the anterior tibial artery.

Drawing Disney: Analyzing Artistic Reinterpretations of Disney Deaths.

Disney's notably traumatic character deaths have been the focus of several academic studies that identify the potential harm of witnessing animated deaths during childhood; however, these studies have almost exclusively examined death images within film without looking to images that exist external to the media texts themselves. This paper addresses such limitations by uniquely examining how audiences use/produce images to offer reinterpretations of popular death scenes in Disney films. The components of user-generated images, descriptions, and comments on deviantart.com indicate that audiences utilize creative expression to communicate the traumatic experience of viewing character deaths during childhood, change elements that are frustratingly inaccurate, and re-write narratives to challenge assumptions of sympathy. Such an analysis considers what these artistic expressions might suggest about the decoding of animated death by consumers and encourages new ways of thinking about the consumption and interpretation of death narratives.

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Asphyxiophilic death due to masochistic behaviour in a video game addict teen: A case report and reviews.

The disorder of internet gaming is increasingly being blamed on major psychological problems affecting youth. Action video games are enjoyable for masochists. Video game chores that practise bondage and other acts that cause pain and anoxia may be masochistic in nature in order to promote player satisfaction. Asphyxia will result in pleasure in asphyxiophilia, a dangerous and occasionally lethal form of sexual masochism. Constriction of the neck with ligature materials is a frequent method of causing hypoxia. The subject of this case study was a compulsive player of online video games. During the masochistic act, along with a recording of it, he unintentionally died. Given that he was naked, had a ligature around his neck, had his wrists and legs bound, and had two fabric-holding clamps on his scrotum, asphyxiophilia was determined to be the cause of his death. At the scene of death, neither pornographic materials nor proof of frequent use of this kind of behaviour were discovered. Along with recording, the subject's cell phone's flash was on to help with the dim lighting and he may have been videotaping these masochistic acts as part of a videogame task. The results of the autopsy, circumstantial evidence, police inquiry and witness accounts all support accidental death.

The Effect of Body Mass, Clothing and Death Scene on Postmortem Changes, Rates of Arthropod Colonization and Decomposition on Swiss Mice Cadavers

The Effect of Body Mass, Clothing and Death Scene on Postmortem Changes, Rates of Arthropod Colonization and Decomposition on Swiss Mice Cadavers

Značaj forenzičke entomologije prilikom istrage zločina

This paper demonstrates the importance of forensic entomology in criminal investigations and points to post-mortem interval estimation, procedures at the death scene, which are important for entomological research. The focus of the paper is on entomotoxicology, that is, how entomotoxicology can help determine the presence of toxins in the body at the time of death when this is not possible by means of traditional methods. The paper also demonstrates how insects can contribute to the discovery of mass graves and provide information that can help prove war crimes.

Risk of Postneonatal Infant Mortality Associated With Prior Founded Allegations of Child Abuse.

Context: There are ∼7500 postneonatal deaths (28 days to under 1 year) in the US annually, of which a majority are preventable. Previous studies have reported a child's prior encounter with child protective services (CPS) as a risk factor for preventable death but few studies have evaluated this in relation to subsequent postneonatal deaths. Objective: To measure the association between prior reports of child abuse and subsequent postneonatal death. Study Design/Analysis: Secondary data analysis from the case-control Chicago Infant Mortality Study (CIMS). Conditional logistic regression modeling determined the odds of postneonatal death when there was a founded prior allegation. Setting and Population Studied: CIMS included all sudden, unexplained infant deaths up to 1 year in Chicago (November 1993-April 1996) (n=469), and matched living controls (n=472). Information on prior child abuse reports and outcomes was obtained through the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) State Central Registry for each case and control. Instrument: Cause of death was determined by Cook County Medical Examiners based on autopsy, death scene investigation and review of the medical history. DCFS database was searched on infant's name, mother's name, screening number and other identifiers. Only "founded" allegations that occurred prior to the date of death (cases) and date of interview (controls) were included Outcome measures: Founded allegations for cases by cause of death. Odds of death by prior allegations and other socio-demographic factors. Results: DCFS founded allegations were identified in 119 cases (25%) and/or their families and in 35 controls (7%; OR = 4.25, 95% CI, 2.86, 6.35). There were no clear patterns when frequency of allegations was analyzed by cause of death. Families with founded allegations were almost 4 times more likely to experience a postneonatal death (aOR =3.79, 95% CI, 1.56, 9.10). Lower maternal education, age, inadequate prenatal care and infant-parent bedsharing were also associated with higher odds of postneonatal death. Conclusions: Child protective services involvement is an opportunity for education to help reduce the incidence of potentially preventable infant deaths. Families should have access to appropriate acute and preventive care and receive ongoing education about child abuse prevention, infant safety, reducing the risk of preventable deaths such as SIDS, and when to seek medical attention.

Groin hit death due to femoral vein rupture in a drug abuser

Recreational drug use has become an imminent social and health problem throughout the world. Intravenous injection for drug misuse has been described in both the upper and lower limbs and is a major cause of millions of deaths each year; deaths are primarily due to fatal overdose and the trauma and infection caused by repeated injections. This paper presents an accidental death due to massive blood loss, which resulted from rupture to the right femoral vessel based on autopsy findings. In case of accidental injuries, a thorough medico-legal process, including death scene investigation, autopsy examination and toxicological analyses, are always necessary to determine the manner of death.

The Death Scene in the "Ayniyah" Poems of Abi Thuayib Al-Huthali and Suda bint Shamardal: A Contrastive Study

This study is an objective literary study of the poems of Abu Dhu'ayb Al-Hudhali and Su'da Bint Al-Shamrdal. It aims to shed light on the philosophy of death in the poems, and the way this philosophy is treated by both poets. Thus, the main prominent poetic images have been addressed and the outstanding ones have been singled out. The study further investigates the intertextuality with other poetic verses and Quranic verses and reviews the deviation in their semantic, syntactic, and phonetic types. The study adopts the historical approach to examine the occasion of the poems by referring to several historical sources that indicate the seniority. It also adopts the and descriptive-analytical approach represented by the use of content analysis to investigate the most prominent themes and literary features. The study has concluded that Abu Dhu'ayb’s creativity in drawing literary images is due to being one of the - "Hudhalis" - those who follow the approach of drawing literary images. The poems were overflowing with sincere feelings. However, Su'da’s feelings were clearer, as the literary vocabularies and images played a major role in adding a sense of sadness and affliction. Moreover, the study has concluded that Su'da's poem is the earlier, as it did not witnessed Islam as is the case with Abu Dhu'ayb who contemprorarized the wise kalihs.