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Determination of Postmortem Interval from Old Skeletal Remains by Image Analysis of Luminol Test Results*

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ABSTRACT:

The luminol test is routinely used in forensic serology to locate blood traces and identify blood stains not visible to the naked eye; its sensitivity is reported as ranging from 1:100.000 to 1:5.000.000. To evaluate the possibility of correlating the postmortem interval with blood remnants in bone tissue, the luminol test was performed on 80 femurs with a known time of death, grouped in five classes. Powdered bone (30 mg) was recovered from compact tissue of the mid-shaft of each femur and was treated with 0.1 mL of Luminol solution (Sirchie Finger Print Laboratories, Inc.). The reactions were observed in a dark room and filmed by a TV camera equipped with a recording tape. An intense chemiluminescence was observed after a few seconds in all 20 femurs with a PMI ranging from 1 month to 3 years. On the 20 femurs with a PMI ranging...

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A Test of Two Typologies of Sexual Homicide

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Abstract

Published typologies of sexual homicide lack theoretical grounding and empirical support. They also conceptualize the phenomenon of sexual homicide as somewhat discrete, though offenders are not typically specialists. Here, we propose a model that situates the phenomenon of sexual killing into broader categories of antisocial behavior, positing three types of perpetrators of serial sexual homicides: competitively disadvantaged, psychopathic, and sadistic offenders. Using biographical data of 82 serial sexual homicide offenders, we tested our model as well as the influential organized/disorganized model. Principal components analysis produced five components consisting of offender and offense characteristics, and cluster analysis revealed three distinct groups of perpetrators (sadistic offenders, competitively disadvantaged offenders, and slashers), as well as a fourth, heterogeneous group; this cluster solution, however, may be unstable. In summary, there is only mixed support for either model....

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An Examination of Souvenirs and Trophies in Serial Homicide

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Abstract:

Current literature focuses on the taking of souvenirs and trophies as a means to preserve an experience and prolong fantasy. Additional literature regarding previous models of serial homicide have mentioned that souvenirs and/or trophies have been taken, and in some a profile is given of an offender type, but it is difficult to find an empirical study that reports a thorough examination of both frequency and which items are taken and how these relate to other activities during the crime. This study aimed to determine how frequently souvenirs and trophies are being taken during cases of serial homicide. Secondly it aimed to identify which crime scene behaviors and previous criminal convictions co-occur with the taking of souvenirs and trophies. Smallest Space Analysis was used to determine if behaviors such as forensic awareness, sexual assault, theft, control, post-mortem activities, fantasy prolonging and planning behaviors as well as which offender characteristics co-occur...

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Patterns Of Intimate Partner Homicide Suicide In Later Life: Strategies For Prevention

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Abstract

Intimate partner homicide suicide (IPHS) constitutes the most violent domestic abuse outcome, devastating individuals, families, neighborhoods and communities. This research used content analysis to analyze 225 murder suicide events (444 deaths) among dyads with at least one member 60 or older. Data were collected from newspaper articles, television news transcripts, police reports and obituaries published between 1999 and 2005. Findings suggest the most dangerous setting was the home and the majority of perpetrators were men. Firearms were most often employed in the violence. Relationship strife was present in some cases, but only slightly higher than the divorce rate for that age group. Illness was cited in just over half of the cases, but 30% of sick elderly couples had only a perpetrator who was ill. Evidence of suicide pacts and mercy killings were very rare and practitioners are encouraged to properly investigate these events. Suicidal men...

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Marriage Today: Exploring the Incongruence Between Americans’ Beliefs and Practices

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Abstract

This paper provides a literature review of the Incongruence between Americans' beliefs and practices regarding marriage. In the United States. marriage is conceptualized as a monogamous, lifelong partnership. Yet American practices do not support this conceptualization, which is evidenced by infidelity and divorce rates that approximate 25-50 percent. This paper explores the incongruence and examines how cultural shifts in marital practices have contributed to higher rates of infidelity and divorce. Information is presented about the purpose of marriage, and attitudes and practices regarding infidelity and divorce We present these topics using a sociohistorical context and describe how the nature of marriage has changed over time It is argued that the purpose of marriage has shifted from being a social obligation to a choice based on personal fulfillment, and that this shift puts individuals at greater risk of infidelity and divorce. Throughout the paper, and particularly in the concluding section, we offer...

 

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Couple Age Discrepancy and Risk of Intimate Partner Homicide

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Although national level studies in the United States and Canada find that extreme partner age discrepancy is a risk factor for intimate partner homicide in opposite-sex couples, these studies carry two caveats: They are limited to cohabiting marital or common-law couples and they are not detailed enough to explore alternative explanations for the age discrepancy-homicide risk association. Using the Chicago Homicide Dataset, which includes all homicides that occurred in Chicago from 1965 to 1996, we analyze the 2,577 homicides in which the victim was killed by a current or former legal spouse, commonlaw spouse, or heterosexual boyfriend or girlfriend, and in which the woman was at least 18 years of age. Within each of 14 categories of couple age discrepancy, we estimate the population of intimate heterosexual couples and calculate the population-based risk of homicide. The results replicate national level findings showing that the risk of intimate partner homicide is considerably elevated for couples...

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“Murder by Duel,” Humiliation, Challenge, and Homicide, 2009: A Historian’s Dilemma of Judgment

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Historians are sometimes called to the witness box in civil trials. Questions about racial discrimination, voting, Indian treaties, tobacco disputes, and historic preservation are among the common subjects. Seldom, if ever, does a member of our profession serve as an expert on some historically pertinent issue in a criminal trial, such as the case of State v. Simpson in January 2009. A distinguished defense attorney, Lacy Wright, Jr., was to open this new vista into American crime and mayhem to a historian, who was, for the first time, called upon to serve as a trial witness. Unless some reader knows of other examples, I can confidently say that I may be the only historian, serving in the name of that profession, ever to be placed in a murder case that involved the ancient practice of the duel. Serving as a witness leads the historian to unexpected and perhaps troubling discoveries. The scholar enters a realm where...

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Incapacitating Agents

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As defined in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, to “incapacitate” means “to deprive of strength or ability.” The word is not synonymous with paralysis, confusion, or any other specific affliction. It is a general term, implying neither global inability to act nor any particular type of disability. For example, blurred near vision might be incapacitating for a computer programmer or air traffic controller but probably would not be incapacitating for a laborer or a football player. Consequently, when the word incapacitating is used, we should ask, “incapacitating for what activity?” Used in a military context, incapacitation is understood to mean inability to perform one’s military mission. Since missions vary, we could theoretically consider a particular agent to be incapacitating if it disrupts aspects of performance vital to a particular mission. Impaired hearing might incapacitate a translator, a severe tremor might incapacitate a sniper, and so forth. In this chapter,...

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Church Employees or Independent Contractors?

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In one form or another, this question has been asked literally hundreds of times in financial seminars, correspondence, and telephone conversations. The questions come as a response to the increasing responsibilities of churches and other employers for reporting employee compensation information to the IRS. Fortunately, the answer is fairly straightforward. How ever, it is frequently not the answer desired by the questioner. Who Are Employees? There are basically two types of employees defined by the Tax Code: statutory employees and common law employees. Statutory employees have specifically defined jobs that on the surface might appear to be self-employed positions were it not for the statutes that define the work as that of an employee. The common law employee is the category which affects local churches most often. A common law employee is generally anyone who performs services that can be controlled by the employer. That is, the employer has the legal right to control (even if ...

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SOS California His Nesting Place | Hope Chapel of Long Beach, CA

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Programs

Once a mother enters the program, she is encouraged to obtain her G.E.D., attend college, trade school, or a job-preparation program, or to seek employment. The emphasis of His Nesting Place is the restoration, personal growth and education of the mother, which prepares her to be responsible for her own future. Also unlike most other maternity homes, His Nesting Place is able to accommodate women who have other minor children besides their unborn child. Our primary goal is to give each woman the opportunity to know and to introduce her to Jesus Christ as her personal Lord and Savior. New life can only come through Him.

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The Role Of Depression In Couples Involved In Murder-suicide And Homicide. Rosenbaum M1.

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Abstract

Twelve couples in cases of murder-suicide were compared to 24 couples in cases of homicide during the period 1978 to 1987 in Albuquerque, N.M. Data were obtained from police, the courts, hospital records, and interviews with friends and family of the deceased. The most striking findings were that perpetrators of murder-suicide were depressed (75%) and men (95%), while perpetrators of homicide were not depressed and one-half were women. The data indicate that the murder-suicide and homicide groups are two different populations...

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Suicide in psychiatric hospital in-patients

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Abstract

Background Psychiatric hospital inpatients are known to be at high risk of suicide, yet there is little reliable knowledge of risk factors or their predictive power.

Aims To identify risk factors for suicide in psychiatric hospital in-patients and to evaluate their predictive power in detecting people at risk of suicide.

Method Using a case-control design, 112 people who committed suicide while in-patients in psychiatric hospitals were compared with 112 randomly selected controls. Univariate analysis and multivariate analyses were used to estimate odds ratios and adjusted likelihood ratios.

Results The rate of suicide in psychiatric in-patients was 13.7 (95% CI 11.7-16.1) per 10 000 admissions. There were five predictive factors with likelihood ratios >2, following adjustment: planned suicide attempt, 4.1; actual suicide attempt, 4.9; recent bereavement, 4.0; presence of delusions, 2.3; chronic mental illness, 2.2; and family history of suicide, 4.6...

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The Influence Of Social And Political Violence On The Risk Of Pregnancy Complications.

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Abstract

BACKGROUND. Events in Chile provided an opportunity to evaluate health effects associated with exposure to high levels of social and political violence.

METHODS. Neighborhoods in Santiago, Chile, were mapped for occurrences of sociopolitical violence during 1985-86, such as bomb threats, military presence, undercover surveillance, and political demonstrations. Six health centers providing prenatal care were then chosen at random: three from "high-violence" and three from "low-violence" neighborhoods. The 161 healthy, pregnant women due to deliver between August 1 and September 7, 1986, who attended these health centers were interviewed twice about their living conditions. Pregnancy complications and labor/delivery information were subsequently obtained from clinic and hospital records.

RESULTS. Women living in the high-violence neighborhoods were significantly more likely to experience pregnancy complications than women living in lower violence neighborhoods (OR = 5.0; 95% CI = 1.9-12.6; p less than 0.01). Residence in a high-violence neighborhood was the strongest risk factor observed; results persisted after controlling...

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Mental Disorders and Homicidal Behavior in Finland

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Abstract

Background:  Owing to the fact that Finnish police have been able to solve about 95% of all homicides during recent decades and because most homicide offenders are subjected to an intensive psychiatric evaluation, it was possible to examine data on 693 of 994 homicide offenders during an 8-year period.

Methods:  The prevalences of mental disorders of the homicide offenders were used to calculate odds ratios (ORs) for the statistical increase in risk associated with specific mental disorders.

Results:  The results indicate that schizophrenia increases the OR of homicidal violence by about 8-fold in men and 6.5-fold in women. Antisocial personality disorder increases the OR over 10-fold in men and over 50-fold in women. Affective disorders, anxiety disorders, dysthymia, and mental retardation did not elevate the OR to any significant extent (OR <5.0).

Conclusion:  Homicidal behavior in a country with a relatively low crime rate appears to...

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Suicide Note Rights and Liabilities

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By their very nature, suicide notes are controversial documents.  Nobody likes to think or talk about them, despite accompanying many – probably most – of the suicides that occur in America.  There were 34,598 reported suicide deaths in 2007 alone, making it the fourth leading cause of death for adults aged 18-65.

So, where to begin?

Who owns the note

A Slate article from 2008 states that either the medical examiner or sheriff “controls the contents” of a suicide note.  While true, Eugene Volokh notes that this does not resolve the issue of ownership.  The imperative to investigate deaths grants the government custody over the note, but not title to it; the note, like other personal property, becomes part of the deceased’s estate to be disposed of by will or intestacy under the relevant state’s law. (It would be particularly interesting to see how this issue would resolve in a community property state.)...

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