Forensic Overdosing

The British doctor, Dr. Harold “Dr. Death” Shipman was a silent killer. The law enforcement and attorneys must have evidence to convict any person in a court of law. Some of the key factors in this case appear to be circumstantial evidence and there was no forensic evidence presented. The first factor is that Harold Shipman was admitted for psychiatric treatment and a drug conviction in 1976 and the General Medical Council was aware of this serious issue. Yet, they allowed him to continue to practice without any documentation being filed, so they say, and no monitoring was implemented for Harold. Dr. Shipman established a pattern in which all of the victims were injected with morphine/heroin as a result of the coroner’s reporting.

One of the most important purposes of physical evidence is to establish the identity of a suspect or victim. Some of the most valuable clues at a crime scene are fingerprints. "Processing a crime scene" is a long, tedious process that involves focused documentation of the conditions at the scene and the collection of any physical evidence that could possibly shed light on what happened and point to who did it.

This is an attempt to unravel the tangle by an objective and empirical examination of information from crime scene and post mortem examination of the victims. Pre-digested information such as speculative newspaper reports, and statements from witnesses other than those called in a professional capacity have been avoided since theirs is largely subjective testimony that confounds more than it informs.

Dispatch alerted Central Pd. Officer C. M. Early about a white male 25 years old with a gunshot to the chest and abdomen. Officer Early arrived on the scene at 0630. Officer Early talked to the witness, Custodial staff Jody de Cleaner, who said that he heard popping sounds at 0620 and decided to walk over where he found the body. The EMS arrived shortly after at 0650 to transport the victim to the hospital. Ten minutes after the EMS arrived I arrived at the crime scene.

Introduction- On August 14, 2011 thirty-eight year old Anna Garcia was found dead in her home. She is a hispanic female who weighs 165 lbs and is 64 inches tall. Doug Greene, Anna’s neighbor, contacted 911 at 9:45 a.m. to report his concerns for his neighbor. Police and emergency personnel arrived at the scene at 9:56 a.m.

I then discovered there were no other victims or threats. Soon After detecting no pulse on both bodies I secure the scene with crime scene tape. EMS arrives at 11:34 AM and pronounces both dead on arrival at 11:40am. The Male victim was later identified as Johnny Nogood resident of the house DOB 7/4/86, and driver's license number 87654321 Tx. His Lifeless body was laying on his back, with his head towards the door. His left arm was to his side as the right arm was above the side of his head. There was a red liquid substance surrounding his head, it was also coming out of his nose and mouth running in the direction of his forehead. Johnny was wearing a blue hoodie, blue jean pants and brown boots. Next to his left foot was a pistol and next to his right leg was an empty magazine. Across the room was a female body laying on her side in front of a refrigerator, with her back towards the entry door of the house. She was laying in a puddle of red substance, That appeared to be her own. The red liquid substance appeared to be distributed. The disturbance may have been from the dog who was injured. The dog was guarding its owner during the 911 Call. The female who was later

For over a century fingerprints have been one of the most used tools of forensic science. Fingerprints have been used to identify criminals of small crimes

In this case study Forensic Toxicology was used to solve the murder of Robert Curley and obtained the conviction of his wife Joann Curley.

There were no animals, drugs/drug paraphernalia, money/valuables, signs of forced entry found on the scene. A preliminary external examination of the body was performed (See Body Inspection). No other external sign of injury was observed. The body was subsequently placed into a brand new white body pouch and sealed close with a plastic evidence seal number xxxxxxx at 20:37 by the livery service (TLC), who were informed at 19:11. We departed the scene at 20:45 (same date) and left the scene in the custody of the

B’s tolerance to opiates not considered, Mr. B.’s clinical situation not considered (i.e., Mr. B’s age and renal function), and knowledge deficit of opiates. Drilling down the data to identify the root cause of Mr. B’s death is the fifth step in conducting a RCA on Mr. B’s sentinel event. Upon analyzing the data, causative factors, and events leading to Mr. B’s sentinel event, the RCA team determined that the root cause of Mr. B’s death is a medication error. Mr. B was given an overdose of hydromorphone. The final step in a root cause analysis is to implement changes that will mitigate the root cause. Changes include educating the nursing staff about hydromorphone, such as side effects and adverse reactions,

Death becomes a part of every single person’s life at some point in time, whether it is in the form of a close relative, parent, spouse, or even one’s own death. While it is not the most pleasant subject, death is something that needs to be addressed to prepare those who will have to manage it when the time comes. Depending on the situation at hand, certain circumstances of demise may not be completely understood, and in these cases, autopsies can provide families with closure by giving them answers needed to clarify any questions that may have come along with the loss of their loved one (“American Autopsy Services”, np). With new advances in technology and new medical diagnostic systems,

“Fingerprint recognition is one of the divorce inference using the impressions made by the minute ridge formations or patterns found on the fingertips. No two people have exactly the same arrangement of the ridge patterns, and the remaining patterns of any one individual unchanged. Fingerprints infallible provide a means of personal identification. Other personal characteristics may change, but not fingerprints”. (1)

First off, fingerprints have three basic identifying properties, an arch, loop, and a whorl (James, Nordby, & Bell, 2014). These patterns of fingerprints are what makes them unique to each individual person. When a criminal has been arrested for whatever crime and booked, their fingerprints are documented by placing ink on the fingers and hands and then transferring that on to a card called a 10-point fingerprint

By the late 1800s there were two systems being used to identify criminals and fingerprints were collected as evidence in crimes. Alphonse Bertillon was an assistant clerk in the records office at the police station in Paris created a way to identify criminals. The system was sometimes called Bertillonage was first used in 1883 to identify a repeating offender. Once you’re in the system you’re in the system for life. Fingerprints are formed in the womb around 10 weeks of gestation. The secretions from your sweat glands which then leaves a small amount of oils and salts when the ridges are pressed against an object. The three types of fingerprint patterns are Arches, Whorls, and Loops. Finger prints are unique to an individual that now even identical

Every time somebody touches something, they leave behind a unique signature that forever links them to that object. This link is their fingerprints, which are unique to every person, for no two people have the same set, not even family members or identical twins. Palms and toes also leave prints behind, but these are far less commonly found during crime scene investigations. Therefore, fingerprints provide an identification process that is applicable to background checks, biometric security, mass disaster identification, and most importantly, crime scene investigations. Fingerprints are so differentiated because they are made up of distinct patterns of ridges and furrows on the fingers. The ridges are the “raised” portions of the prints, and the furrows are the “recessed” portions. This perceived uniqueness has led some people to falsely accept fingerprint analysis as absolute scientific fact. Although overall fingerprints are reliable, there are definitely situations where their accuracy can come into question.