SCIENCE IN CRIME DETECTION-94 (No article came in March and April due to payment dispute) For MAY 2001 issue SCIENCE IN CRIME DETECTION A NEW NARCOTIC DRUG OF ABUSE -Dr. Anil Aggrawal This time I am going to to tell you about a rare drug of abuse, about which you might hardly have heard. This drug is called PCP or phencyclidine. It has recently leaped into the forefront of the drug scene and is a veterinary anaesthetic. The name PCP is an acronym of the chemical name for the drug phencyclohexyl- piperidine, and from this acronym has sprung up a highly imaginative slang term `peace pill’. It is also known by numerous other exotic names, like ‘angel dust’,’embalming fluid’, ‘gorilla biscuits’, ‘magic mist’ and ‘rocket fuel’. Though first discovered in 1926, its anaesthetic potential was realised as late as in 1957. In 1958 phencyclidine was marketed as a general anaesthetic for experimental use on humans. Obeserving the serenity the drug produced in monkeys, the manufacturer Parke-Davis & Co. chose the trade name Sernyl. Most general anaesthetics produce respiratory depression, thus forcing anaesthetists to assist respiration during anaesthesia. Sernyl did not have this drawback and was thus widely promoted for its lack of respiratory depression. But in 1956, human use had to be discontinued because of some adverse effects caused by Sernyl. These included unpleasant sensations, delirium, extreme agitation, hallucinations and loss of the sense of time and space. About one in very five patients experienced these symptoms, which persisted for eighteen hours. The effects produced by Sernyl resembled those seen in mental disorders, and thus Sernyl began to be used to produce model psychoses for psychiatric investigations. In 1967, phencyclidine was reintroduced as Sernylan (addition of ‘an’ after the orignal name) for use as a veterinary anaesthetic. That same year, the drug made its debut on the streets of San Francisco. It was then that it began to be called the ‘peace pill’. Unlike heroin, PCP was orally ingested. The after-effects of PCP were quite unpredictable. Because of its unpredictability and also because of frequent overdoses, the ‘peace pill’ vanished from the illicit drug scene of the San Francisco Bay area in less than a year. Shortly thereafter, it reappeared on the east coast of USA as ‘hog’, but there also its street life was transient. In early 1970, phencyclidine resurfaced again on the streets, this time as a drug of deceit. Since it was easily and cheaply synthesised in clandestine ‘kitchen’ laboratories without the risk of illegal importation, it was frequently substitued for and sold on the street as some other narcotic such as THC, Mescaline, Psilocybin, LSD, amphetamine, cocaine, etc. In fact, it was seen that only 30 per cent of sheet drug samples that contained PCP were sold as PCP. THC, which actually is not available on the street, was the most frequent misrepresentation. By mid-1970, PCP abuse had reached epidemic proportions. One estimate was that in the US alone some seven million people had used PCP on an occasional basis and that one million used it at least once a week. PCP became the drug of choice for many addicts particularly for teenagers in the age of fourteen. Recent trends however indicate that PCP abuse has lessened over the years. WHAT IS PCP? PCP is a white crystalline solid, readily soluble in both water and alcohol. It is usually sold on the street as the hydrochloride under the most common name of ‘angel dust’. Since the powder causes the addict to hallucinate and makes him ‘see’ heaven-like views, it was assumed that angels consumed this powder and hence this imaginative name. PCP abusers feel the onset of drug effects in two to five minutes when it is smoked, compared with thirty to sixty minutes when ingested orally. The peak effect is reached in fifteen to thirty minutes after smoking the drug, and the addicts stay ‘loaded’ for four to six hours, before becoming normal in the next twenty-four to fourty-eight hours. PCP has a high tendency to leave the bloodstream and penetrate into the tissues. After an intake of PCP by any route, it is seen that concentrations of PCP in the brain are ten times higher than that in the blood. Similarly its concentration in the fatty tissue is about hundred times higher than that in the blood. This higher degree of tissue distribution of PCP explains the prolonged durations of effects of the drug, sometimes even when doctors fail to detect any PCP in the blood. Extensive amounts of PCP are secreted into the stomach when smoked or snorted. Thus while normally the ingested food is absored from the stomach, PCP is secreted into it. PCP is absorbed mainly in the intestines, from where it goes into the blood (and then into the tissues). However once PCP enters the blood, it is secreted in the stomach cavity, from where it passes into the intestines again to be reabsorbed. This re-circulation explains the waxing and waning course of the recovery phase. So much PCP may be secreted into the stomach that the stomach concentration may become fifty times higher than that in the blood. Thus even when PCP is smoked, the doctor may try to pass a stomach tube in the addicts to wash it out. Knowing the mechanism of PCP circulation, it would look less absurd to the nonplussed onlooker. Since these patients are agitated and restless, passing a stomach tube may become a problem. EFFECTS OF PCP Most remarkable effects of PCP are psychological and mental. There may be prominent body image distortions such as an enlarged limb or a detached head laughing at the person himself. There may be severe numbnes. The addict feels inebriated, is usually disoriented and suffers from forgetfulness. He may lose track of his body and is at risk of seriously injuring himself because he does not feel pain. The person might believe he is the devil, or an animal or even God himself. Anxiety and sometimes outright hostility may be present. Disrobing in public is also seen in a small percentage of addicts. The hallmark of PCP intoxication is the recurring delusion of superhuman strength and invulnerability resulting from the analgesic properties of the drug. Intoxicated patients have been known to snap handcuffs and attack police officers. Some have been tried to stop a train by standing in front of an oncoming engine and as a consequence, some have even climbed into a bear’s cave to take a picture or to jump from windows or cliffs. This bizarre behaviour is often violent, as one intoxicated abuser pulled out his front teeth with a pair of pliers. Another woman fried her baby in cooking oil! There are many reported assaults on friends and strangers, both with and without weapons. Many of these violent acts are committed by drug users who were otherwise totally peaceful individuals. Another hallmark of PCP intoxication is the trembling of the eyeball, known in medical parlance as nystagmus. Nystagmus can be observed by asking the patient to look straight at some distant object, say a picture on the wall, and then closely observing the black of the eye. It is seen to tremble either in a vertical or horizontal direction. The addict may suffer from generalised seizures. There may be repetitive movements, disturbed gait, and facial grimacing. The person lapses into coma or remains awake with a characteristic blank stare. Other effects are flushing, sweating, vomiting, drooling, retention of urine, high fever, and increase in pulse rate, blood pressure and respiratory rate. PCP is known to cross the placental barrier. This means that if a pregnant mother consumes PCP, it can ‘leak’ into the foetus through the placental barrier. Placenta is a thick barrier between the mother’s and child’s circulation. It allows only useful products to go to the child’s circulation, but PCP despite being harmful can cross this barrier.This causes the newborn to have nystagmus, seizures, bizarre postures, tremulousness and diarrhoea. When taken in early pregnancy, PCP can cause serious defects in the child or lead to death of the foetus. Recovery Phase Patients with mild symptoms usually recover in a matter of hours, but depression and irritability are not uncommon over the ensuing six to twenty-four hours. Some patients experience a prolonged madness for as long as four to six weeks. Unlike schizophrenic psychosis (the usual madness that we know), this drug induced psychosis or madness does not repond to medication. Prolonged ‘phencyclidine psychosis’ may sometimes cause the subsequent development of schizophrenia. About one-fourth of patients suffering from prolonged phencyclidine-induced psychosis return a year after discharge with an acute psychosis, which is more like schizophrenia. It is not precipitated by recurrent drug use, is not as violent as phencyclidine-induced psychosis but is responsive to medications. These patients are found to be truly schizophrenic. When phencyclidine-induced psychosis resolves, patients often become depressed. The desire to ease this depression stimulates recurrent drug abuse despite the adverse drug reactions already experienced. How PCP acts: PCP and related drugs, bind very strongly to specific sites within our nervous system. We have seen that morphine and morphine like compounds act in a similar way. We saw that one of the sites where morphine like compounds have a tendency to stick is known as the receptor. Stimulation of these receptors causes dysphoria and hallucinations. It has been shown experimentally that PCP binds very strongly to receptors. Some of the actions of PCP can be explained by this mechanism. PCP has also been shown to increase the concentrations of dopamine within our nervous system. We have seen that cocaine acts in a similar way. PCP increases the concentrations of yet another neurotransmitter-norepinephrine. This diabolically sounding name need not worry anyone. Just lile dopamine, norepinephrine can also be visualized as a messenger pigeon within our nervous system. Increase of the concentrations of these two neurotransmitters can explain several other actions produced by PCP. Some other highly complex mechanisms seem to be involved. PCP has been shown to decrease the movement of Calcium ions across cell membranes, but how such an action is responsible for the various symptoms produced by PCP is not clear. While research was being done to find out the mechanism of action of PCP, an interesting fact came to light. A quick recall of some of the properties of nerve cells will be useful before we go further. Nerve cells are extra-sensitive to ischaemia (the lack of oxygen). After a stroke, a heart attack, a severe accident or any condition which involves either loss of blood or a reduction in blood circulation, the tissues face a lack of oxygen. Nerve cells are very quick to die of ischaemia. Brain cells can survive for only 3 minutes in the lack of aduquate oxygen. It has been seen that PCP and related compounds can reduce the death rate of nerve cells if conditions of oxygen lack occur. Whether such an action is responsible for its symptoms is not clear, but one thing is clear. PCP may be a potential future candidate for the treatment of stroke and other related conditions mentioned earlier. Street Use PCP is purchased in either powder, tablet, leaf mixture, liquid or 1 gm of ‘rock’ crystal form. The percentage of PCP in these street preparations varies considerably. The powder form, when sold as ‘angel dust’, is usually the purest, containing 88 to 100 per cent of PCP. As ‘crystal’, the concentration is only 50 to 100 per cent, and, when purchased under a variety of other names, the concentration may drop to as low as 10 to 30 per cent. In the tablet form, the dose ranges from 1 to 6 mg, but it is usually about 5 mg. When sold as a leaf mixture with parsley, mint or oregano, the mixture is usually rolled into a ‘joint’ (‘crystal joint’ or ‘KJ’) weighing 100 to 400 mg with an average of 1 mg of PCP per 150 mg of leaves. These ‘joints’ have been found to vary in their PCP concentration from 0.25 to 8 per cent and, when prepared by chronic users, are often ‘dusted’ with as much as 50 mg of PCP powder, thus demonstrating the tolerance that chronic users develop. Though PCP is reputed to be the most often smoked sprinkled on marijuana ‘joints’ (thus giving it the name ‘super grass’) it is rarely sold on the street in this combination. Another practice is to dip legally manufactured, mentholated cigarettes into liquid PCP and later smoke them as ‘superkools’. Can you recognize PCP user by seeing him. Well, it is not easy, but some drug users have tattooes over their bodies by which they can be recognized. (figure 1 comes here) Analogues of PCP PCP has over thirty chemical analogues. These are the chemicals which are very similar to PCP in chemical structure and produce similar effects. The five analogues most frequently abused are ketamine, PHP, PCC, TCP and PCE. Ketamine is an anaesthetic and is the only PCP analogue to be manufactured legally for human use. On the street, ketamine hydrochloride has been found in capsules sold as ‘green’. Compared with PCP it is less dangerous. PHP is as potent as PCP and as easily and inexpensively synthesised. Its use has become more prevalent on the street because of its difficult detection by routine analytic methods. As a result, abusers often escape detection by both the legal and medical systems. PCC is an unstable compound, degrading to piperidine. As a result it can be recognised by the strong fishy odour so characteristic of piperidine. On heating (smoking), PCC liberates the dreadful poison, hydrogen cyanide, as a result of consuming which the abuser may suffer from cynaide poisoning. TCP was first detected on the street in 1972. The effects of TCP, through similar to those of PCP, are more intense but of shorter duration. PCE first appeared on the street in late 1960, initially as a wet, yellow to brown gum. By 1971, it was available as a white powder, in appearance indistinguishable from that of PCP, though more potent. It is still a popular narcotic. Captions to figures 001.jpg: Tattoo mark. Sometimes a drug user can be identified by this mark ***** (Dr. Anil Aggrawal is a professor of Forensic Medicine at the Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi-110002. His E-mail is dr_anil@hotmail.com and his Website address is: http://members.tripod.com/~Prof_Anil_Aggrawal/index.html ***** Note to the Editor: Please make all correspondence at S-299 Greater Kailash-1, New Delhi-110048. Phones (R): 6465460, 6291942, 6413101; (O) 3239271-4 *****

SCIENCE IN CRIME DETECTION-92 For JANUARY 2001 issue SCIENCE IN CRIME DETECTION WHEN BONES GIVE AWAY THE CRIMINAL -Dr. Anil Aggrawal The forensic pathologist encounters dead bodies in his professional life almost daily, but there are occasions when he has to contend with just bones. We have tackled the problem of bones in our previous issues. To go through these cases, you can see Crime and Detective February 1994 issue in which our story “What do the bones tell us?“ appeared. This was number 11 in our series of stories. Then in April 1999, we gave a story “When bones speak“. This was number 71 in the series. We are now fast approaching the 100th story in our series, and I intend a special story for that occasion. The current story is our 92nd story, and I have decided to give you yet another good bone story this time. Some time back the Police found some bones in a metal garbage can buried behind a house. The lid was in place over the can when the remains were located. These bones were brought to a forensic pathologist for opinion and he had to opine whatever he could from the bones. The bones are reproduced here for the benefit of the readers. These contained the bones of thigh, lower legs, skull and the hip bones. Now you might imagine that very little can be deduced from the bones, but that’s not true. You can say a lot of things from the bones, if you are trained in forensic osteology. This is a branch by which you can examine bones and can tell the police a lot of things. Thigh bone is technically known as femur. The length of the Left femur was 476mm. There are special formulas by which one can calculate the height of the individual from the length of the femur. After applying the formulae, the height of the individual was found to be 5’4”. Hip bones showed certain special characteristics by which the pathologist could say that the bones belonged to a female. You might ask, how this could be done. Well, this is not very difficult if you are trained. Nature has made the hip bones of female slightly wider than those of males, for one special reason. The reason is that the female has to give birth to a baby and the birth of the baby is made easier by having wider bones. It is these wider bones which give the female her characteristic gait too. An osteologist can examine the bones and can say whether the bones belong to a male or a female. Actually any bone would have some differences between a male and a female, but the bones which show maximum differences between the two sexes are the hip bones and the skull, and fortunately both were available for analysis. By now, two things had become clear. Number one that the police had a female body in their hands (well, not actually a body – only her bones), and number two that her height was about 5’4”. Now the next thing was to know whether this woman was an Asian woman, Black woman or a white woman. The skulls of all these women show certain characteristic differences. By examining these differences the osteologist could say that the skull belonged to a white woman. Now it was very important to discover how she had been killed. This is not always easy if only the bones are available. But fortunately in this case the skull showed a very big gap. You can see this gap in one of the pictures. This is a kind of fracture known as a signature fracture. Signature fracture is a special term which is applied for certain special kinds of fractures in the skull. Certain weapons, such as hammer etc. leave their special characteristics such as shape and size on the skull. In a way, they leave their signatures over the skull, and by a proper examination of these fractures, the osteologist can often tell the police too much about the weapon. By examining this fracture, the osteologist could say that that it had been caused by a flat object whose dimensions were around 5”x2”. And the death had occurred because of the skull injury. Now the police swung in action. They had enough information in their hands to start the investigation. When neighbors were contacted, initially they refused to tell anything to the police. But the police knew too much, and they threatened them with dire consequences, if they purposely hid information from the police. At this, certain neighbors complained about one individual (I will hold back his name, but for the purpose of this story, let his name be Sudhir) living in the house being abusive toward his wife, and when he filed a missing person’s report on his wife, the police obtained a search warrant for his home and yard. The wife was a Caucasian, 5’4” tall, and very heavy-set (about 250 lbs. according to her drivers license). Everything recovered is pictured here. No flesh was there on the bones. When Sudhir was contacted, he expressed his innocence. His wife was not there, and he said that she had gone to her parents’ house. This was an obvious lie. The police began searching his house. A garbage can was found in his backyard, and a caustic substance was found in the bottom of the garbage can. It was thought by the forensic osteologist to have been poured over the upper body. After this information, the forensic osteologist came into picture once again, and formulated the sequence of events. The body was stuffed into the can pelvis-first, with the feet apparently sticking out of the top of the can. The head and vertebrae were found on the pelvis fragments. The pelvic fragments recovered were protected from the caustic liquid by a dent in the can, which held them above the liquid in the bottom of the can. No clothing was recovered with these remains. This means that Sudhir had first hit his wife with a flat object. A child’s cricket bat was recovered from his house whose measurements were exactly what the osteologist had predicted. Furthermore there were blood and hair sticking on the bat, which matched exactly with those of the lady who was killed. This was sufficient to prosecute the culprit. The culprit then stuffed the body of his wife in a garbage can in his backyard and filled it up with acid, so that the whole body was eaten away. By some coincidence the police recovered the bones from that garbage can. Had it not been for the skills of the forensic osteologist, this murder might have gone unnoticed. ***** (Dr. Anil Aggrawal is a professor of Forensic Medicine at the Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi-110002. His E-mail is dr_anil@hotmail.com and his Website address is: http://members.tripod.com/~Prof_Anil_Aggrawal/index.html ***** Note to the Editor: Please make all correspondence at S-299 Greater Kailash-1, New Delhi-110048. Phones (R): 6465460, 6291942, 6413101; (O) 3239271-4 *****

SCIENCE IN CRIME DETECTION-93 (No article came in March and April due to payment dispute) A similar article appeared at #66 (nov 1998) For FEBRUARY 2001 issue SCIENCE IN CRIME DETECTION WHEN DID THE PERSON DIE? -Dr. Anil Aggrawal One of the most common problems to be solved by a forensic expert is the estimation of time since death. The police is frequently interested in knowing when the person died? If the forensic pathologist can tell the time of death with reasonable certainly, the task of the police becomes that much easier. The situation becomes somewhat trickier, when the person has died within hours, and the forensic pathologist may have to pinpoint the time of death within a matter of minutes. Take the following example, which I am citing from a real incident. A pregnant lady was taken to a hospital for delivery. Let us say the time the patient was brought in was about 10:30 pm. The hospital belonged to a quack, without a proper MBBS degree. But posing as a real doctor, he admitted the patient and started preparations for delivery. After the delivery some problem develops and the doctor loses nerve. He has no arrangement of blood in his hospital, and makes the relatives run to various hospitals to get fresh blood. The blood is brought, but by that time the patient is already dead. Let us say that this time is 2:00 am. The relatives are furious. But the doctor asserts that the patient has not died. He tells them to take the “patient” to some other hospital. The relatives rush to the other hospital where the doctors declare the patient dead. The time is 3.00 am. The relatives of the patient are furious. They sue the doctor for negligence. But the doctor has a very good defense up his sleeve. He can very well say that the patient was alive when he discharged the patient, and the patient actually died at the second hospital. If he can successfully prove this, no charge of negligence can be brought against him. Certainly it would be very difficult to prosecute him. Since the relatives are not doctors, they can not be certain if their patient was already dead when they came out of the first hospital. All they can say is that the patient was not moving about, or making any movements. But that happens if the patient is unconscious. Now the question that naturally arises here is, “When did the patient actually die”? If a forensic pathologist could say, that the patient died at, say, 1.30 am, then clearly the first doctor is at fault, but if the forensic pathologist could say that the patient died at, say, 2.45 am, it means that the patient was indeed alive at the first hospital and died only during the transit. Many methods are available to the forensic pathologist to tell the time of death. But in early post-mortem intervals, i.e. when the dead body is seen by the pathologist within about 4 hours of death, the pathologist has a very strong tool in his hand, and this time we are going to discuss this relatively new technique. Before starting further, we would have to be conversant with an interesting concept called “molecular death”. When a doctor pronounces a person dead, all his body cells (the average human body contains about 60 trillion cells!) are not dead. Only the most vital cells of his body, i.e. those of his brain are dead. Rest may still be alive. But since the brain cells are dead, the person “as a whole” can not be brought back to life, and the doctor pronounces him dead. When the doctor pronounces a person dead, it is called “somatic death”. In other words “somatic death” means that the person as a whole has died, while his individual cells may still be alive. Molecular death is a stage when ALL cells of the person die. This death occurs about 3-4 hours after the somatic death. Now let us introduce another new concept – that of “tendon reflexes”. Let us not worry about the complicated sounding term. The basics are very simple. If a muscle of the body is struck lightly with a hammer, the muscle usually contracts. It is a kind of reflex action, known as a tendon reflex. The best tendon reflex is seen in the case of knee. If you strike the knee of a person with a hammer, his lower leg would suddenly give a jerk. This is known in common parlance as “knee jerk”. A similar kind of jerk is seen in the upper arm. If the biceps muscle is stimulated by striking a hammer over it, it would also contract. Now it is very natural for everyone to assume that such jerks are seen only in a living person. But this is not true. In a recently dead individual, especially in one, in whom molecular death has not occurred, one can still see these jerks. The figures 001_a.jpg till 001_c.jpg, show only this phenomena. This is the arm of a dead person, which is showing contraction just as if the person was alive. This phenomena is seen upto about 4 hours after death. In the figure 001_c.jpg, the forensic pathologist has removed the skin around the biceps muscle and has struck the muscle directly. This is supposed to give better results. Next series of figures is still more remarkable. The person in these figures are being given electric currents in their faces (around their eyes and mouth). From the grimacing pattern that is seen, you would quite probably say that this person is still alive. But actually this person is DEAD! Figure 002_a_001.jpg shows the post-mortem response of the facial muscles to electric current, 45 minutes after death. Note the "spreading" of the reaction. Figures 002_b_001.jpg and 002_b_002.jpg show the reaction 75 Minutes after death. Figures 002_c_001.jpg and 002_c_002.jpg show the reaction 105 Minutes after death, figures 002_d_001.jpg and 002_d_002.jpg show the reaction 135 Minutes after death and finally figures 002_e_001.jpg and 002_e_002.jpg show the reaction 165 Minutes after death. We see, that as the time passes the strength of the grimacing decreases. From these reactions the doctor can easily find out when did a person die, within a matter of minutes! And finally one more thing. Look at figures 003_a.jpg till 003_c.jpg. Here the forensic pathologist is introducing a drug called homatropine in the recently dead patient. In an alive patient, this drug should dilate the pupils, i.e. the pupils should become much wider in diameter. Here in the dead individual, to get a quicker reaction the drug is being introduced inside the eye (technically speaking in an area called “anterior chamber of the eye”), and you can see that the pupils are still dilating. This is seen within about 4 hours. Thus we can safely tell the police that the person died within about 4 hours. If they do not dilate, the death must have occurred earlier than this. Another drug pilocarpine may be used in which case the pupils should contract. This is thus a gist of what can be done to measure the early postmortem interval. In advanced centers abroad like in Germany this method is sometimes used in complicated cases to tell the time of death, if the death has occurred within about 4 hours. In our country too, this method can be used in complicated cases with good results. ***** (Dr. Anil Aggrawal is a professor of Forensic Medicine at the Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi-110002. His E-mail is dr_anil@hotmail.com and his Website address is: http://members.tripod.com/~Prof_Anil_Aggrawal/index.html ***** Note to the Editor: Please make all correspondence at S-299 Greater Kailash-1, New Delhi-110048. Phones (R): 6465460, 6291942, 6413101; (O) 3239271-4 *****

SCIENCE IN CRIME DETECTION-91 For DECEMBER 2000 issue SCIENCE IN CRIME DETECTION DEATH BY POISONOUS FLOWERS -Dr. Anil Aggrawal This time I am going to tell you a very interesting case, which occurred a few months ago. But first a questio. How many of you know that even flowers can be poisonous? Well, not many of you would be knowing that, but this is a fact. Several flowers are poisonous and if ingested, can cause death. Now about the case, that I solved. The body of a young girl was brought to me. Her name was Rajni, and she was only three and a half years old. In the morning she was playing happily in front of her garden. After sometime, she staggered back in her house. She was showing some strange symptoms such as headache, vertigo, marked weakness and prostration. She had a staggering gait. She repeatedly lost balance and was repeatedly bumping into walls. Her head was down on her chest, and she seemed unable to lift it. Her jaw was slack and her eyes were droopy. Her mother asked if she had eaten anything, to which she replied in the negative, probably out of fear. However her older brother Raju, who was playing with her said that some strange person had given her some yellow flowers mixed with honey to eat. On hearing this, her mother took her immediately to the hospital. The doctors found that her pupils were dilated and she had blurred vision. She had shallow and labored respirations, drooping of the head and jaw, and feeble cardiac action. They immediately started an IV drip (intravenous drip, normally known among the laymen simply as glucose drip), but the child’s condition soon worsened and she died after about 4 hours of bringing into the hospital. Since her brother had reported seeing some person giving her some strange yellow flowers, this became a police case, and the police has handed over her body to me. My job of course was to tell them how she died. From the symptoms and from what her brother told us, I could only think of one poison – a flower commonly known as yellow jasmine. This flower is known to botanical students as Gelsemium sempervirens. I opened the stomach of Rajni, and indeed found some yellow petals of this flower. So the death by this flower was almost confirmed. A little about Yellow Jasmine first. The flower is also known as yellow jessamine and is botanically named as Gelsemium sempervirens. It belongs to the family Loganiaceae. It is the same family to which some other poisonous plants such as Nux Vomica and Ignatia belong. It grows in several parts of India and the piedmont and coastal areas of the southeastern U.S. It is an early flowering climbing vine. Glossy rich green leaves are about 2-4 inches long by 1/2 inches wide and grow in opposite pairs along wirey stems. The vine will grow 10-20 feet up tree trunks and along fences or other support. The flowers are yellow, funnel shaped, with five spreading, rounded lobes and have a strong odor. They are sometimes known as trumpet flowers because of its shape. The roots and rhizome of yellow jessamine were historically used to treat migraine, headaches and types of neuralgia. Honey made from nectar may be toxic. Yellow Jessamine begins blooming in early March. This plant gets its generic name from the Latinized form of gelsemina, the Italian name for the true jasmine. It is the State Flower of South Carolina, and that is why it is known as Carolina Jessamine in the US. In other countries its names differ. In Germany it is called Gelber Jasmin and in France Jasmin sauvage. It is also known as Sariyasemin. All parts of the plant are toxic, but the highest concentration of toxic chemicals is in the roots and in the flower with its nectar. Gelsemium sempervirens contains many toxic chemicals known as alkaloids, of which the main are gelsemine, gelseminine and gelsemoidin. Some other important toxic principles are Gelsedine, Gelsemidine, Gelsevirine and Gelsemicine, all of which are CNS depressants. These poisons kill the individual in an interesting fashion. Those of you, who have read some basics of biology must be knowing that for a nerve impulse to pass successfully from nerve to nerve, or from nerve to muscle, a chemical known as acetylcholine is released at the nerve junctions known as synapses. For producing its actions, acetylcholine binds with certain receptors on the muscle known as acetylcholine receptors. Gelsemine and gelseminine bind to these acetylcholine receptors and thus block the actions of acetylcholine. The result is muscle weakness and paralysis. This action is technically known as anticholinergic action. In fact because of this action, yellow jasmine has been used in many diseases. It's medicinal effect on fevers was recorded by a Mississippi farmer who cured himself of bilious fever with an accidental overdose of the root. Because of its weakening action on muscles, gelsemium has been used in asthma, painful menstruation, spasms and stomach ache, besides a variety of other conditions. I may tell you that most of these conditions result because of abnormal muscle spasms. For instance asthma occurs because of abnormal spasm of the muscles of the bronchi, because of which they constrict and make the passage of air difficult. This makes the respiration very difficult for the patient. Its use in these conditions thus appears logical at least pharmacologically. But I must stress that its use is not recommended in modern medicine, although perhaps this flower is still used in other systems of medicine. In Germany, human therapeutic use of the rhizome is not permitted, because it is not believed that efficacy has been adequately documented and serious risks are known. In some Australian states, the use of G. sempervirens is restricted and subject to poison control. The therapeutic dose in humans and the toxic dose are very close. We can easily recognize the symptoms, if we know what we have to look for. The symptoms are mostly the same which Rajni showed. Since initial symptoms appear within a short period, it is reasonable to expect that the absorption occurs in the stomach. Toxic symptoms begin in from 10-20 minutes and are mostly what Rajni displayed. Marked tetanic convulsions are said to occur late in the clinical course, which is an enigmatic feature, because they can not be explained by the anticholinergic actions of its active principles. These symptoms were not seen in Rajni’s case too. These symptoms are more prominent in the reports from nineteenth century literature, and may be dependent on the concentration of alkaloids other than gelsemine which are present in the roots and lacking in the blossom. Since Caroline jessamine is in the same family of plants as the strychnine bearing Strychnos nux vomica, it is possible that one of its alkaloids may have a strychnine-like action. I may tell you that strychnine causes tetanic convulsions. All parts of Gelsemium sempervirens are toxic, including the flower and nectar. Accidental poisoning is rare because of the plant bitterness, but it may be mixed with honey and given with homicidal intentions as has been given to Rajni. Death occurs from respiratory paralysis. Many of you at this stage would want to know as to how many flowers must one eat for a fatal outcome? Well, it is not known for certain. However in one case, ingestion of five blossoms in a young child caused severe poisoning. I would say about ten flowers are fatal. It appears that the death should occur within 12 hours. Fortunately there is an effective treatment. Generally in a poisoning case the doctors prefer to give vomit inducing drugs or emetics so the poisoned patient can vomit out the poison. But in this case, emetics don’t seem to work. Consequently doctors put a thick tube through the mouth, and suck out all the poison. Activated charcoal is recommended, because it can adsorb the poison. The most logical antidote appears to be physostigmine. It inhibits a natural enzyme in the body known as cholinesterase. Its natural function is to destroy acetylcholine after it has done its function. By a complicated pharmacological action, it helps in the improvement of symptoms. I said earlier, that marked tetanic convulsions have been reported more often from the nineteenth century literature. Many of you may want to know why is this so? Well, it is because in that era, the tincture of gelsemium was produced by soaking rhizomes and roots in whiskey. The rhizomes and roots are probably richer in some toxic chemical which produced convulsions. Scientists are not sure about it, but they think it should be so. This practice led to one report of poisoning in barge sailors transporting the kegged product up the Mississippi and Ohio rivers to market. I may tell you that all parts of the plant are toxic, so much so, that even honey made from the nectar is poisonous. In Rajni’s case, when I found the yellow petals in her stomach on autopsy, I informed the police accordingly and they made some detailed enquiries from the parents of Rajni. We came to know that one person Ramlal, held some grudge against Rajni’s father Kewal, because of office rivalries. He had studied botany in college, and obviously was conversant with poisonous flowers. The police visited his house and located several yellow jasmine plants growing in his back yard. Rajni’s brother has identified him too. And thus this seemingly impossible case was solved. The idea of telling this story to you is that one must be aware that poisoning can occur by beautiful looking flowers too, and one must always keep this possibility too in the mind. ***** (Dr. Anil Aggrawal is a professor of Forensic Medicine at the Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi-110002. His E-mail is dr_anil@hotmail.com and his Website address is: http://members.tripod.com/~Prof_Anil_Aggrawal/index.html ***** Note to the Editor: Please make all correspondence at S-299 Greater Kailash-1, New Delhi-110048. Phones (R): 6465460, 6291942, 6413101; (O) 3239271-4 *****

SCIENCE IN CRIME DETECTION-90 For NOVEMBER 2000 issue SCIENCE IN CRIME DETECTION Tire Imprints at the Crime Scenes -Dr. Anil Aggrawal In today’s mobile world a significantly large percent of all violent and serious crimes involve the use of a vehicle. Most criminals, out of habit and necessity, use vehicles to travel to and from the scenes of the crime they commit. In many of those instances, their vehicles travel over surfaces, which retain the impressions of one or more of their tires. The awareness and importance of these impressions must be in the minds of the first officers who arrive at the crime scene. Reasonable priority must be given to searching for and preserving fragile tire impressions and other evidence which might otherwise be inadvertently destroyed. These tire impressions are left in a variety of places, including road shoulders, dirt and off-road surfaces, on bodies, clothing and surfaces after a vehicle drives through materials like blood, grease or oil which then are re-deposited on concrete or asphalt roads. The complex design and the changes brought about by the wear and tear of the tire quickly make each tire unique. These impressions are of great importance, for they can offer proof that a particular vehicle was at the scene of the crime and in many instances, was actually involved in the crime. Law enforcement officers to help solve crime cases, routinely use this valuable form of physical evidence to make positive identification of a known tire impression. In the majority of cases, a forensic examination of a tire impression is conducted in an attempt to associate a specific tire with a tire impression from the crime scene. This is done in an attempt to prove the suspect vehicle was at the scene. An examination of this type involves a comparison of the tire evidence with the tires from the suspect vehicle and takes into account the tread design, tread dimension, and wear characteristics and random accidental characteristics. Examination results range from associations of the class characteristics of design and dimension to absolute positive identification or elimination of the suspect tires. In some instances, there will be more than one tire design represented at the crime scene. This can include a vehicle equipped with two, three or even four different tire designs. If the suspect vehicle has the same respective designs, this factor becomes increasingly significant, particularly if none of the tire designs are the original tires which were on the vehicle when it was sold and also if the positions of the tires on the vehicle correspond with evidence of those positions from the crime scene. Consideration is also made of other factors such as tire compatibility with the vehicle, tire size mixtures, unusual wear factors, retread source information, double axle tire positions, tire studs etc. General Crime Scene Photography: What is used? How and Why? General crime scene photographs are sequential photographs taken from long, mid-range and close distances to the evidence with a “zoom-in” effect. This allows for photographic documentation of the items of evidence, and the relationship of that evidence to its surrounding. The “general scene” photographs are not intended for comparison of the fine detail in a forensic examination of the evidence but primarily to the crime scene. The camera used for the general crime scene photographs should be capable of taking the full range of photographs. A 35mm of 2 ¼ inch negative format camera, equipped with a zoom lens is suitable. Color film should be used since it gives a more natural representation of the crime scene. Color films having an ISO of 200 or 400 are generally used since they are more flexible under a variety of lighting conditions. A “Photographic Log” should be taken as a supplement to the written notes as a means of recording what the various photographs depict. Examination of Quality Photographs: Why it is so vital to tire impressions “Examination quality photographs” are those which are taken in a prescribed manner specifically to record the fine detail in the crime scene impressions for a forensic examination. For tire impressions, close-up “examination quality” photographs should always be taken. Examination quality photographs involves the use of a quality camera and macro lens capable of manual focus, positioned over the impressions on a tripod, using fine-grained color or black and white film, as finely-divided scale placed along side of and on the same plans as the tire impression and specialized oblique lighting to increase the contrast and visibility of the impression. The use of the finally divided scale is important for it allows the photographs to be accurately enlarged to a natural size so they can, in turn, be forensically compared against the tires from the suspect vehicle. The Recovery of Tire Impressions from the Crime Scene. Because tire impressions are larger than shoe impressions and often very long, they offer a different set of challenges and requirements for their successful recovery. Their proper recovery, however, is reasonably easy with minimal preparation and understanding of the process. When a tire rolls over a surface, often there is a direct physical transfer of its tread design and size features onto or into that surface. The degree of detail retained by the surface varies and is dependent of a number of factors. It is important to employ techniques that will successfully be able to “recover” the maximum detail, which has been retained in that impression. This is a most “critical” step, for if the maximum amount of detail is not retained, the subsequent examination will be adversely affected. The recovery of tire impression evidence from a crime includes (1) written documentation such as sketches and notes (2) general crime scene photographs and (3) examination quality photographs. In addition, if the impression is three-dimensional impression, it should be cast with dental stone. Written Documentation: Additional Tips. One method commonly used to relate the written notes, photographs and cast impressions to one another is to assign a number or letter to each impression. For instance, at the crime scene, by placing a numbered cone or marker beside each impression, those numbers will be recorded in the general scene photographs. The notes, examination quality photographs and casts of those impressions should also utilize that same number. Notes and if necessary, a sketch (supplemented with general scene photographs) should be taken to record any information which can be observed and which later may be of use concerning those tracks including: 1. A general description of the tire track as observed at the scene. 2. The direction of the vehicle’s travel, if known. 3. A sketch showing which tracks correspond with the left front, right front, left rear and right rear positions of the vehicle, if known. Other factors, such as the soil and weather conditions (wet sand, new snow, raining, etc.) should be noted. A description of the area the tire impressions are in (shoulder of road, dirt form road, etc.) and any information on observations which would relate the tire impressions to the event of the crime (impressions tracked through pool of blood). Captions to figures Figure 010. Photograph of Goodyear Vector Tire impression Figure 011. Tire casting 2 from multiple homicide case Figure 012. Tire casting 3 from multiple homicide case Figure 014. Tire casting 7 from multiple homicide case Figure 016. Criterion steel-belted radial Figure 021. Photograph of sandy tire imprint in one criminal case, known as Monterey case ***** (Dr. Anil Aggrawal is a professor of Forensic Medicine at the Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi-110002. His E-mail is dr_anil@hotmail.com and his Website address is: http://members.tripod.com/~Prof_Anil_Aggrawal/index.html ***** Note to the Editor: Please make all correspondence at S-299 Greater Kailash-1, New Delhi-110048. Phones (R): 6465460, 6291942, 6413101; (O) 3239271-4 *****

SCIENCE IN CRIME DETECTION-89 For OCTOBER 2000 issue SCIENCE IN CRIME DETECTION CAN A WOMAN BE VIOLATED DURING SLEEP -Dr. Anil Aggrawal Believe it or not, this question has been asked a number of times from me in various courts of law. You may well ask me, “under what circumstances does the court ask this somewhat weird question?” Well, imagine the following situation first. A woman has had some sort of difference with a man. He could be her lover or simply any other man. The difference could be on any matter. If he happens to be her lover, it could be that he has refused to marry her. If he happens to be some other man, probably the difference arose because of some old family dispute, or may be over some land or money. The differences could arise virtually on any matter. Now let us imagine that she blackmails him and says that if he does not agree to her wishes, (or if he does not do as she wishes) she would get even with him. He doesn’t care two hoots for her and asks her to go to hell. So instead of going to hell, she goes to the police station and tells them that this man has violated her. Now if the man had really violated her, she must have screamed and struggled. This would result in many people of the neighborhood listening to her cries. She should also show many marks of violence such as abrasions, bruises etc. on her arms, legs, and particularly on her breasts, cheeks, inside of thighs and over her vulva. Since the man never tried to violate her, she would not show any of these signs. A medical examination would quickly prove that there was no struggle. Now how does she prove her point? Simple! She says she was violated during sleep!! That is how the question arises in a court of law. Let me tell you, it is extremely difficult to tell whether a woman is speaking the truth or not in such circumstances. Personally I believe that a woman can not be violated during sleep. However deep she may be sleeping, the attempts to uncover her – especially her private parts, and certainly an attempt to thrust a male organ in female private parts, is surely going to wake her up. However there are several ancient texts which assert that this is possible. We have another method to find out if the woman is speaking the truth or not – by examining her private parts. Overlying the vaginal covering, there lies a minute membrane called the hymen. Interestingly the word hymen comes from the ancient Greek mythological God of marriage and nuptial song. Hymen is aptly named after him, as this structure is supposed to be broken on the first marriage night. Shapes of hymen Look at the first figure (Editor please reproduce the figure “hymens, types of.jpg” here) This figure shows some interesting shapes of hymen seen during medicolegal practice. On the top right you can see an infantile type of hymen which is seen in young infants. Then we have annular and semi lunar types which are the commonest types of hymens seen in medicolegal practice. Annular hymen has a central hole. It is the type of hymen which most lay people have in mind their popular perception. Semi lunar means something which resembles a “half moon”, and indeed it is rather like a crescentic moon. A rare type of hymen is the imperforate hymen. Readers can see in the picture that this does not have any hole whatsoever. This is a rare type of hymen, and when the girl reaches the age of menstruation, the menstrual blood can not come out of this imperforate hymen. Thus she must see a doctor immediately. The doctor would perform a very simple operation to make a hole in this hymen, so that the menstrual blood can come out. Obviously if a female contacts us with a charge of rape, and we find that she has an imperforate hymen, it is clear that she is speaking a lie. Then there is a type which is called “cribriform”, which means “like a sieve”. As the readers can see, this hymen rather looks like a sieve, as it has several holes in it. Menstrual blood can come out of these holes, but on the marriage night, this hymen breaks and a rather big hole appears. Septate hymen is one which shows two holes instead of one. Many lay people think that these are two vaginas or two “holes” in a woman. This is not the case. The “hole” or the vaginal opening is just one, but it is covered by a septate hymen, which gives a false appearance of two holes. Vertical type shows a vertical slit, which is very clear from the photograph. Now we come to the last two types which are most important from a medicolegal standpoint. The eighth type of hymen (the second in the third row), shows the normal injury at coitus. Readers can see that it shows a small tear at the lower part. This is the injury which tells us that the woman has really been assaulted, and she might be speaking the truth. If she shows any other type of hymen (shown in previous pictures), we are almost sure, that she is not speaking the truth. The last type of hymen is seen in married women, who have experienced repeated sexual intercourses, and even child birth. In these women repeated sexual intercourse has so completely destroyed the hymen that it reduces to certain tags, which go by the name Carunculae myrtiformes. The word comes from Latin Caro meaning flesh. Caruncle is a diminutive of Caro, meaning small bits of flesh. The word Myrtiformes comes from Latin myrtea, which is an epithet of Venus, the Goddess of love and beauty. So the word literally translates into “small fleshy bits of Venus”, which as one can appreciate is quite an apt description. Now I want to tell you about a special type of hymen which can create lots of confusion. A young inexperienced forensic expert might on examination of this hymen think that it has actually been broken, but in fact, this is a special type of hymen called the “fimbriated hymen”. (Editor, please reproduce the figure 001.jpg here) Now look at the next figure. The first appearance (A) is that of a broken hymen. The doctor might think that the sexual assault has actually happened, and he may give the report accordingly. But the second figure (B) gives the appearance of the same hymen, when it is stretched. Clearly we don’t see any tear here. To be sure, there are some indentations in the rim of the hymen, but none of these indentations go upto the “rim” of the vaginal opening. If there were true tears (caused by sexual intercourse), at least one of these indentations must have gone to the rim. Another figure of fimbriated hymen would make things clear in readers minds. (Editor, please reproduce the figure 004.jpg here) Now look at the next figure. (Editor, please reproduce the figure 002.jpg here) This is a real case of rupture of hymen. If such a female comes to us, we would have no hesitation in saying that she is speaking the truth. This is not a case of fimbriated hymen, but that of true rupture. It would however be a mistake to think that a sexual intercourse is bound to rupture a hymen. We have seen several cases, in which sexual intercourse does not rupture the hymen. In fact intact hymens have been seen in married women, and even prostitutes! The next figure shows the hymen of a 16 year old girl who was married for some time, and was even pregnant! The hymen, as can be seen is intact. The following figure however shows an intact hymen in an adult who is really a virgin. (Editor, please reproduce the figure 006.jpg here) It is rather difficult to make out the difference between intact hymens of two women, one of which has experience repeated sexual intercourse (as shown in figure 003.jpg and in 006.jpg). However a woman who has experienced repeated sexual intercourse would show a rather lax hymen. But only very experienced forensic experts can make out this difference. Readers may ask how can we make out between such subtle differences. Well, there are special instruments to do that. The next picture shows the photograph of these instruments. (Editor, please reproduce the figure 005.jpg here) These are small glass rods, which are fitted with glass spheres of various sizes. Only three are shown in this figure, but usually four are used in medicolegal practice. Previously they were made only of glass, but now pyrex spheres are also available. These spheres are introduced in the vagina and then slowly retracted out. The hymeneal edges fall flat on these spheres and then the doctor can easily make out the difference between the fimbriated hymen and the ruptured hymen. In our medicolegal practice several cases come like this which we have to solve. Obviously we have to be on the lookout for such things. A small mistake can cause misadministration of justice. Practice of forensic medicine is not very easy, as is commonly believed. It requires the best of minds, and only the best of minds can survive in this specialty. Captions to figures hymens, types of.jpg: Various types of hymens seen in medicolegal practice 001.jpg: Fimbriated Hymen: A. This form of hymen often appears ruptured until it is put on the stretch. B. After stretching by pulling the labia well outwards it presents this appearance 002.jpg: Deflorated hymen. The hymen shows a rupture in the lower segment. The urethra is artificially distended. 003.jpg: Unruptured hymen in a girl 16 years of age and six months pregnant 004.jpg: Intact fimbriated hymen in an adult. The irregularities of the margin are indentations, not ruptures 005.jpg: Graduated plastic rods for deployment of hymeneal edges during examination with pen-torch also fitted. 006.jpg: The private parts of an adult virgin. The hymen is circular and of considerable width, leaving a lozenge shaped opening. 007.jpg: A. Unruptured crescentic hymen in a girl aged 15 years. B. Unruptured annular hymen in a girl aged 14.5 years ***** (Dr. Anil Aggrawal is a professor of Forensic Medicine at the Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi-110002. His E-mail is dr_anil@hotmail.com and his Website address is: http://members.tripod.com/~Prof_Anil_Aggrawal/index.html ***** Note to the Editor: Please make all correspondence at S-299 Greater Kailash-1, New Delhi-110048. Phones (R): 6465460, 6291942, 6413101; (O) 3239271-4 *****

SCIENCE IN CRIME DETECTION-88 For SEPTEMBER 2000 issue SCIENCE IN CRIME DETECTION Use of A DEADLY ACID FOR KILLING -Dr. Anil Aggrawal This time I would tell you about a very interesting case, which I dealt with some time back. There was a person Shamlal, who worked in a sweetshop in a Delhi based shop as a sweetmaker. He had migrated from Bihar sometime back, and was living alone in his house. For some days he was having some conflict with a person named Sunder, who worked as a lab attendant in a chemistry lab in a local school. On this Holi, Sunder reportedly came to Shamlal, and asked him to forget all past differences. You would surely agree with me that for Hindus, Holi is a festival when everyone tends to forget past enmities. Shamlal also wanted to bury the hatchet, and invited him inside and offered him sweets. After applying some color on the face of Shamlal, Sunder threw some watery liquid over Shamlal, as a gesture to play Holi. Shamlal immediately felt pain all over his body, but instead of helping him, Sunder immediately left the house. On hearing Shamlal’s hue and cries, the neighbors took him to a nearby hospital and admitted him there. He died in the hospital a day later. When Shamlal was admitted in the hospital, he told the police all the incidents. He also said that he started feeling pain after Sunder threw some watery liquid over him, under the pretext of playing Holi. The police strongly suspected that Sunder threw some corrosive substance over him, and they wanted me to tell them what substance it was. I conducted a thorough autopsy on the dead body, and have examined his burns in detail. You can see this typical burn on his finger. (Editor, please reproduce the figure 012.jpg here) After going through the history of the case, I strongly felt that Shamlal had been killed deliberately by a very deadly poison – Hydrofluoric acid. You might ask how I was so sure about the acid. Well, let me tell you that I made some discreet enquiries from the doctors who treated him at the hospital. I specifically asked them, how Shamlal described his burns. The doctors told me that he described his burns in a very strange fashion, especially those on his fingers. He said that he felt as if his fingers had been struck with a hammer! This is a very typical description of a Hydrofluoric acid burn by a patient. Let me tell you a little bit more about Hydrofluoric acid. It is also known as hydrogen fluoride and its formula is often written as HF or H2F2. For the more scientific minded, let me say that it is a colorless, fuming liquid, with molecular weight 20.01. It boils at 19.40 C. It is its great solubility in water that causes it to fume strongly in moist air. HF is found extensively in industry and at home. It was first synthesized by the French chemist Edmond Frémy (1814-1894). It is one of the most important fluorine compounds, and is prepared by heating calcium fluoride in sulfuric acid. The aqueous solution of this acid, generally used commercially, is obtained by passing the anhydrous hydrogen fluoride vapors into a leaden receiver containing distilled water, thus yielding the acid in dilute form. Hydrofluoric acid is extremely corrosive and must be preserved in plastic, lead or steel containers. It can not be preserved in glass bottles, as it has the property of dissolving glass (reacts with silica to form gaseous silicon tetrafluoride). In fact this property is used in a common test for the presence of a fluoride. For the same reason, hydrofluoric acid is also used extensively in various forms of glass etching, such as the marking of divisions on thermometer tubes and the etching of designs on glassware, and in other forms of ceramic etching, such as pottery decoration. It is also used for frosting and polishing glass, and for removing sand from metal castings. It is also used as a catalyst for the production of certain hydrocarbons for high-octane gasoline. Some of its other common uses are rust removal, in manufacture of dyes, plastics, germicides, tanning, solvents, fire-proofing, pottery glazing and photography. It is also used as a laboratory reagent.” Scientists have studied its harmful effects in animals systematically by exposing them to varying concentrations of Hydrofluoric acid vapors. This helps to study the effects in man too. When inhaled by rabbits and guinea pigs in a concentration of 15 mg/cu. meter, they could tolerate it for prolonged periods. A concentration of 24 mg/cu. meter was tolerated for a total of 41 hours without fatality, although the animals subsequently lost weight. In a concentration of 50 mg/cu. meter HF induced signs of mild irritation, such as coughing and sneezing, which appeared to lessen after 5 to 15 minutes. Inhaled in greater concentrations, it acted as a severe irritant: the eyes were kept closed, paroxysms of coughing and sneezing were frequent, the respirations were slowed, and there was a copious discharge from the nose and eyes. Concentrations below 100 mg/cu. meter could be tolerated by animals for 5 hours without causing death. When exposed to the concentration of 500 mg/cu. meter for 15 minutes or more, all animals showed signs of weakness and ill-health. Inhalation at a concentration of 1000 mg/cu. meter for 30 minutes didn’t kill any animal, but caused damage to tissues. When inhaled at a concentration of 1500 mg/cu. meter for 5 minutes, all animals died, indicating this to be the fatal dose. When necropsies were done on animals, who had survived repeated exposures of HF, increased fluoride was seen in bones. Lungs, livers and kidneys were found damaged.” Since this acid is used in several industries, the industrial workers are also exposed to HF. And they can get harmful effects too. The highest concentration of HF that can be tolerated by man for 1 minute is 100 mg/cu. meter. This causes a definite smarting of skin, a definite sour taste, and some degree of eye and respiratory irritation. If the air contains 50 mg/cu. meter, the sour taste is apparent and there is irritation of the eyes and nose, but no smarting of the skin. The concentration of 26 mg/cu. meter can be tolerated for several minutes, but the sour taste becomes evident after a short time, and there is mild smarting of the nose and eyes. You may want to know that the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists has adopted 2 mg/cu. meter as the threshold limit for hydrogen fluoride. This comes to about 3 ppm (parts per million).” Contact of the skin with the anhydrous liquid produces severe burns. This is the most frequently reported route of HF toxicity. If the solution is not promptly removed, the skin may be penetrated by the fluoride ion, leading to the later development of painful ulcers, which heal slowly. Solutions of less than 20% HF can produce pain and redness up to 24 hours after exposure; 20 to 50% HF produces pain and redness within 8 hours, and solutions of more than 50% produce immediate burning, redness and blister formation. Fatalities have been reported from dermal exposure to as little as 2.5% of body surface area (about the size of the sole of the foot). HF burns range from first-degree to third-degree. First degree burns are very superficial burns. They only cause redness. But third degree burns are quite deep. They may go upto the muscle, or even below. The characteristic features are severe pain. Patients often describe feeling as if they had struck their fingers with a hammer! The hallmark of HF exposure is pain that is out of proportion to the burns produced. Let me now show you how the burns may look in a surviving patient. Only a few days back, I had seen a case of Hydrofluoric acid burns being treated by my physician friend in a young boy, on whom too, someone had thrown HF with an idea to kill him. He got severe burns on his legs (Editor, please reproduce the figures 001.jpg and 002.jpg here). But fortunately my physician friend could save him. See this picture of his legs after one month (editor please reproduce figures 003.jpg here) As you can see, he has almost recovered. His burn wounds are looking much more healthy. He became all right after a few months. You might want to know, how much HF can kill a person? Well, inhalational exposure to concentrated HF for as little as 5 minutes is usually fatal, producing death within 2-10 hours. When HF is thrown on the body, the person may die in variable periods of time, usually within a day or so. Those of you who are more scientifically oriented, I must tell them another thing. You must have read some elementary science, and must be knowing that all acids yield free hydrogen ions or protons in solution. The more hydrogen ions an acid produces, the stronger it is considered to be. These hydrogen ions or protons exert a deleterious effects on the body in several complicated ways. That is why all mineral acids such as HCl, H2SO4 and HNO3 are so dangerous. HF is far less strong than its mineral acid cousins. It produces approximately 1000 times less free hydrogen ions or protons than an equimolar solution of hydrochloric acid, and about 450 times less free hydrogen ions than an equimolar solution of sulfuric acid. Yet it is this poor dissociation that proves so lethal to man. A poorly dissociated acid can penetrate far deeper in the tissues as it is uncharged. In fact all uncharged molecules have the ability to penetrate cells much better than charged ions. Combined with this ability is the specific ability of the fluoride ion to complex with body calcium and magnesium, even when present in exceedingly small concentrations. The combination of these two factors gives HF its unique toxicity. Free proton produced by HF does contribute to the injury (as in the case of mineral acids), but what is more important are the two factors I mentioned earlier, i.e. its unique ability to penetrate tissues, and its ability to combine with calcium and magnesium. This causes body calcium and magnesium levels to fall down. The body if affected in several other ways. I may also tell you about a unique property of the fluoride ion, which makes it very deadly. It can hold an electron more tightly than any other ion. This strong electronegativity of the fluoride ion allows it to bind tightly to any cation. These effects have the potential of disrupting all metabolic pathways, and may result in several body disorders. Coming back to our own case. After going through all the facts of the case, and doing the autopsy, I had no doubt in my mind that Shamlal has been killed by Sunder by this unique poison. Sunder worked in a chemistry lab, so HF was available to him. He offloaded some HF in a container and smuggled it home, with a view to throw it over his long adversary Shamlal. He knew that Holi was approaching soon, and he could throw it over him and leave the house quickly. As this is such a rare corrosive, he thought that he police would never be able to determine which corrosive was Shamlal killed with. But his typical findings and especially his typical description of his pain before death have given away everything. I also conducted some chemical tests on the washings which I took from Shamlal’s burnt areas, and they all tested positive for Hydrofluoric acid. Following this, I asked police to raid Sunder’s house. They did so, and found a half empty bottle containing HF. We then contacted the chemistry teacher of the school, where he was working, and asked him to check his HF supplies. He was surprised, as HF was hardly used in a routine way, and they always kept it under lock and key. But on our insistence he opened the lock and key and checked the HF bottle. To his utter surprise, it was empty. All these facts confirmed, that Sunder stole HF from his school lab to throw it over Shamlal. After all this investigation, Police had no difficulty arresting Sunder. Captions to figures 001.jpg and 002.jpg: Obvious full-thickness injuries to the lower extremities following Hydrofluoric acid exposure. 003.jpg: Grafted burn wounds approximately 1 month after discharge. 012.jpg: Hydrofluoric acid burn. As cellular ischemia and tissue necrosis progressed, the exposed tissue of the palmer surface of the third finger throbbed, burned, and blackened. This patient was treated with intraarterial calcium gluconate ***** (Dr. Anil Aggrawal is a professor of Forensic Medicine at the Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi-110002. His E-mail is dr_anil@hotmail.com and his Website address is: http://members.tripod.com/~Prof_Anil_Aggrawal/index.html ***** Note to the Editor: Please make all correspondence at S-299 Greater Kailash-1, New Delhi-110048. Phones (R): 6465460, 6291942, 6413101; (O) 3239271-4 *****

SCIENCE IN CRIME DETECTION-86 For JULY 2000 issue SCIENCE IN CRIME DETECTION SOME TRICKS WE USE IN SOLVING GUNSHOT CASES -Dr. Anil Aggrawal In this issue, I am going to tell you about some interesting “tricks” that we use in solving gunshot death cases. I shall describe six different situations and each one will be illustrated with an interesting picture. The usual belief in gunshot cases is that only the area of the wounds can tell us important things. But in several cases non wounding areas can tell us many things. Blood spatters on the hands Many times we find that the hands of the victims are spattered with blood as seen in figure 1 here. Blood (and sometimes tissue) gets splattered on the hands. This condition is most often found in suicide victims. (Editor: Please reproduce figure 001.jpg here. Caption: Blood splatters on hand. The hand of a suicide victim. Obviously, the hand steadied the barrel of the handgun and was close to the near-contact wound of the head.) Obviously if we get a dead body like this from the police and the police wants to know from us, if the victim committed suicide or if he was murdered, we have no hesitation in saying that it was a case of suicide. The reasoning is like this. In a murder case, the gun is NOT in the hands of the victim. It is in the hands of the assailant. So there is no way, the hands of the victim will get spattered with blood. But if the gun was in the hands of the victim himself, the moment he fires the gun, the blood will spurt from the wound and would spatter the hands of the victim. Blood (and tissue) splatters on the hand that held the firearm in contact with the head or on the hand that was used to steady the barrel. Brain tissue is the most frequently encountered substance in addition to blood. This usually happens when the victim puts his gun to his head, and then pulls the trigger. The hand of an assailant in a homicide can also be found to be covered with blood and tissue, but since contact homicidal wounds are rare, few assailants find it necessary to rid their hands of such reminders after committing a murder. This is situation number one, or let us say, trick number one by which we can say whether the person was murdered or he committed suicide. Now let us come to he second situation. The position of the blood stains on the feet of the victim can also tell us many things about the crime. Blood may drip down onto the feet or other parts of a victim’s body, indicating the more or less upright position of the victim at and after the wounding. See the figure 2, and you will find some interesting things here. If you see carefully, you can see two different types of blood stains here. This person actually first killed his wife with his gun and then killed himself. One of these types of the stains were caused when this person killed his wife. The second type of blood stains were caused when this person shot himself. When he shot himself, the blood simply dropped down from his head, and flowed downwards. These types of blood stains can easily be seen here. (Editor: Please reproduce figure 002.jpg here. Caption: Blood droplets on foot. The foot of a man who dispatched his wife with one bullet and then shot himself in the head. Blood droplets appear to be originating from two different directions: directly above the foot and from in front of and above the foot. The back-splash from the homicidally inflicted near contact wound of the head caused one pattern; dripping of blood from the head of the man caused the other.) Observation and documentation of this phenomenon can be of help in understanding the circumstances of the shooting. A little bit about firearm residues before we go further. When a gun is fired, lot of smoke and other material such as unburnt particles of gunpowder come out from it. These so-called “residues” deposit on the hands of the person who fired the firearm, and tell us a lot about the crime. Firearm residues are generally found around the firearm entry wounds, and here they tell us about the distance the firearm was shot at. But these residues at other areas can also be of great help to us. Firearm residue on the body in areas other than the actual wound site can indicate the position of the body at the time of shooting. The “flare,” or powder gas that escapes from the cylinder gap of a revolver, can indicate the relative position of the body and the weapon. See the accompanying figure. (Editor: Please reproduce figure 003.jpg here. Caption: Revolver flare indicating barrel length. The very short-range wound in the center of the upper back was inflicted with the revolver held nearly parallel to the skin. The exit wound is near the upper right hand corner of the figure. The flare caused by leakage of lead powder particles and gas is situated approximately 3 inches from the inshoot wound, thus indicating the barrel length.) This is a very unusual type of wound – a type which we don’t get to see very often. You will see three different dark areas here, and a scale is spanning all the three dark areas. The middle of these dark areas is actually the entry wound of a bullet from a revolver. This revolver was held almost parallel to the body. Its exit wound can be seen easily on the extreme right side of the photograph. Now look at the extreme left hand side of the photograph. You will see some stippling. This is the flare, which was caused by the leakage of lead powder particles and gas. This leakage occurs from the back of the gun. Now the situation is this. The entry wound in the middle is telling us about the position of the muzzle of the revolver, and the position of the stippling is telling us about the position of the breech end of the revolver. Naturally the difference between the two would give the length of the revolver. And in this clever way we can find the length of the revolver, which in this case was about 3 inches. The same is true of powder tattooing or lead fragment stippling which arises from the leakage of powder grains from the cylinder gap. (Editor: Please reproduce figure 004.jpg here. Caption: Revolver flare indicating position of head. This suicide victim must have had her head tipped down to the right at the moment of discharging the firearm as indicated by the flare on the right side of the neck.) In the accompanying case, the police wanted to know whether the lady killed herself, or whether somebody killed her. This problem was solved in a very clever way. Look at the flare on her right side of the neck. This kind of flare can not come if she was shot by someone else. If she was shot by someone else, the flare would come on the hands of the assailant, and not on the neck of the victim. But here the flare is on her neck. What does this indicate? Clearly that the back of the gun was in proximity of the neck. The entry point shows that the muzzle was in proximity there. Now if we join the two lines, we find that the revolver must be parallel to the victim as shown, and this clearly is the position seen in suicide only. We can also reconstruct the scene of crime from fragments of lead sheared off the bullet as it jumps the cylinder gap and strikes the rear of the barrel to enter the bore. (Editor: Please reproduce figure 005.jpg here. Caption: Stippling from metal fragments. The man pictured was shot many times with a .22 caliber revolver. Fragments of the soft metal bullets were shaved off when the bullet passed from the cylinder to the barrel, impacting the face and causing the stippling pattern. No bullet impacted the body in the facial area) The impingement of powder gas and soot deposit that is found upon the palm of the hand when the same hand has been wrapped about the cylinder of the revolver when the shot is fired is a hallmark of a firearms suicide victim. (Editor: Please reproduce figure 006.jpg here. Caption: Soot deposit on hand. Two examples are shown. In that on the left, the hand was wrapped about the cylinder gap at the moment of firing. In that on the right, the forefinger was close to the cylinder gap of the revolver. Both subjects committed suicide.) Look at these two figures now. Here you can see lot of blackening on the hands. This blackening is nothing but the soot which ejected from the barrel of the gun when the victim committed suicide. This type of blackening is not seen in the hands, if someone else has killed him. In this case, the police wanted to know if the person had committed suicide or if he was murdered, and clearly the forensic man could say that he had committed suicide. These are some of the “tricks” we use in solving cases of deaths due to gunshot wounds. ***** (Dr. Anil Aggrawal is a professor of Forensic Medicine at the Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi-110002. His E-mail is dr_anil@hotmail.com and his Website address is: http://members.tripod.com/~Prof_Anil_Aggrawal/index.html ***** Note to the Editor: Please make all correspondence at S-299 Greater Kailash-1, New Delhi-110048. Phones (R): 6465460, 6291942, 6413101; (O) 3239271-4 *****

SCIENCE IN CRIME DETECTION-85 For JUNE 2000 issue SCIENCE IN CRIME DETECTION paramilitary punishment in northern ireland -Dr. Anil Aggrawal This time I wish to take the dear readers of Crime and Detective, across the seas to a different country, Northern Ireland. Here certain shady organizations such as “Irish Republican Army” or IRA for short, carry out their own punishments to the criminals. Their logic is that the actual conviction by the courts may take much time, and why shouldn’t they punish the criminals themselves. Even right here in our country, some people may get frustrated at the delay in court rulings, and may want to mete out their own punishments. This has even spawned a new class of films having titles like “Insaaf Main Karoonga” and so on. The interesting thing is that in Northern Ireland, such organizations are already working. We will take a look at which criminals they target, and what punishments they give. I am dealing this topic here because even though these organizations punish the criminals, yet these acts are basically illegal, as no court has found them guilty. There are widespread rumors, that a “kangaroo court” actually “sits in judgment” and pronounces judgment. This was even reported to the House of Commons in December 1974 by Mr. Merlyn Rees, who was Secretary of State for Northern Ireland at that time. It is not clear how far these rumors are correct. However, it is evident from interviewing victims of these types of trauma that most of them had knowledge of their impending assaults, and some have stated that they knew their assailants but would never be willing to identify them. Since August 1969 these paramilitary organizations have arisen from both sections of the community; by far the largest of these is the Irish Republican Army (IRA). As a macabre adjunct to their well documented activities these organizations carry out “punishments for antisocial behavior”. In this article, I would try to tell the various forms of “punishment” that have been reported, with particular reference to low velocity gunshot wounds that are changing the character and distribution of such punishment. The majority of punishments are performed by the IRA in an attempt to stop petty criminals and “joyriders” from carrying out their antisocial activities, although some are also carried out by loyalist paramilitary organizations. Joyriders are car thieves who cruise and race the cars they steal. The car is stolen from an area different from that in which the joyriders live, often parking areas in hospitals or residential areas. The car is then driven into the joyriders’ locality and raced around until either the petrol runs out or the car is crashed. It is then set on fire or left for other individuals to steal spare parts from it. The joyriders are commonly between the ages of 14 and 22 years. Four individuals are usually involved, with the youngest sometimes having the “job” of lying across the back window shelf, so called “sandbagging.” It has been suggested that sandbagging acts as a deterrent to security forces who may fire at the car if it is driven through a checkpoint at high speed. Victims of paramilitary punishment are admitted to a “take-in” hospital. The largest of these is the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast, which plays a major role in the management of trauma arising as a result of civil disturbance. It is fortunate for victims that it is closely adjacent to the areas most frequently involved in the disturbance. Evacuation of victims of civil disturbance has been rapid in Belfast in comparison with that in other zones of conflict. The time lag from injury to hospitalization averaged 10.5 hours in World War II, 6.3 hours in Korean War, and 2.8 hours in Vietnam War. In Belfast 95% of victims are hospitalized within 30 minutes of injury. Tarring and Feathering Tarring and feathering is one of the earliest paramilitary punishments reported in Irish civil disorders. The victims were commonly female and selected because of their associations with men from the armed forces or from across the religious/socioeconomic divide, which is thought to be a form of collaboration with the enemy. In the early phase of the current “troubles” it was also the punishment for giving information to the security forces, so called “touting” (the current penalty for informing is death). The victim’s body and hair were doused with hot bitumen and then covered with feathers. (Editor: Please reproduce Figs. 001 & 002 here) Concomitant beatings and close cropping of the hair were not uncommon, with the victim secured to a lamppost or railing in an obviously public place. This was to serve as a warning to others in the locality. It was regarded as a severe social stigma for a family to have a member tarred and feathered. Punishment Beatings Hurling, colloquially called Hurley, is a game played predominantly by members of the Roman Catholic community with a hard ball that is struck by a player who carries a stick. It has some similarities to lacrosse. Assaults produced by beatings with the sticks used in this sport are commonplace as an initial “warning” to perpetrators of antisocial activities. The injuries inflicted reflect the spread-eagled prone position in which the victim is forced to lie: limb injuries are most common with or without head injuries. The upper limb injuries most commonly sustained include fractures around the elbow joint, isolated fractures of forearm bones, and fractures of the small bones of the hand (known technically as metacarpals) (Editor, please reproduce figs. 003, 004, & 005 here). The lower limb injuries sustained are usually around the knee joint; ankle and foot injuries are less common. (Editor, please reproduce figs. 006 here). Approximately 25% of the fractures are very bad – so much so, that the broken bones come out of the skin. These fractures are technically known as compound fractures. Approximately 10% of patients have serious complications of their injuries such as open depressed skull fractures, paralysis of arm nerves (ulnar nerve palsies), and other complications. It was reported that sticks with embedded nails were used to punish some individuals. The use of baseball bats and pickaxe handles has also been reported, with the distribution of injuries being similar. A rare variant of paramilitary beating punishment which has only been encountered on a few occasions is the “crucifixion.” With the victim held to the ground by his assailants he was nailed via his palm to the floor. He was then beaten with baseball bats. Breeze Blocking A breeze block is a heavy cement block used in construction and this punishment assault is performed by dropping a breeze block onto the limb of a victim who has been forced to lie on the ground. The injuries are usually to the hands or feet, with compound fractures of the small bones of the hand and feet most common. (Editor, please reproduce figs. 007 here). On hospital admission the victim often reports an injury that is inconsistent with the clinical findings. This is partially to avoid the stigma of being labeled as “punished,” but also to avoid the involvement of security force personnel. The “Black’n’Decka” The rare form of punishment known as “black’n’decka” is thought to have arisen as a direct result of a hand gun jamming immediately before a punishment shooting. The victim was held down and a power drill was driven through both lower thighs. Surprisingly, the victim sustained only soft-tissue injuries and recovered well following debridement and delayed primary suture. Low-velocity Hand Gun Injuries Low-velocity handgun punishment injuries to the lower limbs have been described locally as “kneecappings.” The term “kneecapping” is really a misnomer since very few victims, about 5% only sustain injuries of the knee cap. The pattern of such injuries in the past has been either uncomplicated, i.e., soft-tissue injury alone or complicated with fractures, injuries to the blood vessels, or damage to the occurring singly or in combination. These then are some of the punishments which IRA metes out on criminals immediately after it finds that a criminal has committed a crime. This type of punishment has no legal sanction, but perhaps the public is happy because it keeps the criminals in constant fear of being “punished”, by these organizations. Captions 001: Tarring and feathering. Note that this man has also been shot in the left leg. 002: Two victims of tarring and feathering. “Touting” is the colloquial phrase for informing. 003: Isolated ulnar fracture as a result of a punishment beating with a “hurley” stick. 004: External Signs of damage to the hand following a beating with baseball bats. 005. Metacarpal and phalangeal fractures following a beating with baseball bats. 006: Evidence of a blow to the outer aspect of the ankle. Isolated fracture of the fibula. 007. Great toe injury after a "breeze blocking." Source: Paramilitary Punishment in Northern Ireland: A Macabre Irony, by R.M. Nicholas et al. The Journal of Trauma, Vol 34, No. 1, 1993, pages 90-95

SCIENCE IN CRIME DETECTION-79 For DECEMber 1999 issue SCIENCE IN CRIME DETECTION Duplicating the skull for forensic identification ‑Dr. Anil Aggrawal Three-dimensional reconstruction of the face from a skull may be carried out to assist in the identification of human remains but is only used when more reliable methods have failed or are impossible. As a technique used for identification, it has definite limitations, but it still has a valuable role in forensic identification. The three-dimensional reconstruction image may later be altered, via computer software or other means, enabling further characterization and adjustment in a more efficient and rapid manner than with traditional three-dimensional reconstruction methods. Variations of many aspects of the reconstruction method are possible, but a successful reconstruction can only be carried out if the person is familiar with the normal human anatomy of the skull and attached soft tissues, dental occlusion, sculpting and split-mould techniques of duplication. The steps involved in a reconstruction may include collection of preliminary data, duplication of the skull, reconstruction of the soft tissues and duplication of the reconstruction. Preliminary collection of data Although the skull is the basis of the reconstruction, other valuable physical remains may be available. Occasionally, reconstruction of only part of the skull soft tissues is required, and close inspection of the soft tissue remaining by the person carrying out the reconstruction is obviously then vital. Jewelry found with the deceased, such as earrings and necklaces, may be incorporated in to the final reconstruction, as may hats, glasses or other accessories. The finding of hair with the human remains is obviously invaluable in choosing hair colour and style in the reconstruction. Details of race, sex, age and build may be obtained by a thorough examination of skeletal remains, teeth, clothing and jewelry. This information is usually provided by other specialists such as police, forensic pathologists, anthropologists and odontologists, either directly or in the form of written reports, and should be avidly sought for every reconstruction. Close examination of the skull may reveal details that affect the final reconstruction. Clearly, if the facial skeleton is incomplete or not intact, a preliminary reconstruction of the bony skeleton will be required. Occasionally, bony pathology will be present, which may influence the soft tissue reconstruction and lead to asymmetry. More commonly, the prominence of certain bony landmarks, such as the supraorbital ridges (areas on the skull corresponding to eye brows) and zygomas (cheek bones), will affect the general appearance of the eyes. The ruggedness of muscle attachments, profile of the jaws and bony face, and symmetry of the nasal bones may all give clues to the gross appearance. The dentition and/or dentures are closely examined as they give clues to articulation of the lower jaw with the upper jaw. It is possible that loss of the vertical dimension of the face owing to excessive wear of the occlusal surfaces, abnormal posturing of the mandible and soft tissue support of the lips may have occurred. Duplication of the skull Although the reconstruction may be carried out directly on the skull, it is often preferable to duplicate the skull and carry out the reconstruction on a plaster model. Advantages of using a duplicate include minimizing damage to the skull and having the skull available as a reference during the reconstruction. It may even be essential if the skull is available only for a short time or if multiple reconstructions of the single skull are to be made. Uncommonly, some of the soft tissues covering the skull remain intact but not those of the face. In such cases the skull with its attached soft tissue is duplicated. However, usually only the bony skull and minimal or no other soft tissue remains are present. in this cases, the skull is cleaned and the remaining soft tissue removed. If the skull is incomplete, damaged or fragmented, these defects need to be repaired, for example with wax. (Editor: Please reproduce figure 001 here. Caption to figure 001: Skull dried and cleaned for duplication) The degree of accuracy with which this can be done varies with the site of the damage and decreases with increasing size of the defect. Re-articulation of the mandible is relatively simple if natural or artificial teeth are present. The mandible is positioned so that the teeth in the upper and lower jaw are opposed to one another and the upper ends of the lower jaw bone (known technically as mandibular condyles) fit snugly in the sockets provided for them in the base of the skull. The mandible is then held in place by the judicious use of wax. (Editor: Please reproduce figure 002 here. Caption to figure 002: Repair of a substantial part of the calvarium has been required on this skull. Sizeable repairs to the facial skeleton may considerably reduce the accuracy) In an edentulous person (i.e. a person who does not have any teeth) in whom no dentures are found, average measurements are used to establish the vertical dimension between the mandible and maxilla, and occlusal wax rims similar to those used in the construction of dentures are used. A similar technique is used when there are an insufficient number of teeth to articulate the lower jaw with the upper jaw. The wearing of dentures can dramatically affect facial appearance and emphasizes the importance of accurate positioning of the mandible. It is important to appreciate here that skull has many normal “holes” in it. For instance there are ear holes on the two sides of the skull. These are technically known as external acoustic meatus. Similarly there are holes for the nose. There is a hole at the base of the skull from which a major nerve bundle – the spinal cord – leaves the skull. It is important to “block out” these “holes” before any attempt to duplicate the skull is carried out. Other prominent holes such as those underneath the cheek bones (zygomatic arches) are also blocked out. Modeling clay is a useful material for blocking out these “holes” or “undercuts” as it is pliable, non-toxic, inert and easily washed away after duplication has been completed. The orbits are fitted with plaster or prosthetic eyes at this stage to remove the undercut of the bony orbit. Again, modeling clay is used to hold the eyes in position. The eyes are centered in a line between the midpoints of the upper and lower borders of the “hole” meant for the eyes, and should be just visible when viewed from above. (Editor: Please reproduce figure 003 here. Caption to figure 003: The prosthetic eye is positioned midway between the superior and inferior orbital margins on the skull prior to duplication) A split-cast technique is employed to duplicate the skull. The skull is supported by modeling clay so that the face is upright and the plane passing through the mental sulcus, body of the mandible, zygomatic arch, external acoustic meatus and parietal bones is horizontal. Some of these are technical terms and the average reader may not want to worry himself with these terms. What is important is that he must realize that the skull is positioned in a particular way. The position is such, as if the skull were looking in the sky in front of him. This would become clearer on referring to figure 004 here. (Editor: Please reproduce figure 004 here. Caption to figure 004: The initial step in the production of the splitcast mould involves embedding the skull in modeling clay. A table of clay 5 cm wide is built around the skull and notched at regular intervals. (This will result in accurate joining of the two halves of the completed cast) A horizontal table of clay 5 cm wide is added around the entire skull and notched at regular intervals (to facilitate later accurate positioning of both halves of the completed cast). A suitable quantity of impression material (e.g. 450g alginate powder) is mixed and applied to the skull, initially by rubbing it on to the surface by hand and then by pouring it over the skull. The impression material needs to be strong, flexible and slow-setting. Once set, thin plastic film is applied to the outside of the impression material (to act as a separating medium). An outer plaster supporting layer is then poured. Before the plaster is set, a shallow groove is made in it to facilitate tying of both halves of the mould together at later stages. When the plaster has set, the supporting clay is removed and the second half of the mould constructed in a manner similar to that of the first half. The two halves of the mould are then carefully removed from the skull. (Editor: Please reproduce figure 005 here. Captions to figure 005: The skull being devested. The completed split cast is carefully separated to avoid tearing the impression material.) A suitable quantity of plaster is mixed and manually rubbed over the inner aspect of each half of the mould. These are then filled. Both halves are repositioned together accurately (using location notches) and tied together (using string in scribed groove), and the plaster is allowed to set. The duplicate plaster skull is then carefully uncovered and checked for accuracy; further duplicates can then be made if required. (Editor: Please reproduce figure 006 here. Captions to figure 006: The original skull should be compared with the duplicate model. Used carefully, several models can be made from the single split cast.) For convenience and to minimize the risk of damage, the duplicate plaster skull is mounted on a revolving workstand with a metal bracket long enough to allow space to reconstruct the neck. A hole is drilled in the region of the foramen magnum (This is a big hole at the base of the skull) to a distance of about 4 cm, and the metal bracket is inserted and fixed in place with a new mix of plaster. When the plaster has set, the exposed portion of the metal bracket is fixed to the turntable with the duplicate skull's centreline vertical and Frankfort plane horizontal. A little bit about Frankfort plane here. This is an imaginary plane very much talked about in reference to the skull. This plane is especially talked about in the practice of dentistry. If you look at your right eye and the right ear hole carefully, you can know about this plane easily. Draw an imaginary line through the lower border of your eye and the upper border of the ear hole, and you will get the so-called Frankfort plane. In the skull, the technician draws an imaginary line through the lower border of the bony orbit of the eye, and the upper border of the ear hole, and he gets the Frankfort plane. When the skull is fully cast, it should be positioned in such a way that the Frankfort plane is horizontal. This ensures, that the skull assumes a normal position. ****** (Dr. Anil Aggrawal, M.D. is a Professor of Forensic Medicine at the Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi. His E-mail is dr_anil@hotmail.com, and his website is http://members.tripod.com/~Prof_Anil_Aggrawal/index.html)

SCIENCE IN CRIME DETECTION-84 For MAY 2000 issue SCIENCE IN CRIME DETECTION HOW DO WE RECOGNIZE BADLY BURNT PEOPLE IN FIRE ‑Dr. Anil Aggrawal Several times we read in newspapers that a fire broke out somewhere and several people died in that fire. After such terrible fires, usually the victims are so badly burnt, that for an ordinary person it may be almost impossible to identify them. But not so for a forensic pathologist. He can employ several means to identify badly burnt people. One such method is by examination of teeth, and in this installment I am going to tell you about this. Let us first get an idea of how much temperatures are reached at various fires. I will first take the example of crematoria. At crematoria, human remains are incinerated in ovens, usually fired by gas or oil at 9800 C, for a period of 1 and a half to 2 hours. Complete incineration of all but dental gold and cobalt steel appliances results. Some distortion of the metals is usually observed. This purposeful cremation provides a base line for comparative purposes. (Editor: Please reproduce figure 001.jpg here. Caption – Cremated remains of teeth) Any fire requires three components to support combustion: (i) fuel or a combustible material in the form of gas, liquid or solid; (ii) oxygen to support combustion, viz. - air contains 21% oxygen, but only 16% is required for effective support of combustion, and (iii) heat present in sufficient amount and intensity to vaporize and ignite the fuel. This may be in the form of the sun, sparks, friction, open flame, electrical or chemical heat or compressed gases. Investigators have even set buildings on fire just to study the effect of fire on various objects. In one such experimental fire at Mimico, Ontario, a two storey house was allowed to burn unimpeded. It took 42 minutes to reach a maximum temperature of 12740 C on the main floor. During this time the second floor temperature did not rise above 2320 C. When the main floor ceiling collapsed, the second floor temperature peaked at 10040 C but 3 minutes later had dropped to 8700 C. (Editor: Please reproduce figure 002.jpg here. Caption – Scene of an intense fire) What does this experiment show? It shows that when a fire breaks out, generally it is the main floor which is at higher temperature than the floor above. When the ceiling collapses, then the temperature in the top floor may rise. Today, it appears that one of our most frequent fires is that caused by careless smoking, wherein a chesterfield or bed may smoulder for an hour or more, until an extra force of air, brought on perhaps by a door opening in another part of the dwelling, ignites a fire of sudden high heat intensity. These temperatures are significantly higher than those of the crematorium and unless extinguished quickly, tend to result in complete or nearly complete incineration. Personal experience with fires of these types, and where the fire has been quickly extinguished, show that the dentition remained essentially intact with charring of the anterior incisors (technical name for the front teeth), but no observed fire damage to the teeth on the back portion of the jaws. This indicates that the time factor has much to do with the cremation and also that the thick facial muscles and the tongue - moistened by saliva - serves as a formidable barrier to dental destruction. (Editor: Please reproduce figure 003.jpg and 004.jpg here. Caption – Effects of intense heat on teeth) Let us now talk of another experiment. The National Automobile Theft Bureau of Santiago, California has conducted tests to ascertain the efficiency of the fire wall between motor and cab. It has also studied the results of careless smoking and arson within the cab. In the case of an engine fire where gasoline was poured on the manifold, the fire was self limiting, burning only the insulation around the various electrical wires. The firewall was indeed effective in protecting the cab. Temperatures within the cab did not exceed 2270 C. The effect on a victim within the cab would be minimal as far as the dentition is concerned. Time factor variable would be the only other consideration. When 1.137 Liters (or about 2 quarts) of gasoline was poured on the upholstery in the cab and ignited, a rapid intense fire was created, attaining a temperature of 8220 C at the dome light. The fire was of short duration and the fabrics were shown to be relatively poor combustants. Undoubtedly the rapid use of the available oxygen reduced the time interval. In a super highway accident involving 18 vehicles, a fire of high intensity ensued, augmented by lumber on a truck. Twelve people died in the accident. The bodies were severely charred, and no identification was possible by ordinary means. Yet as many as nine persons could be identified by teeth only, as teeth usually survive severe fires. In the centre of the fire was a Volkswagen, carrying a husband and wife. Both were almost totally incinerated. Premortem records showed that the woman had had two fixed bridges replacing upper second bicuspids, plus five other gold crowns. All were melted into a mass of gold. The husband, however, had an upper lateral incisor replaced by a porcelaine fused to gold restoration with the lateral cantilevered to the central incisor. Although the porcelaine had melted, this gold bridge had retained its form. Since dental golds melt at 10240 C and the special gold used in porcelaine fused to gold melts at 12210 C, one might rightfully assume that the maximum temperature of the fire remained below 12210 C yet in excess of 10240 C. Even at this high range of temperatures, a multiple surface amalgam restoration with pin retention survived these temperatures, and provided another facet of postmortem identification when compared with premortem radiographs and documented records. Silver amalgam consists of silver 72%, tin 26-29%, copper 3-6% and zinc 0-2%. When triturated with mercury, complexes of silver and tin and of Copper and Zinc occur, being luted together by the mercury. Thus when heated, the mercury is released as beads at 650 C, evaporates at 1000 C and boils at 3560 C. With the loss of mercury the alloy usually, but not always, begins to powder into the Silver-tin and Copper-zinc complexes. The Silver-tin melts at 5000 C but since Silver alone melts at 9600 C and tin at 2310 C, the complex breaks apart and forms silver-oxide, a black powder. One might say that between 5000-10000C the amalgam loses form, colour and integrity. In practice, investigators have discovered an amalgam profile still intact in form, even though the tooth enamel has "popped off". Comparison with pre and postmortem radiographs can aid in identification in these cases. Dental prostheses are composed of acrylics, gold or chrome steel alloys. Teeth can be of porcelaine or acrylic. Since acrylic melts and ignites at 2000-2500 C its stability in hot fires is poor. However, the other metals endure temperatures to 11000 C. For identification purposes, prostheses indicate both missing and clasped teeth. Investigators have found them to be highly durable even in high temperature fires - this again attests to the protection offered by the soft tissues of the oral cavity. In the sustained hot fire, another identifiable tissue exists, the dental pulp. Dentinal tubules (minute structures within the teeth) contain 8-10% of water. When this becomes heated to boiling, the enamel cap explodes with the dentine losing its water and undergoing shrinkage. The dental pulp with its two blood vessels and nerve complex reacts similarly. The shrinkage of the pulp and tooth is consistent with the original tooth and pulpal form, and therefore offers identifiable potential by means of radiographs or tracings. Residues of amalgam fillings may remain as a stain in the dentine. In a recent case involving a motor accident and fire of high intensity, the victim had the condition of dentinogenesis imperfecta revealed by his premortem radiographs. The enlarged pulpal morphology offered points of concordance when compared to radiographs of the badly burned and shrunken molars. Variables of shrinkage and radiographic distortion did not appear to be a deterrent. (Editor: Please reproduce figure 005.jpg here. Caption – How forensic experts chart the teeth in case of badly burnt victims) In summary, the collation of all information involving the victims of serious fires, where visual identification is impossible, is still paramount in importance. The necessity for police and fire officials to garner all specimens to aid in identification is most vital. In many cases it would be preferable to ask the odontologist to conduct his own search. The removal of the jaws is essential for accurate charting, radiographs and photographs. Whenever we encounter badly burnt bodies, and there is a problem in identification, we make it a point to remove the jaw, so that the teeth can be studied later at leisure. Often they give away the identity of the person, as outlined above. As is the case with bite marks identifications, so it is with victims of fire - the gathering of facts pertinent to cause, degree of burning, possible homicide, arson, temperature estimates, time and intensity of fires - all offer statistics which could be accumulated by odontologists and blended into an extensive report. The collation of these facts and statistics might well offer a viable extension into the world of forensics. ****** (Dr. Anil Aggrawal, M.D. is a Professor of Forensic Medicine at the Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi. His E-mail is dr_anil@hotmail.com, and his website is http://members.tripod.com/~Prof_Anil_Aggrawal/index.html)

SCIENCE IN CRIME DETECTION-83 For APRIL 2000 issue SCIENCE IN CRIME DETECTION WHAT IS FORENSIC ANALYSIS OF KNOTS? ‑Dr. Anil Aggrawal We have always strived to provide the readers of Crime and Detective with the latest that is occurring in the field of crime. Keeping with the tradition, this time I am going to tell you something about a new and a very exciting discipline of forensic science – the forensic analysis of knots. Knots are encountered in criminal situations a number of times. When a man is strangulated, his killer ties a rope or some similar material around his neck, and a knot has to be tied to prevent the rope from loosening. A frequent question in such situations is whether the person could himself have tied the noose. If he could, the case could be that of suicide, but if he couldn’t, then the case would have to be of homicide, and this would go far in solving the crime. Ropes or other ligature materials such as nylons, belts, wire and clothing, just to mention a few, have been used in the commission of a variety of crimes from Break and Entry to Murder. Although knot analysis is usually confined to death investigations, it can also assist with investigations in other criminal activities. These could be when a robber has tied the hands of a servant to facilitate robbery, or a person tying the hands of a girl in order to rape her. In some cases, people kill themselves accidentally by hanging when masturbating. Such deaths usually come to the doctor as accidental cases of hanging and are termed asphyxiophilia or autoerotism. A proper explanation of this type of death requires a detailed study, and I am not going to take it up here. It has already been taken up in an earlier issue (See Crime and Detective December 1995 issue pages 14-16). Forensic knot analysis is also useful in cases of suicide, where knots are used. The ligatures in these cases can, in some instances, yield clues to their origin and possible ownership. A comparison of a ligature from a victim or scene could also be physically matched back to a ligature seized from the suspect or his possessions. Where ligatures have been used, invariably the investigators have noticed knots tied within. The knots located in crime scenes, on victims of crime and in police cases, have been used to bind, restrain, strangulate, hang or gain entry to an area inaccessible otherwise. Many readers at this stage may ask how an analysis of knots can help in identifying a criminal. It may be stressed here that knot tying is acquired normally by habits and design. Thus a person ties his necktie and scarf by a certain knot. Similarly in different trades we tie various knots in different ways. A surgeon would tie a knot (while tying a suture) in a different way than a sailor. Often the way a knot has been tied would give away the criminal and his trade. Knot tying is acquired by:- habit - such as with tying your shoes, neckties, scarves, etc. or, design - taught specifically by a trade, or learned as a hobby, craft or recreation Crime scene knots are most often found to: bind or restrain the victim, strangle, or are sometimes located on or near the victim, but not directly associated to the victim. These knots located at the crime scene are most often done under duress and without planning, so we can therefore draw an inference of the tyer's: skills in knot tying, trade or occupation, hobby, craft or recreation, chirality in knot tying (not his handedness) The word chirality may be explained here. This word is often used in chemistry, and is basically a scientific word, but I would like to explain it in as simple terms as possible. Hold both your arms up and look at them. The thumb of the left palm would be facing on the left side, and that of the right palm on the right side. The two palms look similar, but actually they are not. You can’t superimpose one palm over the other. You can join them as in doing a prayer, but that is not superimposition; this is apposition. Proper superimposition means to put them one over the other, so the back of one palm comes in contact with the front of the other. And if you do that, the thumbs would look in different directions. This is due to different chirality of the two palms. Similarly two knots may look the same, but you may not be able to superimpose them one over the other. It is because of different chiralities of the two knots. The word chirality actually comes from Greek root cheir meaning hand. Incidentally this root also gives us several other interesting words such as Cheirology, which is examination of the hand to forecast the future. After proper collection and preservation of the knotted exhibits, a forensic knot specialist can provide some additional information about the case, which, in the past, has been ignored or not investigated. (Editor please reproduce figures 001.jpg, 002a.jpg 002b.jpg, 003.jpg here. [Caption: Some types of knots encountered in crime analysis]) More on forensic knot analysis Simply put, Forensic Knot Analysis is the identification and interpretation of knots and ligatures, in conjunction with other relevant crime scene evidence, which can enable a subjective opinion to be made. When qualified as an expert by the court, an opinion can be given of the knotted ligatures as they pertain to the crime scene, for example: Ligatures can be identified to a source in most cases and such identification can reveal information about the ligature, such as: brand name, manufacturer, model or type class characteristics (material, lay, size, color) uses for the ligature (job specific or particular uses in recreation and/or hobbies) availability / rarity (such as Spectra fibers) specific clients (BCTel has rope specifically designed and coded for them) tensile strengths / breaking strengths physical evidence, such as matching crime scene exhibit to an exhibit from suspect ligature marks left on the victim can sometimes be matched to a ligature removed from the victim by the suspect Knots are identified as they exist on the exhibit. However, due to stresses, mis-handling or usage, the original knots in some cases can be capsized to look like a different knot. In such cases the questioned knot (believed the original knot before capsizing) can be identified and explained as to its transformation, as in these cases: reef knot to lark's head, cow hitch, or bale sling hitch granny knot to clove hitch or two half hitches Knots such as the overhand knot and the figure of eight, can be introduced into the exhibit simply by placing a lengthy rope exhibit, as a tangled mess, into an exhibit bag. Here, knots would be identified that were not tied by human hands and would lead to an erroneous conclusion and inaccurate opinion. Identification of the knots, can provide some profiling of the tyer such as: knot tying skills chirality of the knot tied linkage to job, trade, hobby, craft or recreation of the tyer designed or intended use of the knot Identity of the knots can also provide alternate knot names for the same knot. In some instances, very common knots have several alternate names including foreign language names. Knowledge of these alternate names can help the investigator when statements are obtained and a knot is described using a specific name for it. The following are examples of alternate knot names: reef knot also known as, square knot, Hercules knot, ambulance knot (bandage knot) overhand knot also known as, thumb knot and half knot becket bend (or hitch) also known as cat's paw (by loggers, tree toppers) Who is a forensic knot specialist/expert "A person who, through experience, has acquired a special or peculiar knowledge of a subject of which he undertakes to testify, and, whether such knowledge has been acquired by study of a scientific work or by practical observation is immaterial." The expert witness reports fact known, and relevant to the knotted evidence in a particular case. His observations and examination of the knots, ligatures and related crime scene evidence, can result in an opinion as to the significance of these facts. An expert must be objective and impartial; his evidence should be reliable, clear and relevant. He should keep pace with advances within his field of discipline, and associate or liaise with organizations which help to advance the understanding of this field. Knot specialist training He should have an understanding of the historical development of knots, and materials used as ligatures. He should have knowledge of the reference materials available on knots, crime scene techniques, and other related scientific papers on the topic, and how to research the information required. He should have an understanding of the manufacturing process of ropes and other ligature materials. This would entail visiting rope manufacturing plants and observations of the techniques to make these ligature materials. Such knowledge can enhance his abilities to conduct physical matching of ligature exhibits. He should possess the ability to show a demonstrated skill in knot tying techniques, be able to replicate the knots observed or identified in knotted ligatures, and be a practitioner of the discipline. DESIRED SKILLS The ability to educate, and communicate his analysis to investigators, medico legal professionals, and the courts, by the preparation of a report of his findings, and/or testimony in court. The ability to illustrate knotted ligatures, as a means of providing demonstrative evidence to help in explaining his analysis or opinion. Be able to conduct experiments to prove or disprove a point, such as: "Could the victim have tied himself up?", or "Was a particular knot used, that would have enabled self-release from the ligature?". By investigating and/or researching knot cases, the specialist can gain practical experience and knowledge. The ability to author and publish scientific papers on related research done. Be able to teach or lecture on his knowledge, experience, or work performed within the discipline. Be able to acquire some computer literacy with respect to using databases, word processors, and drawing programs. Detection, Collection and preservation of knotted exhibits Upon the discovery of knotted exhibits at a crime scene, the utmost care and attention must be taken if this evidence is to be analyzed, and information, in the form of an opinion, be obtained. Like any other piece of evidence, care must be taken to protect it from contamination, movement or change, prior to its removal and any movement or change be recorded. (Editor please insert Pictures insitu1.jpg [caption: Exhibit 'in situ' at scene] and insitu2.jpg [caption: Exhibit after delivery by courier service] here) At all major crimes, there are a number of services to assist in the investigation, in particular, the Forensic Identification Services, have the responsibility of recording the scene by measurements, photography and in some instances, videography. After the victim is removed (assuming that there is a murder), then knotted exhibits should be photographed during their removal and examination at the post mortem. This extra step also ensures that any change to the knots from the scene to the analysis, are recorded. In cases where there is suspected wire used as a ligature, and/or the exhibit has been extensively coated with dirt or mud, or the coating on the wire has been fused by exposure to heat or fire, techniques such as fluoroscopy and X-Rays can be done to reveal the intricacies within the knotted exhibit. (Editor please reproduce figure tie_vcr.jpg here [Caption: This is one instance where an X-ray of the knots may be useful. In this case the hands are tied at the back. The ligature is wound round the hands in a complicated way, and its intricacies can not be made out easily. An X-ray can help in such cases.] Editor please also reproduce figure xray_vcr.jpg here [Caption: Xray of tied hands shown in the above picture. The intricacies of the loop can be made out now]) Removal Of Knotted Exhibits A forensic knot analyst has to keep in mind several things when encountering knots on the scene of crime. You may want to know what are those precautions. The following are guidelines to assist in the proper collection and preservation of the exhibits that contain suspected knots: (Editor please reproduce figure 004.jpg here. Caption: The noose of a hanging victim should be preserved. This is best done by cutting the noose away from the knot and securing the ends with string or wire. To assure preservation of the knot, it may be necessary to secure it independently.) 1.Never untie a knot. 2.Cut ligatures away from the knots. 3.The cut ends of the ligature should be labeled (e.g. A-a, 1-1) so cut ends can be matched. 4.Tape or string can be used to preserve cut ends from fraying. 5.The knotted exhibit should be laid out and labeled to preserve orientation to the victim. 6.Be careful that loose knots don't fall apart, or that bights and/or crossings not be lost. 7.Where several turns have been used (e.g. around wrists, neck), cut each turn individually and label, then label the group of turns and secure with a string or tape. 8.Don't place lengthy exhibits into a container so that it can become tangled up or knots be introduced into the exhibit. 9.Other forensic examinations required of the exhibit (e.g. Chemistry, DNA, Hair and Fiber) should be done first so that there is no contamination of this trace evidence. 10.If the exhibit is to be examined by the Forensic Laboratory first, the investigator should notify the laboratory personnel that further examinations of the exhibits are to be done and not to disturb the knots contained therein. ****** (Dr. Anil Aggrawal, M.D. is a Professor of Forensic Medicine at the Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi. His E-mail is dr_anil@hotmail.com, and his website is http://members.tripod.com/~Prof_Anil_Aggrawal/index.html)