Assignment 2: Death Investigations

Question 1

            Death through the natural causes occurs once there are explanatory medical conditions or in cases where the body ceases to function as expected. Such medical conditions may include heart illness, terminal infections and kidney failures. Homicide death cause is a prearranged death murder whereby a human’s life is taken away by another man. This kind of death is usually planned and murder is executed on the victim by the murderer in cold blood. Accidental death on the other hand is an involuntary type of death which is basically committed in an act of violence by a man towards another. Suicide kind of death refers to a situation where one takes his or her own life on purpose due to reasons well known to him or her. These reasons may due to depression that may result into emotional stress. The major difference between natural death and the other kinds of death is that they occur due to natural causes.

Question 2

            Suicide kind of death is not consistent across medical examiners and many of the suspected suicides are with time classified as accidental and sometimes undetermined. Some of the factors are handled by medics so as to determine suicide causes of death. Risk factors in addition to the fact that the suicide cases are less frequent occurrences, great endeavors were made by the police officers so as to make clear the suicide patterns through the use of surveillance information. The officers also investigated on history of suicide attempts of the decedent. It is after conducting an autopsy that the pathologist discovered a large concentration of pills in the deceased intestines and it was concluded that the cause of death was suicide since the police officers report identified some missing pills from the deceased pillbox and they matched those that were found during the autopsy (Gray e al 2014).

Question 3

            Death cases are sensitive and unique in nature and thus they are investigated differently as compared to other cases. One of the distinguishing techniques in this investigation is the inclusion of a pathologist who is required to find out how or the cause of death for the victim of victims. They thus are tasked at looking at the evidence which is the dead body where they examine the physical as well as other traces which can help in establishing the most appropriate type of death or its cause. Most of these pathologists focus on the ways in which the deceased died and they will use it as a means upon which they will lay a foundation for their final conclusion. Autopsy is usually carried out in all death investigations so as to offer an actual substantiation from the pathologist. The police officers involved in the case carry out an investigation and analysis on the pathologists’ conclusion together with the police report so as to determine the cause of death. Death cases are therefore all about finding answers for the bereaved that have been faced with the loss. The other types of crimes are investigated differently as they adhere to strict guidelines. Investigators therefore must gather all evidence that would help in convicting the murders.

Question 4

            In preliminary death investigation, the investigator is expected to follow some procedures. One of the procedures is to first determine boundaries and later confer before acting. Paths of entry and exist should be determined with the right approach to that scene. The investigator should confer with the first police officer of the case. The first officer should thus be the one to escort the case investigator into performing the preliminary survey. The next step is the checking of the presence o the absence of frail evidence and the collection of all the related evidence items. Photographs should be taken so as to limit any scene intrusion before the actual crime scene. The main aim is to avoid interfering with the evidence (Hanzlick, 2007). Death of an actor, Robin William is believed to be as a result of asphyxia identified at the first round investigation thus classifying the cause of death as suicide.

Question 5

            The environment is one of the factors that affect the rate at which the body losses heat considerably. The environment also affects the decomposition rate of the dead body. The environment also affects the rigor mortis whereby the muscles stiffness due to the loss of the adenosine tri-phosphate as well as the increased accumulation of given salts in the muscles fibre (Prahlow et al 2012). The study of the dead body therefore is only relevant within a given time frame up until the body temperature counterpart that of the surrounding. The chief body temperature of the dead will often be taken by the pathologist as soon as possible at the crime scene. Thus it is important for the reading of the temperature to be done early so as to prevent cases where the cause is hard to determine. The body temperature is subject to the environmental conditions of the crime scene.

 

 

 

 

References

Gray, D., Coon, H., McGlade, E., Callor, W. B., Byrd, J., Viskochil, J., ... & McMahon, W. M. (2014). Comparative analysis of suicide, accidental, and undetermined cause of death classification. Suicide and life-threatening behavior, 44(3), 304-316.

Hanzlick, R. (2007). Death investigation: systems and procedures. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.

Prahlow, J.A., & Byard, R.W. (2012). Atlas of forensic pathology. New York: Springer.