Forensic Pathologys Role in Homicide Investigations - Term Paper Example

 Role of Forensic Pathologist in Homicide Investigations Introduction Powell (2011) argues that medical examiners (ME) play a big role as far as crime investigations are concerned in the world today. Initially the role of investigating the cause of a suspicious death was left at the hands of the coroners appointed to do the job. Research indicates that most of the coroners did not have any special medical or legal training that could enable them conduct a thorough and credible investigation to unearth the cause and circumstances that resulted in the death (Robinson and Cina, 2011). However, with globalization and advancements in technology, the practice has become more professional in several countries such as the United States. Today, when death occurs that raises suspicion, a forensic investigation is conducted so as to understand the cause of death, the identity of the deceased, time, and place where the death occurred, how the death occurred, as well as the circumstances of the death (Wecht & Kaufmann, 2009). However, unlike the investigations initially conducted by coroners, forensic investigations are conducted by professionally trained medical examiners so as to establish the real cause of death. What is notable is that forensic investigation of the cause of death is multi-disciplinary that entails the collaboration of forensic pathologist, forensic scientists, crime scene investigators (CSIs), entomologists, anthropologists, as well as odontologists among other specialists (Wecht & Kaufmann, 2009). This paper will explore the roles of forensic pathologist in homicide investigations. A forensic pathologist refers to a professional medical doctor performing autopsies on people whose deaths have occurred suddenly, unexpectedly or due to poisonings or trauma (Robinson & Cina, 2011). The causes of such deaths are not easy to determine without a special postmortem investigations being conducted on the body to establish the real cause of death and the circumstances that led to the death. Generally when a death has been reported, it is the responsibility of crime scene investigators (CSIs) to move to the scene of the accident and carry out preliminary investigations as to the cause of death (Robinson & Cina, 2011). Nevertheless, it has come out that some deaths especially those involving sudden deaths resulting from homicide such as serial murders are not easy to establish without a postmortem thereby calling for forensic pathologists to carry out investigations. Therefore, one of the major roles of forensic pathologists as far as the investigation of homicide is concerned is the determination of cause and circumstances of death of an individual dying unexpectedly and suddenly. Tsokos (2008) defines the cause of death as activities, or circumstances that lead to death of a person. He notes that, in known homicide cases, the work of the forensic pathologist is to perform an autopsy in order to determine the important facts and document physical evidence to ascertain the cause of death. Nevertheless, serial homicide cases are a bit different in the sense that it is more than often associated with class characteristics. For example, Tsokos (2008) argues that a child killed through suffocation may be mistaken to have died from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). At the same time, several patients in the hospital may die as a result of a deliberate administration of deadly prisoners’ chemicals or drugs such as potassium. These kinds of deaths are not easy to establish and may take even several years to establish the real cause of such serial deaths, as well as the homicidal circumstances that led to such deaths if thorough and professional investigations are not done. Therefore, it is the duty of a forensic pathologist to conduct a post mortem on the body of the deceased persons to establish what caused their death and the manner the death was caused according to Parsons (2010). Tsokos (2008) noted that in case of adults, the cause of deaths from serial killers tends to be violent. This is because killing an adult is not easy and in most cases involves a struggle between the killer and the victim. In this case, the death may result from strangling of the victim, stabbing, beating, or shooting. Therefore, there are no single murder means used by a serial killer as it may involve any means as long as the mission is achieved. Tsokos (2008) reveals that there are several causes of death in serial homicide including gunshot wounds, suffocation, blunt force trauma, electrocution, and sharp force injuries among others. Therefore, in case such deaths are reported, the forensic pathologist is required to conduct an autopsy on the body and interpret physical discoveries in relation to the historical information known to them, as well as those given by the police officers who conducted the investigation at the scene of the crime. The forensic pathologists are also at liberty to visit the scene of death so as to collect information on what transpired at the time of death, medical history of the deceased and what the deceased was doing at the time of death (Parsons, 2010). The medical examination of the deceased body includes the examination of the body itself, the clothing, and the autopsy, which involves the examination of the deceased internal body organs. During the medical examination, a photograph is taken on the deceased’s body and diagramed after which a detailed report pertaining to the injuries sustained that culminated to death is produced (Parsons, 2010). In addition, the autopsy process also entails microscopic examination of the deceased body tissues, as well as conducting an x-ray on the body to check for possibilities of broken bones, bullets, or any anomalies (Parsons, 2010). This information is helpful in arriving at a credible and defensible conclusion regarding the cause of death. For instance, a forensic pathologist plays a big role in determining the cause of deaths caused by a serial killer in Miami in 1994 as well as the means he used to kill his victims. Tsokos (2008) noted that the serial killer was mainly killing prostitutes in Miami and dumping their bodies in Miami’s neighborhoods (Turk, 2011). Preliminary investigations showed that the serial killer murdered his victims by manually strangling his victims with very little link of trauma. Furthermore, the victims died without suffering any physical injuries. However, in order to establish exactly how the serial killer, Rory Enrique CONDE, killed and controlled his victims, the crime investigators consisting of the NCAVC and FBI sought for the services of a forensic pathologist to investigate the matter (Turk, 2011). After conducting a thorough investigation on the victims, the forensic pathologist demonstrated to the investigators how Rory Enrique CONDE was attacking his victims (Turk, 2011). One of the forensic Pathologists findings was that the serial killer was attacking his victims from behind before strangling and suffocating them to death before dumping them at the neighborhoods. The findings of the forensic pathologist were very vital in understanding of the killer and his acts, which was used in court against Rory Enrique CONDE. Rory Enrique CONDE was later found guilty of the offense and confessed having attacked his victims from behind as alleged by the forensic pathologist and sentenced to death on 7th March, 2000 according to Turk (2011). Forensic pathologists also play a big role in determining the pattern injuries in homicide cases. Tsokos (2008) define a pattern injury as an injury in which the shape, size, and contour match with a portion of the object that created it on the body. Tsokos (2011) notes that when a murder is committed and the cause and manner are not known, a forensic pathologist may be called upon to investigate the pattern injuries left on the body of the deceased by the object used to kill the person. For instance, a killer may opt to use a given instrument such as an axe to kill. Most of these instruments do not remain at the scene of crime since killers tend to go away with them in order to hide any evidence that may be used to lead to an arrest (Schmuter, 2009). However, with the services of a forensic pathologist, the injuries left can be analyzed to unearth the object used to cause the injuries that led to the death. In fact, it is the responsibility of a forensic pathologist to be the first to link cases under investigation. For instance, either research has shown that where a single object is used multiple times to hit or cut someone, a uniform pattern is left on the body (Tsokos, 2011). Therefore, it is the responsibility of a forensic pathologist to analyze the patterns so as to delineate the abject used, which is important for investigation purposes. The forensic pathologist is expected to document the pattern of injuries in a number of documents such as diagrammatical representations, photographic, or verbally. Turk (2011) notes that as the expert charged with the responsibility of identifying the physical characteristics and evidence of the body of a deceased person, forensic pathologies may go beyond and identify other patterns that may be useful for profilers to link cases. An example of the patterns of evidence could be the identification of similar knots and ligatures in serial victims of strangulation or binding. Another example according to Tsokos (2008) is the linkage of several gunshot wounds victims to a particular weapon following the recovery of a bullet at autopsy and the assessment of a firearm by experts, as was the case in Washington DC sniper case. Forensic pathologist is also responsible for the review of trace evidence resulting from homicide. Tsokos (2008) reveals that some killers discard the bodies of their victims after murder. However, the discarded body parts are vital purposes of investigation. As such, the body parts needs to be collected as trace evidence, which is used by the investigation team to link cases (Ranson, 2000). Therefore, when the body of a deceased person is found scattered after a murder, the detectives such as the FBI and other investigative team is tasked with the responsibility of collecting and organizing all investigation documents pertaining to death plus photographs taken from the scene, which are then submitted to the forensic pathologist for analysis (Turk, 2011). However, the forensic pathologist is required to conduct a review of the investigation documents in conjunction with the profiler and lead investigator (Schmuter, 2009). During the review, the forensic pathologist reviews all cases by analyzing the similarities and patterns, which includes analysis of the disposal methods of the body; the physical attributes of the deceased and the instrument used in the murder by looking at the pattern injuries; and would distribution patterns on the body. In addition, the forensic pathologist will also review the trace evidence report to recognize a linkage according to Ross (2011). The autopsies conducted by the forensic pathologist are also aimed at identifying the deceased person is cases where the body is mutilated beyond recognition (Ranson, 2000). This is done by way of medication examination and dental records of the deceased person to reveal his or her identity. In case the body of the deceased person has deteriorated to skeleton, then a forensic pathologist may be called upon to determine the deceased race or sex. Forensic pathologists are expected to conduct such investigations in conjunction with the odontologists (dentists) and/or anthropologists (Ranson, 2000). The medical examination of the deceased body is also aimed and determining whether the deceased died due to injuries sustained antemortem or postmortem and the changes that occurred on the body due to decomposition after death (Prahlow, 2009). Conclusion Forensic pathology indeed plays a big role as far as a homicide investigation is concerned. This is because it has made it easy for law enforcement officers in the U.S. and other countries where the science is applied to determine easily the cause of death that happens suddenly and unexpectedly. In addition, through autopsy procedure conducted by forensic pathologists, it has become easy for homicide investigators to understand circumstances leading to death of an individual and instruments used. For instance, forensic pathological investigations helped in the analysis of Simpson’s case, Rory Enrique CONDE’s case as well as the Washington sniper case among many others. References Parsons, S. (2010). “The role of forensic pathology in improving, investigating, and using Mortality data.” Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine. Monash University. Pp. 1-25. Powell, B. (2011). Reflection of evil. New York, NY: MBS Press. Prahlow, J. (2009). Forensic pathology for police, death investigators, attorneys, and forensic scientists. Oxford: Springer. Ranson, D. (2000). The role of the pathologist in homicide investigations and coronial inquiries. Victorian Institute of Forensic Pathology. Pp. 230-235. Retrieved from http://www.aic.gov.au/media_library/publications/proceedings/17/ranson.pdf Robinson, R. & Cina, S. (2011). “Forensic Scene Investigation.” Retrieved from http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1680358-overview Ross, A. (2011). The juvenile skeleton in forensic abuse investigations. London: Springer. Schmuter, M. (2009). Tales of forensic pathologist. Blumington, IN: iUniverse. Tsokos, M. (2008). “Forensic Pathology Reviews”. Forensic Science Medicine Pathology, 5: pp. 5-308. Turk, E. (2011). Forensic pathology reviews. Forensic Science Medicine Pathology, 6: p.342. Wecht, C. & Kaufmann, D. (2009). A question of murder: Compelling cases from a famed forensic pathologist. Hoboken, NJ: Prometheus Books. Read More