Outliers Writing University Podcast Series

CRIMINAL MISCHIEF 34: Toxicology Part 3

 
https://www.dplylemd.com/books/forensicscience

CRIMINAL MISCHIEF 33: Toxicology Part 2

From HOWDUNNIT: FORENSICS
https://www.dplylemd.com/books/forensicscience
TOXICOLOGICAL TESTING PROCEDURES 
The biggest problem facing the toxicologist is that there are literally thousands of drugs and chemicals that are harmful, addictive, or lethal if ingested, injected, or inhaled. Some even absorb directly through the skin. Toxicological testing is time-consuming and expensive, and few, if any, labs can afford to perform such testing on every case. For this reason, the testing must be as focused as possible. 
 
An understanding of the circumstances surrounding the death is important since clues at the scene often point toward a particular drug. For example, a young girl found on her bed at home with an empty pill bottle at her side would lead to one avenue of testing while a long-term addict found in an alley with fresh needle marks would follow another path. The more clues as to the likely toxin that the circumstances of the death can supply, the narrower the field of possibilities the toxicologist must consider. 
 
THE TWO-TIERED SYSTEM 
When testing for drugs or poisons, the toxicologist typically follows a two-tiered approach. Initial tests, called presumptive tests, are for screening purposes and are typically easier and cheaper to perform. When negative, they indicate that the drug or class of drugs in question is not present and further testing is unnecessary. When positive, they indicate that a particular substance possibly is present. By using these screening tests the number of possibilities can be greatly reduced and the toxicologist can move on to the second phase, which utilizes more focused confirmatory testing. These tests are more expensive and time-consuming, but are designed to establish the identity of the exact drug present. This two-tiered approach saves considerable time and money. 
This same approach is used whether the toxicologist is asked to analyze blood, urine, and other materials obtained from a person (living or deceased) or to test a batch of seized material believed to be illicit drugs. 
Let’s say a corpse is found in an alleyway known for methamphetamine sales and use. If blood samples obtained at autopsy show a positive presumptive test for amphetamines, further confirmatory testing to identify the exact amphetamine present is indicated. If the test is negative, no further testing for amphetamines is done and the toxicologist will search for other classes of drugs. 
To be doubly certain, the toxicologist prefers to find the drug or poison in at least two separate locations. Finding the toxin in the blood and the liver tissue is more reassuring than finding it in either one alone. 
Or let’s say that the toxicologist is asked to test a seized substance and doing so shows a positive presumptive test for cocaine. Further confirmatory testing would then be indicated. If the screening test is negative, the substance may be analyzed for other drugs, but cocaine has been ruled out. 
In most labs, testing for controlled and illegal drugs consumes 75 percent of the lab’s time and resources. The areas most often tested in this type of examination are blood and urine. After one of the presumptive tests shows that a particular drug or class of drugs is likely present, confirmatory testing with the combination of gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC-MS) or infrared spectroscopy are used to accurately identify which substance is present. See the appendix for details on these procedures. 

CRIMINAL MISCHIEF 32: Toxicology Part 1

From HOWDUNNIT: FORENSICS
https://www.dplylemd.com/books/forensicscience
WHAT IS A POISON? 
The terms poison, toxin, and drug are simply different ways of saying the same thing. Though you might think that a poison kills, a toxin harms, and a drug cures, these terms can be used almost interchangeably. The reason is that what can cure can also harm, and what can harm can kill. 
Anything and everything can be a poison. The basic definition of a poison is any substance that, if taken in sufficient quantities, causes a harmful or deadly reaction. The key here is the phrase “sufficient quantities.” 
The toxicity of any substance depends on how much enters the body and over what time period it does so. For example, you probably know that arsenic is a poison, but did you know that you likely have arsenic in your body right now? If you’re a smoker, you have more than a little bit. Same with mercury and cyanide. These substances are in the environment—you can’t avoid them. But they are in such small quantities that they cause no real harm. However, take enough of any of them and they become deadly.
The same can be said for the medications your doctor gives you to treat medical problems. Consider the heart drug digitalis, which comes from the foxglove plant and has been used for over a hundred years to treat heart failure and many types of abnormal heart rhythms. It is also a deadly poison. Too much can lead to nausea, vomiting, and death from dangerous changes in the rhythm of the heart. It’s ironic that it can treat some abnormal heart rhythms while at the same time can cause other more deadly rhythms. It’s all in the dosage. The right dose is medication; the wrong dose is poison. 
TOXICOLOGICAL TESTING
Toxicology is a marriage of chemistry and physiology, since it deals with chemical substances (chemistry) and how these substances alter or harm living organisms (physiology), particularly humans. 
A forensic toxicologist deals with the legal aspects of toxicology. His job is to find and analyze toxic substances in biological materials taken from both the living and the dead, and to determine the physiological, psychological, and behavioral effects on the individual in question. For example, he might be asked to assess the state of inebriation of an automobile accident victim or to determine if someone died from a poison or if the presence of a drug contributed to the victim’s death. This is often more difficult than it sounds. 
When the toxicologist investigates a possible poisoning death, he must answer three basic questions: 
Was the death due to a poison?
What was the poison used?
Was the intake of the poison accidental, suicidal, or homicidal? 

CRIMINAL MISCHIEF 31: Body Disposal

From HOWDUNNIT:FORENSICS:
GETTING RID OF THE BODY 
Some criminals attempt to destroy corpses, the primary pieces of evidence in homicides. They think that if the police never find the body, they can’t be convicted. This isn’t true, since convictions have in many cases been obtained when no body is found. And destroying a body is no easy task. 
Fire seems to be the favorite tool for this effort. Fortunately, this is essentially never successful. Short of a crematorium, it is nearly impossible to create a fire that burns hot enough or long enough to destroy a human corpse. Cremation uses temperatures of around 1,500oF for two hours or more and still bone fragments and teeth survive. A torched building would rarely reach these temperatures and would not burn for this long. The body inside may be severely charred on the surface, but the inner tissues and internal organs are often very well preserved. 
Another favorite is quicklime. Murderers use this because they have seen it in the movies and because they don’t typically have degrees in chemistry. If they did, they might think twice about this one. Not that quicklime won’t destroy a corpse; it just takes a long time and a lot of the chemical. Most killers who use this method simply dump some on the corpse and bury it, thinking the lime will do its work and nothing will remain. Quicklime is calcium oxide. When it contacts water, as it often does in burial sites, it reacts with the water to make calcium hydroxide, also known as slaked lime. This corrosive material may damage the corpse, but the heat produced from this activity will kill many of the putrefying bacteria and dehydrate the body. This conspires to prevent decay and promote mummification. Thus, the use of quicklime may actually help preserve the body. 
Acids are also used in this regard, and once again the criminal hopes the acid will completely dissolve the body. Serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer tried this with little success. Indeed, powerful acids such as hydrochloric acid (HCl), sulfuric acid (H2SO4), andchlorosulfuric acid (HClSO3) can destroy a corpse, bones and all. If enough acid is used over a sufficient period of time, that is. But this is not only difficult but also extremely hazardous. The acids will indeed destroy the corpse, but they will also “eat” the tub the body is in and chew up the plumbing. Acid fumes will peel the wallpaper and burn the perpetrator’s skin, eyes, and lungs. 
 
Body Encased in Concrete: https://www.breitbart.com/crime/2019/10/17/police-find-missing-womans-body-encased-concrete-arrest-two-suspects/
 
Body in Concrete in Plastic Storage Container: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/13/14409189-murder-victim-found-entombed-in-concrete-was-former-fla-journalist
 
Acid in Tub: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/french-students-dissolve-body-in-acid-after-killing-girl-in-breaking-bad-murder-plot-10447943.html
 
Body Beneath Another Corpse: https://www.newser.com/story/240700/husband-hid-wifes-body-under-grave-of-wwii-veteran.html
 
Body Parts in Trash Bags: https://6abc.com/archive/6880388/
 
Cooked Spouse: https://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/09/la-chef-told-police-he-slow-cooked-his-wife-for-days.html
 
Laci Petersen in the San Francisco Bay: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Peterson
 
Corpse in Freezer in Truck: https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-07-18-mn-17076-story.html
 
And
 
https://murderpedia.org/male.F/f/famalaro-john.htm
 
The Science of Finding Buried Bodies: http://theconversation.com/the-science-of-finding-buried-bodies-77803
 
The Science of Finding Dead Bodies: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4515430/Researchers-reveal-track-corpse.html

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