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Med. Sci. Law (1976) Vol. 16, No. 1
Let us remember there are also Simple Tests* C. J. POLSON,
M D , FRCP, FRCPath, of the Inner Temple, Barrister-at-Law
Emeritus Professor of Forensic Medicine, University of Leeds Allow me to take this opportunity, the first I have had, to thank you for the honour of election as your President. This privilege, like any other, carries with it a coincident obligation, namely to deliver a n address. I propose, therefore, to invite you to join me in remembering that there are also simple tests which can be carried out with the aid of inexpensive equipment. Doubts I may have had about this choice of topic were removed when I later read a n editorial by Elliott Hensel (1974) and remarks reported to have been m a d e by Colin Walker at the scientific meeting of the British Medical Association in July, 1974 and, yet more recently, by a conversation I h a d with Professor Marshall. I shall deal with simple matters and it is unlikely that I shall tell you anything you do not know already, but I hasten to assure you that I do not for one moment presume to cast aspersions upon your intelligence, know ledge or experience. Whenever we visit a modern laboratory we cannot fail to be impressed, if not over awed, by the array of complex, or should I say sophisticated, apparatus. T h e multitude of switches, flashing lights and screens traversed by mysterious curves compel attention. Nor must I fail to mention those wonderful machines which regurgitate rolls of perfor ated paper. T h e pity is that these rolls cannot be played on a pianola: were this possible the resulting music would surely surpass the best of Schonberg or Shostakovitch. I t requires little experience of laboratories to realize that this equipment is costly a n d requires a skilled staff to operate and, more •Presidential address presented to the Sixteenth Annual General Meeting of the British Academy of Forensic Sciences held in London on 4 July, 1975.
especially, to interpret the results provided by these instruments. I have no desire to return to the horse a n d buggy in the j e t age. Let me make my attitude perfectly clear. If someone designs a new instrument or invents a new technique which extends the current scope of investigations or enables us to perform them more efficiently, the instrument or method, when proved to be of value, should be promptly acquired. It is necessary to bear in mind that 'when these machines break down, as they frequently do, the helpless scientist has nothing to fall back upon except a hastily summoned mechanic. H e is not likely to have been trained to d o his work manually with the most elementary apparatus' (Hensel, 1974). I agree with Hensel that a training in basic methods is essential. It has been truly said, whether by Confucius or M a o Tse-Tung is immaterial, that it is necessary to learn how to walk before attempting to run. D r Colin Walker (1974) h a d directed his remarks to clinical medicine but they are capable of application to forensic science: 'Nothing can totally replace ever-open eyes, a sharp pair of ears a n d a quick pair of hands, all skilfully trained to act in response to the well-programmed computer we all have between the ears'. I n forensic pathology, the only branch of forensic science of which I a m qualified to speak, m a n y of its medicolegal problems can be solved by natural aids a n d simple tests requiring inexpensive equipment. It is not forgotten that, now a n d again, as in the insulin murder (R. v. Barlow, 1957; Poison a n d Tattersall, 1971), the solution of the problem will be beyond the current range of investigations and, as in that case, it is neces sary to call in a special team, who will devise
Poison: Simple Tests
ad hoc tests. D r G u r d a n d his colleagues thus Proved a distinct excess of insulin in the body of Mrs Barlow. O n the other h a n d , it is possible for com plex procedures t o mislead. Inactivation analysis, which permits the detection of arsenic and its estimation in a single hair, or even Part of a hair, is cited as a n example. (It is indeed f cry from the simple tests employed by D r Addington, in the case of Mary Blandy, in 1752 (Roughead, 1914).) "airs, reported to have come from the head of Napoleon, were submitted to inactivation analysis a n d u p to 11-Oppm (average 4-91 PPm) of arsenic were detected. This was deemed by some to indicate chronic arsenical Poisoning a n d murder by the English. Wallace (1964) pointed out that in all prob ability Napoleon, suffering from debility, Perhaps due to cancer of the stomach, h a d had a therapeutic course of liquor arsenicalis. was then a popular remedy a n d could u P - d u p to 11 p p m of arsenic in « e hair (Poison a n d Tattersall, 1971). With respect, let me also remind you that some fundamental discoveries have been made with simple equipment. I t m a y well be . a t Newton's discovery of the law of gravitan , by observing the fall of apples while seated in his orchard, is a piece of scientific folklore. However, there is n o doubt that Faraday m a d e important discoveries in the « l d of electromagnetism with the aid of simple apparatus, e.g. a magnet a n d a hand ful of iron filings. It is a recent discovery that the structure of D N A is a double helix. T h e * y to this problem was found by Watson, » c k a n d Wilkins in 1962, not with a battery computers or electron microscopes but a 'arge jigsaw puzzle, the pieces of which p r e s e n t e d certain molecules. a
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^ U I P M E N T REQUIRED FOR SIMPLE TESTS % teacher, the late J o h n Shaw D u n n , once said to m e apropos of research, ' T h e r e is a n a^ful lot you can do with £ 5 ' . T h a t was a ' g time ago a n d the value of money has decreased a n d the cost of apparatus has mcreased; b u t it is still possible to d o a lot 0 n
3
with £ 5 0 0 which, today, is but a fraction of the cost of equipping a laboratory. Fortunately, those who embark upon a career in forensic science already possess, free of charge, invaluable equipment, namely, good eyesight, the ability to observe—which can be improved by training a n d practice— a n efficient computer between the ears— which can be well p r o g r a m m e d by training experience—and, I hope, a stock of common sense. Although these blessings have a wide scope it is not unlimited. Additional equip ment is necessary.
Aids to Low Magnification T h e simple h a n d lens should ever be avail able. Low magnification, u p to x 8 , reveals a new world, as philatelists present are well aware. It is indeed an expensive h a n d lens which, even today, costs £ 5 . Recently a cer tain drug firm distributed a splendid Perspex lens free of charge. T r u e , it carries a n adver tisement for a certain pill but should that cause embarrassment to the user of the lens, a little acetone on a swab promptly removes the lettering. A watchmaker's lens, either to insert into the orbit or suspend on a spectacle frame, is a valuable aid as is also a linen tester; the latter is in wide use by fingerprint experts. T h e r e is, however, a limit to the scope of low magnification and, therefore, a microscope is essential. Its kind may be a matter for debate. T h e type of microscope which, today, appears to be almost universal, is a n imposing binocular instrument, the minimum cost of which is about £ 3 0 0 . It requires more evidence than has as yet come my way to convince m e that, for routine purposes, these splendid instruments are so much more efficient than the standard monocular micro scopes, as made by recognized manufacturers, that the greater cost is justified. T h e standard monocular instruments of my day sufficed for the needs of at least three masters of histodiagnosis, namely, J o h n Shaw D u n n , Matthew Stewart a n d Rupert Willis. If it is true that the 'old fashioned' microscopes have been thrown on the scrap heap, it is to be deplored. For routine purposes they permit rapid, efficient examination. A return to the
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Med. Sci. Law (1976) Vol. 16. No. 1
kind of instrument devised by v a n Lueenhoek is not suggested b u t the use of expensive, complex microscopes for routine purposes is a doubtful, if not reprehensible, practice. O n the other hand, where research or special investigations call for special microscopes, the finest instruments available are alone adequate.
Aids for Linear Measurement O f course, the ruler and tape measure will ever be at h a n d . T h e forensic scientist has long ceased to express size in terms of hen's eggs, golf balls or, a n old favourite of mine, a n elephant's foot. An accurate steel rule a n d steel tape measure should not cost more than £5. Where stature is estimated from the measured length of long bones, it is necessary to have a n osteometric board. It should be within the competence of m a n y laboratory tech nicians to make one for a few pounds.
Determination of Body Temperature A thermometer, of clinical type but which registers well below the ordinary thermometer is essential; it should register down to 65° F. It was possible to get them for a few shillings. I n passing, dare I say a word or two about temperature taking at the scene of d e a t h ? By all means ascertain the temperature of the body. T h e police will expect it of you a n d failure to d o so might result in a n allegation of incompetence. But beware of giving precise estimates of the time interval since death based solely on the body temper ature or, for that matter, on any of the other tests, e.g. the extent of rigor mortis. T h e temptation to do so is strong a n d there may be pressure to yield to it.
Meccano A stock of Meccano parts can be used to con struct simple pieces of apparatus or models. Reference is m a d e below to the use of Meccano to construct cages for the transport of exhibits. T h e more robust form of Meccano, Dexion, is widely used to construct shelving a n d benches. It was once used in my depart ment to solve a problem. A m a n was found dead at the foot of a tall building a n d he had fallen from a dormer window. W e were asked to determine whether he had fallen by acci dent or his fall h a d been assisted by a n assailant with whom he h a d had a fight in the adjoining room. Inspection of the dormer window indicated that its ledge was above the centre of gravity of a m a n of average height. For obvious reasons tests at the scene were inadvisable. Appropriate measurements were taken a n d these were used to construct a full-scale model of the window. It was then possible to make tests in safety in the labora tory. These enabled us to convince counsel, who was present, that the fall from the window required the assistance of another person.
T h e following are examples of equipment which proved useful:
Phrenologist's Bust Early in the century, or even earlier, there was interest in phrenology and a M r L. N . Fowler put on sale a china bust. (This year M r A r t h u r Negus included a specimen in one of his programmes a n d valued it at £60.) T h e head is about half the natural size (five inches anteroposterior and four inches sideto-side) . M y department acquired one of these busts soon after its foundation a n d for a n u m b e r of years it was merely an ornament. It then occurred to me that 'Herbert' might have practical value. A thick coating of Plasti cine was applied to the skull a n d the bust was then subjected to blows with a variety of agents. A collar of Plasticine around its neck permitted the reproduction of ligature marks.
Modelling Materials For example, Plasticine, plaster-of-Paris a n d dental wax. W i t h these it is possible to repro duce imprints of blunt, sharp a n d penetrat ing agents or of ligature marks a r o u n d the neck.
Chemical Equipment Even in laboratories which d o not cater for toxicological investigations there should be simple apparatus a n d reagents to permit screening tests for blood, carbon monoxide, alcohol a n d barbiturates. It is here the one
Other Inexpensive Equipment
Poison: Simple Tests
expensive piece of equipment will be required. A reversion spectroscope proved invaluable the detection of carbon monoxide. D r Alan Curry's (1963) simple qualitative test 'or barbiturates was promptly introduced as routine procedure in our autopsy practice d it has already enabled us to detect unsuspected cases of barbiturate poisoning " i circumstances which might otherwise have deemed death from n a t u r a l causes (Poison, 1965). (As yet no instance of homocidal poisoning has been detected.) Other articles which were of value in tests mcluded a hay fork a n d a six-inch nail. a
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ILLUSTRATIVE CASES These are culled from The Essentials of Forensic Medicine (Poison a n d Gee, 1937).
Unaided Eye Cases where the unaided eye was sufficient but, as always, supported by 'background' ^formation supplied by the police. D
«aths by Hanging These are almost exclusively suicidal or accidental but W e c t interpretation of the circumstances requires accurate observation before there is interference with scene. The circumstances may be obvious in certain cases. For example, a male, found suspended, was dressed in female attire and wore a long-haired wig and jewellery. This was undoubtedly the death of a wansvestite in the course of an auto-erotic accident. rHc occasion the interpretation was more difficult, v i c t i m w a s a b Q y a g e d u | y e a r s . A rope a running noose had been deliberately arranged round the water pipe from the cistern of the lavatory and then carried across to the tap of an adjacent wash " i n , to which it was tied. When found suspended he **» half-seated on the lavatory basin. Displacement of the mat in front of it suggested that he had slipped 'orvvards and was then hanged. His age did not fC'Ude suicide but, in the absence of any indication of 'ntent to commit suicide, it was deemed to have been accident. His age did not exclude the possibility of an a u t o . j d e n t . There was slender evidence of interest in playing with ropes. toe
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focation by a Plastic Bag elderly man was found dead in bed with a plastic 8 over his head; the bag was fixed in position by a necktie around his neck. It appeared he had taken bought to prepare for the disposal of his body, instruct'ons for which were in a deed box in his bedroom. The pathologist, who made an autopsy, ascribed b a
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the death to coronary disease; he discounted the plastic bag as a factor since there were droplets of moisture inside the bag and this, in his opinion, indicated that the deceased had been able to breathe. The learned Coroner had doubts and sent photographs of the scene to me for a second opinion. It seemed to me a deliberate suicide. The moisture inside the bag had collected by evaporation after death. This was confirmed by observing the collection of moisture .inside a plastic bag containing a cushion exposed to sunlight. It is also a common experience that moisture collects inside plastic bags used to transport organs from the post mortem room to the laboratory. Palmar Strangulation A woman was alleged to have been throttled. External damage was restricted to four tiny bruises at the front of the neck in the midline. There were no nail marks, scratching or bruising by the digits. The accused had made a statement and when the police said he was below average intelligence, the details in that statement had a ring of truth and were not pure invention. He had been with the woman and she had started to cry out. He had put his right hand over her mouth but this was not effective and he then put his left hand at right angles over his right hand and had pressed down. This would have brought his palm over the voice box. We carried out tests on the cadaver and demonstrated that it was thus possible to fracture the larynx. For obvious reasons we could not reproduce the coincident bruising, The slight bruising at the front of the neck could have been caused by the palm of the accused.
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Accidental Stabbing by Scissors A woman was found dead in her kitchen. She lay on her back, her clothing was disarranged and she had cast a shoe. She had a stab wound in the front of the upper part of the right side of her chest but the agent respon sible was not apparent. The initial interpretation raised the possibility of a sexual murder. No one had broken into the house nor had the neighbours seen anyone call there. Examination of the house disclosed that there was a chair at the top of the stairs leading from the kitchen and there was a bowl of paste, used to fix wallpaper, beside the chair. The paper on the staircase wall was damp and there was a small recent tear. A pair of household scissors, bloodstained, was found on the kitchen floor, about four feet to the right of the body. The chest wound was elliptical and had a constriction at about the mid-point, appearances consistent with injury by a pair of open scissors. (Tests with scissors plunged into Plasticine produced similar appearances.) It was finally established that she had been standing on the chair and had been about to trim the wallpaper, when she lost her balance and had fallen headlong down the stairs. The open scissors had entered her chest and, as shown at the autopsy, had penetrated the innominate artery. She had rolled on to her back and then plucked the scissors from her chest and thrown them to her right, before she died of profuse internal bleeding.
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Med. Sci. Law (1976) Vol. 16, No. 1
Accidental Stabbing by Glass A member of the crew of a Polish ship, bound for Hull, was found lying seriously injured on the deck. It was apparent that he had walked round before he collapsed; there were many small pools of blood on the deck, con sistent with bleeding from a large vein. He was carried below to his bunk and a doctor summoned. By the time the doctor was able to board the ship, then outside the three-mile limit, the patient had died. The doctor examined the body and found a stab wound in the left groin. He pronounced it to have been homicidal. The police were informed and met the ship when it docked in Hull. The post-mortem confirmed the presence of a stab wound in the groin; it was the sole injury. The left femoral vein had been opened but the artery was intact. A tiny shining foreign body was present in the wound. While its nature was being determined a detective officer was examining the trousers of the deceased. He pulled out a handful of ugly spicules of glass from the left-hand pocket and amongst them were the remains of a label from a bottle of vodka. There had been a drinking party below deck and this sailor had been to get more liquor. On his return with a bottle of vodka in his trouser pocket he had fallen, the bottle was broken and a fragment had penetrated his groin. Unfortunately, there was no doctor on board nor, it appeared, had any member of the crew knowledge of first aid.
Low Magnification as an Aid to Diagnosis Laceration of the Neck A man was found dead at the foot of a cliff. It was apparent that he had fallen or jumped from its top. A severe horizontal wound across the front of his neck required explanation. It resembled a cut throat and, initially, the case was deemed to be that of an impatient suicide. Under low magnification there was evidence of irregularity and bruising of the margins of the wound and it was also seen that the hair roots were exposed but not cut; the skin had been split, not cut open. The appearances were those of a laceration. Further examination of the scene showed that the branch of a tree growing from the face of the cliff had recently been damaged. The injury to the man's neck had been sustained by contact with it during his fall. Suicidal Stabbing Numerous elliptical stab wounds were present over the region of the heart of a woman found dead in bed. A small stiletto lay on the bed. The wounds had an orderly arrangement, in a vertical line, indicative of self-infliction. This was confirmed by the detection of tiny superficial punctures when the area was examined with a hand lens. These were tentative punctures, a hallmark of self-infliction. Post-mortem Injury by an Animal It was found that the left leg of the body of Leslie Ann Downie, one of the victims of Brady and Hindley, the Moors murderers, was missing. At first sight it appeared
to have been removed after death by a long, curved in cision. Under low magnification it was apparent that the margins of the wound were irregular but there was no bruising. Attention was attracted to the presence of small circular indentations and punctures at intervals in line about an inch internal to the margin of the wound. It was suggested that the damage had been done by a fox or dog when it found the body buried in the moors. A beagle was fed with a piece of meat and it reproduced a similar pattern with its teeth.
Plasticine and Plaster-of-Paris Laceration of the Eyebrow A man was found dead with two lacerations in the region of his left eyebrow. There was a disused bottle at the scene. The accused said that the deceased had been unduly familiar with his wife and he had struck the deceased once with his closed fist and had knocked him down. The police were unable to accept this explanation and suggested there had been two blows and, possibly, with the bottle. The phrenologist's bust was prepared and struck with the clenched fist. It was possible to show that this produced two indentations above the eyebrow of similar size and position to the two lacerations on the deceased. Moreover, the larger one could have been made by the knuckle of the middle finger and the smaller one by that of the ring finger of a right hand. The accused had sustained an abrasion of the knuckle of his right middle finger, which would make the greater impact. The test was deemed to support the account of the accused, which was accepted by the court. Strangulation by a Baby's Bonnet A newborn infant was found dead on a Yorkshire beach. There was a strangulation mark on its neck but, instead of having a normal horizontal course, the mark rose by a quarter to half an inch at the nape of the neck. The mother was traced and confessed that she had strangled the child by tightening the strings of its bonnet. A baby's bonnet was acquired and applied to the neck of our phrenologist's bust which had received a collar of Plasticine. After the strings of the bonnet had been tightened it was found that the ligature mark in the Plasticine reproduced that on the neck of the dead infant. Suicidal Strangulation A Lithuanian strangled himself with a ligature, which he tightened with a short rod. When he lost conscious ness the rod was held under his jaw and the tension was thus retained. A plaster cast of a neck was prepared and the ligature and rod applied to it, to provide a museum preparation depicting this 'tourniquet' mode of self-strangulation. (The museum also had a plaster model of a breast bearing a bite mark proved to have been inflicted by the woman's husband, who was convicted of her murder. This exhibit was presented by the late Mr Cuthbert of the Metropolitan Police Laboratory.)
Poison: Simple Tests
Meccano Cages to transport Exhibits The late D r R o b e r t Brittain a n d myself con sidered the use of corks fixed to containers with sealing wax to hold exhibits, as described °V Sodermann a n d O'Connell (1938) a n d hy Gherrill (1940), might be capable of improvement. W e spent a pleasant afternoon devising cages with M e c c a n o parts for the Preservation a n d transport of exhibits bearing hngerprints or bloodstains. Details of cages j»igned to hold bottles, a table knife, a sheet glass a n d a revolver were published with appropriate illustrations. A cage containing a gm bottle was w r a p p e d i n corrugated cardhoard and brown p a p e r a n d sent to Glasgow; " C recipient was requested to r e t u r n the Package unopened. T h e bottle r e t u r n e d mtact after its j o u r n e y of 450 miles by parcel P°«t ( P o l a n d Brittain, 1952). O u r visions Police officers happily engaged in the con struction of M e c c a n o cages have not materifhzed b u t it is still believed t h a t these cages ave merit. d
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^®»pons as Aids to Diagnosis S»*-inch Nail here were several linear, shallow incisions on a dead n s legs. The probable agent was a penknife but it « w u r e d that his assailant might say that they Produced by a six-inch nail. We obtained one and fa^Lf" l t > S maximum force, "ed to breach the skin. I t was deemed impossible to Produced the injuries on the deceased with this a
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natural. Since he had not had recent medical attention his body was subjected to post-mortem examination. Dr Donald Hainsworth, then one of my lecturers, noticed the pink colour of the post-mortem hypostasis and suspected carbon monoxide poisoning. This he soon confirmed when the blood was examined with the reversion spectroscope; the saturation was 57 per cent. The police said there was no smell of gas in the house; indeed there was no supply of town gas to it. They were asked to make further inquiry. They then said that there was a bucket of spent cinders beside the man's bed. This was the key to the problem. It had been a cold night and he had filled the bucket with live coals and taken it to his room to keep him warm during the night. He had inhaled fumes containing carbon monoxide given off by the coal (Poison and Tattersall, 1971). Barbiturate Screening which disclosed an Unsus pected Suicide A woman was found dead in a smoke-filled room; the television set had caught fire. Something on one of her hands at first suggested that it was an electric mark; it proved to be a piece of plastic material. Thought then turned to the possibility that she had died of carbon monoxide poisoning due to inhaling the smoke in the room. Carbon monoxide was present in her blood; this appeared to be the answer. However, the chief technician, M r Patrick Gaunt, followed our practice and made routine tests for barbiturates and alcohol. The results were positive and the blood sample was then sent to M r DalJey, then the Leeds City Analyst, who confirmed the presence of alcohol and barbiturates and his estimation indicated their presence in lethal amount. This raised the question of suicide. The police found a suicide note (Gee and Dalley, 1967).
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If^V Fork he body of a man, found dead in a field near a barn, many 1injuries. Those on his abdomen and chest 03 fro' ^''P ' ') penetrating wounds but those at the "t of his y j b l e d incised wounds. It appeared, *«ore, that two entirely different agents had been j™*? >n the attack upon him. The accused, a fellow lain hospital nearby.said that they had and T l eirt,' p < l had jumped down to the floor about on I accused had followed and landed '»e deceased. Seeing a hay fork close at hand he *•* «t to prod and then slash the deceased. This r e
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I n conclusion, I hope I have shown t h a t simple tests have value a n d they should con tinue to have a place in the field of medico legal investigation.
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REFERENCES Gherrill F. R. (1940) Finger Prints and Palm Prints. London, H M S O . Curry A. S. (1963) Rapid method of screening for barbiturates. Br. Med. J. 2, 1040-1041. Gee D. J . and Dalley R. A. (1967) Unsuspected poisoning. Med. Sci. Law 7, 56-58, Hensel Elliott (1974) Editorial. J. Forensic Sci. Soc. 14,1. Poison C . J . (1965) The role of the pathologist in the investigation of fatal poisoning. Med. Sci. Law 5, 203-210. Poison C . J . and Brittain R. P. (1952) The protection of articles which have fingerprints. Police J. 25, 3 1 33. Poison C. J . and Gee D. J . (1937) The Essentials of Forensic Medicine. 3rd ed. Oxford, Pergamon. Poison C . J . and Tattersall R. N . (1971) Clinical Toxi cology. 2nd ed. London, Pitman Medical.
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R. v. Barlow (1957) Leeds Assizes, 9 December: see Poison C. J . and Tattersall R. N. (1971) Clinical Toxicology. 2nd ed. London, Pitman Medical, pp. 571-576. Roughead W. (1914) Notable British Trials: Trial of Mary Blandy. Edinburgh and London, Hodge.
Sodermann H. and O'Connell J . J . (1938) Modern Criminal Investigation. London, Bell & Sons. Walker Colin (1974) Do not let robot aids take over. Daily Telegraph. 18 July. Wallace D. C. (1964) How did Napoleon die? Med. JAust. 1, 494-495.
Professor Cyril J . Poison President, British Academy of Forensic Sciences, 1974
(Photograph published by kind permission of the Yorkshire Evening News.)
Med. Sci. Law (1976) Vol. 16, No. 1
Let us remember there are also Simple Tests* C. J. POLSON,
M D , FRCP, FRCPath, of the Inner Temple, Barrister-at-Law
Emeritus Professor of Forensic Medicine, University of Leeds Allow me to take this opportunity, the first I have had, to thank you for the honour of election as your President. This privilege, like any other, carries with it a coincident obligation, namely to deliver a n address. I propose, therefore, to invite you to join me in remembering that there are also simple tests which can be carried out with the aid of inexpensive equipment. Doubts I may have had about this choice of topic were removed when I later read a n editorial by Elliott Hensel (1974) and remarks reported to have been m a d e by Colin Walker at the scientific meeting of the British Medical Association in July, 1974 and, yet more recently, by a conversation I h a d with Professor Marshall. I shall deal with simple matters and it is unlikely that I shall tell you anything you do not know already, but I hasten to assure you that I do not for one moment presume to cast aspersions upon your intelligence, know ledge or experience. Whenever we visit a modern laboratory we cannot fail to be impressed, if not over awed, by the array of complex, or should I say sophisticated, apparatus. T h e multitude of switches, flashing lights and screens traversed by mysterious curves compel attention. Nor must I fail to mention those wonderful machines which regurgitate rolls of perfor ated paper. T h e pity is that these rolls cannot be played on a pianola: were this possible the resulting music would surely surpass the best of Schonberg or Shostakovitch. I t requires little experience of laboratories to realize that this equipment is costly a n d requires a skilled staff to operate and, more •Presidential address presented to the Sixteenth Annual General Meeting of the British Academy of Forensic Sciences held in London on 4 July, 1975.
especially, to interpret the results provided by these instruments. I have no desire to return to the horse a n d buggy in the j e t age. Let me make my attitude perfectly clear. If someone designs a new instrument or invents a new technique which extends the current scope of investigations or enables us to perform them more efficiently, the instrument or method, when proved to be of value, should be promptly acquired. It is necessary to bear in mind that 'when these machines break down, as they frequently do, the helpless scientist has nothing to fall back upon except a hastily summoned mechanic. H e is not likely to have been trained to d o his work manually with the most elementary apparatus' (Hensel, 1974). I agree with Hensel that a training in basic methods is essential. It has been truly said, whether by Confucius or M a o Tse-Tung is immaterial, that it is necessary to learn how to walk before attempting to run. D r Colin Walker (1974) h a d directed his remarks to clinical medicine but they are capable of application to forensic science: 'Nothing can totally replace ever-open eyes, a sharp pair of ears a n d a quick pair of hands, all skilfully trained to act in response to the well-programmed computer we all have between the ears'. I n forensic pathology, the only branch of forensic science of which I a m qualified to speak, m a n y of its medicolegal problems can be solved by natural aids a n d simple tests requiring inexpensive equipment. It is not forgotten that, now a n d again, as in the insulin murder (R. v. Barlow, 1957; Poison a n d Tattersall, 1971), the solution of the problem will be beyond the current range of investigations and, as in that case, it is neces sary to call in a special team, who will devise
Poison: Simple Tests
ad hoc tests. D r G u r d a n d his colleagues thus Proved a distinct excess of insulin in the body of Mrs Barlow. O n the other h a n d , it is possible for com plex procedures t o mislead. Inactivation analysis, which permits the detection of arsenic and its estimation in a single hair, or even Part of a hair, is cited as a n example. (It is indeed f cry from the simple tests employed by D r Addington, in the case of Mary Blandy, in 1752 (Roughead, 1914).) "airs, reported to have come from the head of Napoleon, were submitted to inactivation analysis a n d u p to 11-Oppm (average 4-91 PPm) of arsenic were detected. This was deemed by some to indicate chronic arsenical Poisoning a n d murder by the English. Wallace (1964) pointed out that in all prob ability Napoleon, suffering from debility, Perhaps due to cancer of the stomach, h a d had a therapeutic course of liquor arsenicalis. was then a popular remedy a n d could u P - d u p to 11 p p m of arsenic in « e hair (Poison a n d Tattersall, 1971). With respect, let me also remind you that some fundamental discoveries have been made with simple equipment. I t m a y well be . a t Newton's discovery of the law of gravitan , by observing the fall of apples while seated in his orchard, is a piece of scientific folklore. However, there is n o doubt that Faraday m a d e important discoveries in the « l d of electromagnetism with the aid of simple apparatus, e.g. a magnet a n d a hand ful of iron filings. It is a recent discovery that the structure of D N A is a double helix. T h e * y to this problem was found by Watson, » c k a n d Wilkins in 1962, not with a battery computers or electron microscopes but a 'arge jigsaw puzzle, the pieces of which p r e s e n t e d certain molecules. a
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^ U I P M E N T REQUIRED FOR SIMPLE TESTS % teacher, the late J o h n Shaw D u n n , once said to m e apropos of research, ' T h e r e is a n a^ful lot you can do with £ 5 ' . T h a t was a ' g time ago a n d the value of money has decreased a n d the cost of apparatus has mcreased; b u t it is still possible to d o a lot 0 n
3
with £ 5 0 0 which, today, is but a fraction of the cost of equipping a laboratory. Fortunately, those who embark upon a career in forensic science already possess, free of charge, invaluable equipment, namely, good eyesight, the ability to observe—which can be improved by training a n d practice— a n efficient computer between the ears— which can be well p r o g r a m m e d by training experience—and, I hope, a stock of common sense. Although these blessings have a wide scope it is not unlimited. Additional equip ment is necessary.
Aids to Low Magnification T h e simple h a n d lens should ever be avail able. Low magnification, u p to x 8 , reveals a new world, as philatelists present are well aware. It is indeed an expensive h a n d lens which, even today, costs £ 5 . Recently a cer tain drug firm distributed a splendid Perspex lens free of charge. T r u e , it carries a n adver tisement for a certain pill but should that cause embarrassment to the user of the lens, a little acetone on a swab promptly removes the lettering. A watchmaker's lens, either to insert into the orbit or suspend on a spectacle frame, is a valuable aid as is also a linen tester; the latter is in wide use by fingerprint experts. T h e r e is, however, a limit to the scope of low magnification and, therefore, a microscope is essential. Its kind may be a matter for debate. T h e type of microscope which, today, appears to be almost universal, is a n imposing binocular instrument, the minimum cost of which is about £ 3 0 0 . It requires more evidence than has as yet come my way to convince m e that, for routine purposes, these splendid instruments are so much more efficient than the standard monocular micro scopes, as made by recognized manufacturers, that the greater cost is justified. T h e standard monocular instruments of my day sufficed for the needs of at least three masters of histodiagnosis, namely, J o h n Shaw D u n n , Matthew Stewart a n d Rupert Willis. If it is true that the 'old fashioned' microscopes have been thrown on the scrap heap, it is to be deplored. For routine purposes they permit rapid, efficient examination. A return to the
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Med. Sci. Law (1976) Vol. 16. No. 1
kind of instrument devised by v a n Lueenhoek is not suggested b u t the use of expensive, complex microscopes for routine purposes is a doubtful, if not reprehensible, practice. O n the other hand, where research or special investigations call for special microscopes, the finest instruments available are alone adequate.
Aids for Linear Measurement O f course, the ruler and tape measure will ever be at h a n d . T h e forensic scientist has long ceased to express size in terms of hen's eggs, golf balls or, a n old favourite of mine, a n elephant's foot. An accurate steel rule a n d steel tape measure should not cost more than £5. Where stature is estimated from the measured length of long bones, it is necessary to have a n osteometric board. It should be within the competence of m a n y laboratory tech nicians to make one for a few pounds.
Determination of Body Temperature A thermometer, of clinical type but which registers well below the ordinary thermometer is essential; it should register down to 65° F. It was possible to get them for a few shillings. I n passing, dare I say a word or two about temperature taking at the scene of d e a t h ? By all means ascertain the temperature of the body. T h e police will expect it of you a n d failure to d o so might result in a n allegation of incompetence. But beware of giving precise estimates of the time interval since death based solely on the body temper ature or, for that matter, on any of the other tests, e.g. the extent of rigor mortis. T h e temptation to do so is strong a n d there may be pressure to yield to it.
Meccano A stock of Meccano parts can be used to con struct simple pieces of apparatus or models. Reference is m a d e below to the use of Meccano to construct cages for the transport of exhibits. T h e more robust form of Meccano, Dexion, is widely used to construct shelving a n d benches. It was once used in my depart ment to solve a problem. A m a n was found dead at the foot of a tall building a n d he had fallen from a dormer window. W e were asked to determine whether he had fallen by acci dent or his fall h a d been assisted by a n assailant with whom he h a d had a fight in the adjoining room. Inspection of the dormer window indicated that its ledge was above the centre of gravity of a m a n of average height. For obvious reasons tests at the scene were inadvisable. Appropriate measurements were taken a n d these were used to construct a full-scale model of the window. It was then possible to make tests in safety in the labora tory. These enabled us to convince counsel, who was present, that the fall from the window required the assistance of another person.
T h e following are examples of equipment which proved useful:
Phrenologist's Bust Early in the century, or even earlier, there was interest in phrenology and a M r L. N . Fowler put on sale a china bust. (This year M r A r t h u r Negus included a specimen in one of his programmes a n d valued it at £60.) T h e head is about half the natural size (five inches anteroposterior and four inches sideto-side) . M y department acquired one of these busts soon after its foundation a n d for a n u m b e r of years it was merely an ornament. It then occurred to me that 'Herbert' might have practical value. A thick coating of Plasti cine was applied to the skull a n d the bust was then subjected to blows with a variety of agents. A collar of Plasticine around its neck permitted the reproduction of ligature marks.
Modelling Materials For example, Plasticine, plaster-of-Paris a n d dental wax. W i t h these it is possible to repro duce imprints of blunt, sharp a n d penetrat ing agents or of ligature marks a r o u n d the neck.
Chemical Equipment Even in laboratories which d o not cater for toxicological investigations there should be simple apparatus a n d reagents to permit screening tests for blood, carbon monoxide, alcohol a n d barbiturates. It is here the one
Other Inexpensive Equipment
Poison: Simple Tests
expensive piece of equipment will be required. A reversion spectroscope proved invaluable the detection of carbon monoxide. D r Alan Curry's (1963) simple qualitative test 'or barbiturates was promptly introduced as routine procedure in our autopsy practice d it has already enabled us to detect unsuspected cases of barbiturate poisoning " i circumstances which might otherwise have deemed death from n a t u r a l causes (Poison, 1965). (As yet no instance of homocidal poisoning has been detected.) Other articles which were of value in tests mcluded a hay fork a n d a six-inch nail. a
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ILLUSTRATIVE CASES These are culled from The Essentials of Forensic Medicine (Poison a n d Gee, 1937).
Unaided Eye Cases where the unaided eye was sufficient but, as always, supported by 'background' ^formation supplied by the police. D
«aths by Hanging These are almost exclusively suicidal or accidental but W e c t interpretation of the circumstances requires accurate observation before there is interference with scene. The circumstances may be obvious in certain cases. For example, a male, found suspended, was dressed in female attire and wore a long-haired wig and jewellery. This was undoubtedly the death of a wansvestite in the course of an auto-erotic accident. rHc occasion the interpretation was more difficult, v i c t i m w a s a b Q y a g e d u | y e a r s . A rope a running noose had been deliberately arranged round the water pipe from the cistern of the lavatory and then carried across to the tap of an adjacent wash " i n , to which it was tied. When found suspended he **» half-seated on the lavatory basin. Displacement of the mat in front of it suggested that he had slipped 'orvvards and was then hanged. His age did not fC'Ude suicide but, in the absence of any indication of 'ntent to commit suicide, it was deemed to have been accident. His age did not exclude the possibility of an a u t o . j d e n t . There was slender evidence of interest in playing with ropes. toe
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focation by a Plastic Bag elderly man was found dead in bed with a plastic 8 over his head; the bag was fixed in position by a necktie around his neck. It appeared he had taken bought to prepare for the disposal of his body, instruct'ons for which were in a deed box in his bedroom. The pathologist, who made an autopsy, ascribed b a
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the death to coronary disease; he discounted the plastic bag as a factor since there were droplets of moisture inside the bag and this, in his opinion, indicated that the deceased had been able to breathe. The learned Coroner had doubts and sent photographs of the scene to me for a second opinion. It seemed to me a deliberate suicide. The moisture inside the bag had collected by evaporation after death. This was confirmed by observing the collection of moisture .inside a plastic bag containing a cushion exposed to sunlight. It is also a common experience that moisture collects inside plastic bags used to transport organs from the post mortem room to the laboratory. Palmar Strangulation A woman was alleged to have been throttled. External damage was restricted to four tiny bruises at the front of the neck in the midline. There were no nail marks, scratching or bruising by the digits. The accused had made a statement and when the police said he was below average intelligence, the details in that statement had a ring of truth and were not pure invention. He had been with the woman and she had started to cry out. He had put his right hand over her mouth but this was not effective and he then put his left hand at right angles over his right hand and had pressed down. This would have brought his palm over the voice box. We carried out tests on the cadaver and demonstrated that it was thus possible to fracture the larynx. For obvious reasons we could not reproduce the coincident bruising, The slight bruising at the front of the neck could have been caused by the palm of the accused.
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Accidental Stabbing by Scissors A woman was found dead in her kitchen. She lay on her back, her clothing was disarranged and she had cast a shoe. She had a stab wound in the front of the upper part of the right side of her chest but the agent respon sible was not apparent. The initial interpretation raised the possibility of a sexual murder. No one had broken into the house nor had the neighbours seen anyone call there. Examination of the house disclosed that there was a chair at the top of the stairs leading from the kitchen and there was a bowl of paste, used to fix wallpaper, beside the chair. The paper on the staircase wall was damp and there was a small recent tear. A pair of household scissors, bloodstained, was found on the kitchen floor, about four feet to the right of the body. The chest wound was elliptical and had a constriction at about the mid-point, appearances consistent with injury by a pair of open scissors. (Tests with scissors plunged into Plasticine produced similar appearances.) It was finally established that she had been standing on the chair and had been about to trim the wallpaper, when she lost her balance and had fallen headlong down the stairs. The open scissors had entered her chest and, as shown at the autopsy, had penetrated the innominate artery. She had rolled on to her back and then plucked the scissors from her chest and thrown them to her right, before she died of profuse internal bleeding.
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Accidental Stabbing by Glass A member of the crew of a Polish ship, bound for Hull, was found lying seriously injured on the deck. It was apparent that he had walked round before he collapsed; there were many small pools of blood on the deck, con sistent with bleeding from a large vein. He was carried below to his bunk and a doctor summoned. By the time the doctor was able to board the ship, then outside the three-mile limit, the patient had died. The doctor examined the body and found a stab wound in the left groin. He pronounced it to have been homicidal. The police were informed and met the ship when it docked in Hull. The post-mortem confirmed the presence of a stab wound in the groin; it was the sole injury. The left femoral vein had been opened but the artery was intact. A tiny shining foreign body was present in the wound. While its nature was being determined a detective officer was examining the trousers of the deceased. He pulled out a handful of ugly spicules of glass from the left-hand pocket and amongst them were the remains of a label from a bottle of vodka. There had been a drinking party below deck and this sailor had been to get more liquor. On his return with a bottle of vodka in his trouser pocket he had fallen, the bottle was broken and a fragment had penetrated his groin. Unfortunately, there was no doctor on board nor, it appeared, had any member of the crew knowledge of first aid.
Low Magnification as an Aid to Diagnosis Laceration of the Neck A man was found dead at the foot of a cliff. It was apparent that he had fallen or jumped from its top. A severe horizontal wound across the front of his neck required explanation. It resembled a cut throat and, initially, the case was deemed to be that of an impatient suicide. Under low magnification there was evidence of irregularity and bruising of the margins of the wound and it was also seen that the hair roots were exposed but not cut; the skin had been split, not cut open. The appearances were those of a laceration. Further examination of the scene showed that the branch of a tree growing from the face of the cliff had recently been damaged. The injury to the man's neck had been sustained by contact with it during his fall. Suicidal Stabbing Numerous elliptical stab wounds were present over the region of the heart of a woman found dead in bed. A small stiletto lay on the bed. The wounds had an orderly arrangement, in a vertical line, indicative of self-infliction. This was confirmed by the detection of tiny superficial punctures when the area was examined with a hand lens. These were tentative punctures, a hallmark of self-infliction. Post-mortem Injury by an Animal It was found that the left leg of the body of Leslie Ann Downie, one of the victims of Brady and Hindley, the Moors murderers, was missing. At first sight it appeared
to have been removed after death by a long, curved in cision. Under low magnification it was apparent that the margins of the wound were irregular but there was no bruising. Attention was attracted to the presence of small circular indentations and punctures at intervals in line about an inch internal to the margin of the wound. It was suggested that the damage had been done by a fox or dog when it found the body buried in the moors. A beagle was fed with a piece of meat and it reproduced a similar pattern with its teeth.
Plasticine and Plaster-of-Paris Laceration of the Eyebrow A man was found dead with two lacerations in the region of his left eyebrow. There was a disused bottle at the scene. The accused said that the deceased had been unduly familiar with his wife and he had struck the deceased once with his closed fist and had knocked him down. The police were unable to accept this explanation and suggested there had been two blows and, possibly, with the bottle. The phrenologist's bust was prepared and struck with the clenched fist. It was possible to show that this produced two indentations above the eyebrow of similar size and position to the two lacerations on the deceased. Moreover, the larger one could have been made by the knuckle of the middle finger and the smaller one by that of the ring finger of a right hand. The accused had sustained an abrasion of the knuckle of his right middle finger, which would make the greater impact. The test was deemed to support the account of the accused, which was accepted by the court. Strangulation by a Baby's Bonnet A newborn infant was found dead on a Yorkshire beach. There was a strangulation mark on its neck but, instead of having a normal horizontal course, the mark rose by a quarter to half an inch at the nape of the neck. The mother was traced and confessed that she had strangled the child by tightening the strings of its bonnet. A baby's bonnet was acquired and applied to the neck of our phrenologist's bust which had received a collar of Plasticine. After the strings of the bonnet had been tightened it was found that the ligature mark in the Plasticine reproduced that on the neck of the dead infant. Suicidal Strangulation A Lithuanian strangled himself with a ligature, which he tightened with a short rod. When he lost conscious ness the rod was held under his jaw and the tension was thus retained. A plaster cast of a neck was prepared and the ligature and rod applied to it, to provide a museum preparation depicting this 'tourniquet' mode of self-strangulation. (The museum also had a plaster model of a breast bearing a bite mark proved to have been inflicted by the woman's husband, who was convicted of her murder. This exhibit was presented by the late Mr Cuthbert of the Metropolitan Police Laboratory.)
Poison: Simple Tests
Meccano Cages to transport Exhibits The late D r R o b e r t Brittain a n d myself con sidered the use of corks fixed to containers with sealing wax to hold exhibits, as described °V Sodermann a n d O'Connell (1938) a n d hy Gherrill (1940), might be capable of improvement. W e spent a pleasant afternoon devising cages with M e c c a n o parts for the Preservation a n d transport of exhibits bearing hngerprints or bloodstains. Details of cages j»igned to hold bottles, a table knife, a sheet glass a n d a revolver were published with appropriate illustrations. A cage containing a gm bottle was w r a p p e d i n corrugated cardhoard and brown p a p e r a n d sent to Glasgow; " C recipient was requested to r e t u r n the Package unopened. T h e bottle r e t u r n e d mtact after its j o u r n e y of 450 miles by parcel P°«t ( P o l a n d Brittain, 1952). O u r visions Police officers happily engaged in the con struction of M e c c a n o cages have not materifhzed b u t it is still believed t h a t these cages ave merit. d
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^®»pons as Aids to Diagnosis S»*-inch Nail here were several linear, shallow incisions on a dead n s legs. The probable agent was a penknife but it « w u r e d that his assailant might say that they Produced by a six-inch nail. We obtained one and fa^Lf" l t > S maximum force, "ed to breach the skin. I t was deemed impossible to Produced the injuries on the deceased with this a
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natural. Since he had not had recent medical attention his body was subjected to post-mortem examination. Dr Donald Hainsworth, then one of my lecturers, noticed the pink colour of the post-mortem hypostasis and suspected carbon monoxide poisoning. This he soon confirmed when the blood was examined with the reversion spectroscope; the saturation was 57 per cent. The police said there was no smell of gas in the house; indeed there was no supply of town gas to it. They were asked to make further inquiry. They then said that there was a bucket of spent cinders beside the man's bed. This was the key to the problem. It had been a cold night and he had filled the bucket with live coals and taken it to his room to keep him warm during the night. He had inhaled fumes containing carbon monoxide given off by the coal (Poison and Tattersall, 1971). Barbiturate Screening which disclosed an Unsus pected Suicide A woman was found dead in a smoke-filled room; the television set had caught fire. Something on one of her hands at first suggested that it was an electric mark; it proved to be a piece of plastic material. Thought then turned to the possibility that she had died of carbon monoxide poisoning due to inhaling the smoke in the room. Carbon monoxide was present in her blood; this appeared to be the answer. However, the chief technician, M r Patrick Gaunt, followed our practice and made routine tests for barbiturates and alcohol. The results were positive and the blood sample was then sent to M r DalJey, then the Leeds City Analyst, who confirmed the presence of alcohol and barbiturates and his estimation indicated their presence in lethal amount. This raised the question of suicide. The police found a suicide note (Gee and Dalley, 1967).
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If^V Fork he body of a man, found dead in a field near a barn, many 1injuries. Those on his abdomen and chest 03 fro' ^''P ' ') penetrating wounds but those at the "t of his y j b l e d incised wounds. It appeared, *«ore, that two entirely different agents had been j™*? >n the attack upon him. The accused, a fellow lain hospital nearby.said that they had and T l eirt,' p < l had jumped down to the floor about on I accused had followed and landed '»e deceased. Seeing a hay fork close at hand he *•* «t to prod and then slash the deceased. This r e
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I n conclusion, I hope I have shown t h a t simple tests have value a n d they should con tinue to have a place in the field of medico legal investigation.
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REFERENCES Gherrill F. R. (1940) Finger Prints and Palm Prints. London, H M S O . Curry A. S. (1963) Rapid method of screening for barbiturates. Br. Med. J. 2, 1040-1041. Gee D. J . and Dalley R. A. (1967) Unsuspected poisoning. Med. Sci. Law 7, 56-58, Hensel Elliott (1974) Editorial. J. Forensic Sci. Soc. 14,1. Poison C . J . (1965) The role of the pathologist in the investigation of fatal poisoning. Med. Sci. Law 5, 203-210. Poison C . J . and Brittain R. P. (1952) The protection of articles which have fingerprints. Police J. 25, 3 1 33. Poison C. J . and Gee D. J . (1937) The Essentials of Forensic Medicine. 3rd ed. Oxford, Pergamon. Poison C . J . and Tattersall R. N . (1971) Clinical Toxi cology. 2nd ed. London, Pitman Medical.
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R. v. Barlow (1957) Leeds Assizes, 9 December: see Poison C. J . and Tattersall R. N. (1971) Clinical Toxicology. 2nd ed. London, Pitman Medical, pp. 571-576. Roughead W. (1914) Notable British Trials: Trial of Mary Blandy. Edinburgh and London, Hodge.
Sodermann H. and O'Connell J . J . (1938) Modern Criminal Investigation. London, Bell & Sons. Walker Colin (1974) Do not let robot aids take over. Daily Telegraph. 18 July. Wallace D. C. (1964) How did Napoleon die? Med. JAust. 1, 494-495.
Professor Cyril J . Poison President, British Academy of Forensic Sciences, 1974
(Photograph published by kind permission of the Yorkshire Evening News.)
