Forensic Science Special Case : Drowning


Drowning and Forensics

By: Jack Claridge (25 Dec 15)

Drowning almost always occurs as a result of an accident. It is quite a staggering and sobering thought that many of those people who drown each year in the United Kingdom do so because they have never been taught how to swim or simply have a morbid fear of water and when introduced to it panic and so drown.

What Happens as a Person Drowns?

As an individual drowns their lungs will fill with water and the ability to transfer oxygen into the bloodstream is diminished and as you struggle to breathe water is forced into the sinuses. Losing your air supply and also using up too much energy will lead to the oxygen in your blood falling rapidly and as a result the individual will lose consciousness in a very short space of time.

Drowning and Crime

Drowning is difficult to prove beyond the accidental death stage simply because of the nature in which it happens. Proving that an unknown assailant in some way aided the death of another by drowning is difficult to establish and can usually only be established if there are physical wounds such as cuts or bruises or indeed if an eye witness has saw the event take place.

The pathologist will attempt to reconstruct what happened by first determining what didn't happen. This may sound a little contradictory but it is the easiest way to rule out anything other than accidental death. Quite simply if the pathologist has been asked to autopsy a body that was found in water but does not have any physical injuries or problems with heart disease then the most likely conclusion is that death was caused by drowning and is then listed as death by misadventure.Indeed there may well be occasions when it proves difficult to establish whether or not the deceased was alive when they entered the water; this is because that even if an individual is deceased when they enter the water, providing the body remains submerged for a period of time, then the lungs will fill up anyway.

Occasionally a condition called 'dry drowning' may present itself; this is where the deceased's larynx has gone into spasm as water has entered the throat, thus the passage to the lungs is blocked and any water that is already in there cannot get out and more water cannot get in.The pathologist will however look for signs of haemorrhaging - blood in the lungs where the sheer force has caused them to bleed and also any remnants of the surroundings in which the deceased was found. These might include pieces of plant life only found underwater, stones or rocks and evidence of clawing on the fingers and hands in order to try and escape.A pathologist will also attempt to provide evidence that the deceased died in fresh or salt water. This is particularly useful if there are suspicions of foul play. For example if the deceased is found in salt water but the water in their lungs is fresh water than it can be reasonably assumed that they did not die in that body of water in which they were found.Without this particular test yielding any results drowning is something a pathologist will find difficult to prove as accident or foul play so it is important that they keep an open mind throughout.

Source : http://www.exploreforensics.co.uk/drowning.html

My additional notes :

♥ a failing heart causes increased pressure on the lung vessels,  which causes fluid to rise.

♥ if a dead body submerged long enough, the lungs will passively fill up with water. To complicate even more, some drowning cases are what called 'dry drowning'.

♥ When someone first starts to breathe in water, their larynx can spasm and close and the death can actually caused by asphyxiation.  Nothing gets into the lungs, not water not air and the victims suffocate rather than drowns. The larynx remain close and at the autopsy the lungs will appear perfectly dry.

♥ about the victim whether they drowned into the fresh or salt water ; the forensic doctor would have to run what's called a Gettler chloride test to determine the chloride content In the blood.

♥ if the blood from the right side of the heart has chloride in it, the victims drowns in freshwater. If found in the left meant the victims drowns in saltwater. But it's an expensive to run it.








Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Lohong hitam di antara ruang masa fizikal dan ghaib : Perspektif Sains dan Al-Quran

Image
Rasanya ramai antara kita yang pernah mendengar tentang kewujudan lohong hitam atau black holes, yang ditemui hampir seratus tahun yang lampau dan kedengarannya isu ini mula agak agresif 10 tahun yang lalu. Lohong hitam ini dikatakan misteri hingga saat ini dan tiada mampu dibuktikan bagaimana aktiviti penyerapan itu berlaku sehinggalah satu kajian telah dilakukan oleh sekumpulan para saintis dari Universiti Nanning China dengan mencipta lohong hitam tiruan. Selama ini hanya teori yang mampu membuktikan proses tersebut. Apakah lohong hitam tiruan itu dan bagaimana ianya dilakukan? Sebelum kita temui jawapannya, kita fahami dahulu apakah sebenarnya lohong hitam itu dan sifat2nya. Gambar Ehsan Google Lohong hitam ialah ruang masa yang mana tarikan gravitinya terlalu kuat sehinggakan zarah dan radiasi elektromagnetnya iaitu cahaya yang melaluinya tidak mampu melepasi tarikan tersebut. Apabila objek dan material yang berada berdekatan dengan lohong hitam itu melintasinya, maka keb
Read more

Perfect Fingerprint

Image
Tahukah apa yang unik dalam dunia ini pada diri manusia? Wajah? Mungkin serupa dengan manusia lain kerana wajah manusia mempunyai tujuh orang dengan rupa yang sama. Cap jari. Cap jari adalah kepunyaan mutlak individu itu sendiri, tidak wujud cap jari yang sama di dunia ini. Pengesahan cap jari telah digunakan bagi pihak kerajaan melebihi 100 tahun untuk mengesahkan identiti jenayah dan pengenalan diri. Perkara asas bagi setiap agensi pihak berkuasa berkaitan sejarah jenayah di bumi ini. Ditubuhkan untuk organisasi profesional forensik pertama, Persatuan Antarabangsa untuk Pengenalan or IAI, pada tahun 1915, program pertama untuk sains forensic, IAI's Certified Latent Print Examiner (CLPE) pada 1977, ianya mengeluarkan persijilan kepada mereka yang memenuhi kriteria yang ketat dan membatalkan persijilan kesalahan pengenalan yang salah.  Penggunaan pengesahan cap jari masih dikekalkan bagi keterangan forensic di seluruh dunia. Kebanyakkan bidang kuasa memeriksa cap jari bagi
Read more

Ulasan buku :Roh oleh Ibnu Qayyim Al Jauziyah

Image
ROH Ibnu Qayyim Al Jauziyah Buku ini asalnya berjudul Ar Ruh Li  Ibnil Qayyim dan diterjemahkan untuk memudahkan pembacaan bagi yang tidak pandai berbahasa Arab. Mengandungi dua puluh satu persoalan berkenaan dengan roh.  Dihuraikan serba sedikit antara isi-isinya yang menarik.   Aoabila antara kita yang telah meninggal dunia tentu mengharapkan keluarga dan orang ynag kita sayangi datang menjenguk dan menghantar hadiah berupa doa kepada kita.  Para salaf bersepakat bahawa orang yang meninggal dapat mengetahui ziarahnya orang yang masih hidup ke kuburannya. Para salaf juga bersetuju bahawa roh itu dilepaskan dan dikembalikan ke jasadnya pada setiap masuknya hari Jumaat sehinggalah pada pagi sabtu sebelum terbitnya matahari.   Doa yang boleh digunakan ketika menziarahi ahli kubur ialah mrmohon keampunan bagi rohnya, memohon Allah mendengar ketakutan mereka,  merahmati keterasingan mereka, mengampuni keburukan dan menerima kebaikan mereka. Doa yang digunakan seperti i
Read more