Bugelli V, Papi L, Fornaro S, Stefanelli F, Chericoni S, Giusiani M, Vanin S, Campobasso C P
Department of Medicine & Health Sciences, University of Molise, via De Sanctis, 86100, Campobasso, Italy.
Department of Medicine and Health Sciences, Forensic Science Section, University of Florence, largo Brambilla 3, 50100, Florence, Italy.
Int J Legal Med. 2017 Sep;131(5):1299-1306. doi: 10.1007/s00414-017-1628-0. Epub 2017 Jul 9.
One of the most common methods of maternal filicide is by fire. In this case study, a 40-year-old female and her children were found completely burned in a burnt out car. All bodies showed a degree of destruction by fire consisting to a level 3 of the Crow-Glassman Scale (CGS) and early stage of insect activity. Toxicological analyses were performed on soft tissues and body fluids still available. The results were positive for diazepam and its metabolites only for children with blood concentrations consistent with therapeutic doses of benzodiazepines. Home video surveillance cameras confirmed sedation prior to death recording the mother while administering some drops of sedative drugs in a soft drink to the children just a couple of hours before setting fire to the car. Based on autopsy findings, all victims were still alive at the time of fire. The cause of death was determined as carbon monoxide poisoning and fatal thermal injuries by fire. This case study has a special focus on the entomotoxicology and the potential role of insects in death investigations of burnt bodies, supposed to be an inadequate substratum for insect colonization. It demonstrates that in burnt bodies, arthropod colonization can be quite immediate after fire is extinguished. Toxicological analyses performed on larvae actively feeding on the children's bodies were positive for diazepam and its metabolites in small amount compared with blood concentrations, whereas the larvae collected from the mother's body were totally negative. These data, according to the autopsy findings and the toxicological results from the victim's blood and tissues, supported the suspect of a non-lethal sedation prior to death, which is a common behaviour in maternal filicide.
母亲杀害子女最常见的手段之一是纵火。在本案例研究中，一名40岁女性及其子女被发现死于一辆烧毁的汽车内，尸体均被完全烧焦。所有尸体均呈现出一定程度的火烧破坏，达到了克劳-格拉斯曼量表（CGS）的3级，且处于昆虫活动早期。对仍可获取的软组织和体液进行了毒理学分析。结果显示，仅在儿童体内检测出地西泮及其代谢物呈阳性，血液浓度与苯二氮䓬类药物的治疗剂量一致。家庭视频监控摄像头证实，母亲在死前实施了镇静行为，录像显示就在她点燃汽车前几个小时，她往孩子们喝的软饮料里滴了几滴镇静药物。根据尸检结果，所有受害者在起火时仍活着。死因确定为一氧化碳中毒和火烧致命热损伤。本案例研究特别关注昆虫毒理学以及昆虫在烧焦尸体死亡调查中的潜在作用，通常认为烧焦尸体不是昆虫定殖的适宜基质。研究表明，在烧焦尸体中，火灾扑灭后节肢动物可很快定殖。对在儿童尸体上取食的幼虫进行的毒理学分析显示，与血液浓度相比，地西泮及其代谢物呈少量阳性，而从母亲尸体上采集的幼虫检测结果完全为阴性。根据尸检结果以及受害者血液和组织的毒理学结果，这些数据支持了死前非致命性镇静的嫌疑，这是母亲杀害子女的常见行为。
