Prevalence of drugs and alcohol in autopsied homicide cases in St. John Parish, Louisiana.

This article presents a retrospective review of all autopsies conducted by the St. John Parish coroner's office between January 1992 and June 1995. The overall prevalence of illicit drugs or alcohol detectable in the autopsied homicide cases for that time period was 60%. Cocaine was the most prevalent substance, detected in 40% of homicide victims. This study also describes a preponderance of firearm violence among homicide cases, and an overrepresentation of young black men with detectable blood levels of drugs or alcohol at time of death. The data from this rural/suburban parish closely parallels that collected from larger urban areas in recent years. These trends in less urban areas will likely further come to resemble those in large cities, and continue to tax health care and community service resources.