Citation

Druid H, Holmgren P. Int. J. Legal Med. 1999; 112(1): 62-66.

Affiliation

Division of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Linköping, Sweden.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1999, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

9932746

Abstract

We report two fatalities due to injection of heroin. The first case was witnessed but during the early phase of the police investigation the question was raised whether the injection was self-administered. Multiple samples were collected from different sites and analysed in order to establish drug distribution and to determine the site of injection. Fresh injection marks were found in both antecubital fossae but histological examination failed to settle which one was the last. However, toxicological analysis of the tissues at the injection sites indicated that the injection in the right arm was the last one. This was consistent with the suspicion that the victim was given the injection by another person although probably in agreement with the deceased. In the second case, a similar toxicological procedure was used. This fatality was not witnessed, however ample evidence indicated that it was an isolated event in a former intravenous heroin addict and there was only one fresh injection mark. Even in this case, the concentration of morphine was much higher in the tissue sample from the injection mark than in any of the blood samples.

Language: en