Citation

Boumrah Y, Gicquel T, Hugbart C, Baert A, Morel I, Bouvet R. Forensic Sci. Int. 2016; 263: e9-e13.

Affiliation

Service de médecine légale, Centre hospitalier universitaire, Rennes, France; Faculté de médecine, Université de Rennes 1, Rennes, France.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.forsciint.2016.03.007

PMID

27020619

Abstract

Chlormequat is a quaternary ammonium used as plant growth regulating agent. We report here the first suicide case involving a 45 year-old farmer man who intentionally self-injected C5SUN(®), containing chlormequat and choline. An original liquid chromatography high resolution mass spectrometry method (LC-HR-MS), using a hybrid quadrupole-orbitrap mass spectrometer, was developed for qualitative and quantitative analysis of chlormequat in different biological matrices. Toxicological analyses of post-mortem samples highlighted the presence of chlormequat in the blood (2.25mg/L) and the urine (4.45mg/L), in addition to ethanol impregnation blood (1.15g/L). The route of administration (subcutaneous injection) was confirmed by the detection of chlormequat in the abdominal fat sample (chlormequat: 10.04mg/g) taken from the traumatic injury location, as well as in the syringe found at the death scene, close to the victim's body. Based on the results of these post-mortem investigations, the cause of death was determined to be consecutive to cardiac dysrhythmia and cardiac arrest following chlormequat self-injection.

Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Language: en