Investigation Of Death Flashcards
2 stages of medico legal investigation
1.Crime scene investigation
2. Autopsy
Conduct of process, more particularly , the recognition, handling preservation and documentation of physical evidence
Crime scene investigation
place where the essential ingredients of the criminal act took place.
crime scene
Before the actual performance of the search, it is advisable to stand aside and make an estimate of the
situation. A picture of the whole area must be taken
Methods of Conducting a Search
blocked out in the form of a rectangle.
The searcher proceeds slowly at the same
pace along the path parallel to one side of the rectangle.
Strip method
modification of the strip search method. The searchers will
traverse first parallel to the base and then parallel to the side.
Double Strip or Grid Method
searchers follow each other in the path in the spiral manner beginning from the center
towards the outside or vice versa.
Spiral method
Gather at the center and proceed outwards along radii or spokes.
Wheel/ Ray Method
area is divided into subdivisions or quadrants and search is made in the individual
quadrants.
Zone Method
comprehensive study of a dead body, performed by a trained physician
removal of tissues for further examination.
body is open and internal
examination is conducted
Autopsy
external examination of a
dead body without incision being made
Post-mortem Examination
Persons who are Authorized to Perform Autopsies and Dissections
The following are authorized to perform autopsies and dissections
a. Health Officers;
b. Medical officers of law enforcement agencies; and
c. Members of the medical staff of accredited hospitals.
after all efforts, including gross and microscopic studies and
toxicological analyses, fail to reveal a cause of death
Negative Autopsy
no cause of death is found on account of imprudence, negligence, lack of skill or
lack of foresight of the examiner.
Negligent Autopsy
trauma or disease kill quickly that there is no opportunity for sequelae or
complications to develop.
brain laceration as a result of a vehicular accident
Immediate (Primary) Cause of Death
injury or disease was survived for a sufficiently prolonged interval which permitted the development
of serious sequelae which actually caused the death.
Proximate (Secondary) Cause of Death
natural disease condition in the body. The disease may develop spontaneously,
or it might have been a consequence of physical injury inflicted prior to its development
Natural Death
deaths are those due to injuries inflicted in the body by some forms of outside force. The physical
injury must be the proximate cause of death
Violent Death
Death due to misadventure or accident. An accident is something that happens outside the sway of our
will, and although it comes about through some act of will, lies beyond bounds of human foreseeable
consequences.
Accidental Death
accident without fault or intention of causing shall be exempted from criminal
liability
(a) A person is performing a lawful act
(b) He performed it with due care
(c) He caused injury to another by mere accident
(d) He is without fault and with no intention of causing it
Due to reckless imprudence, negligence, lack of skill or lack of foresight.
Negligent Death
the act of intentionally causing one’s own death
Suicidal Death
Person who shall assist another to commit suicide shall suffer the penalty of prision mayo
Giving assistance to suicide
person who shall kill his father, mother, or child, whether legitimate or illegitimate, or any of his
ascendants or descendants, or his spouse, shall be guilty of parricide
Parricidal Death
is the killing of a child less than 3 days old
Infanticidal Death
still a fetus which is not yet viable (fully developed, that is, it can sustain an
independent life)
abortion
victim is already viable.
Infanticide
Person who, not falling within the provisions of Article 246 shall kill another, shall be guilty of
murder and shall be punished by reclusion temporal in its maximum period to death
Murder
doing any act upon the corpse which adds to the mental suffering or
humiliation of the heirs of the victim or which offends the public.
Scoffing or outraging
Give the example of scoffing or outraging
1.dismembering the corpse by cutting off the head
2.urinating on it
- putting it on a sack and throwing the sack in a garbage pit
4.stripping if off the clothes
person who, not falling within the provisions of article 246 shall kill another without the attendance
of any of the circumstances enumerated in the provision of Art. 248 or Revised Penal Code (Murder), shall be
deemed guilty of _______ and be punished by reclusion temporal.
Homicidal Death
Elements of Homicide
That a person was killed
(b) That the accused killed him without any justifying circumstances.
(c) There is the intention on the part of the offender to kill the victim and such presumption can be inferred from
the death of the victim
(d) That the killing does not fall under the definition of the crime of murder, parricide or infanticide.
several persons, not composing groups organized for the common purpose of
assaulting and attacking each other reciprocally
Tumultuous Affray
legally married person who, having surprised his spouse in the act of committing sexual
intercourse with another person,
Death or Physical Injuries Inflicted under Exceptional Circumstances
Modern methods in the execution of death sentences have abandoned inhuman, cruel and barbarous
Judicial Death
Enumerate the Methods of Judicial Death
Death by Electrocution
Death by Hanging
Death by Musketry
Death by Gas Chamber
A person is made to sit on a chair made of electrical conducting materials with straps of electrodes on both wrists, ankles, and head. An alternating current voltage of more than 1,500 volts is put on until the convict dies.
Death by Electrocution
convict is made to stand in an elevated collapsible flatform with a black hood on the head, a noose
made of rope around the neck and the other end of which is fixed in an elevated structure above the head
Death may be due to asphyxia or injury of the cervical portion of the
spinal cord
Death by Hanging
enclosed in a compartment and an obnoxious or asphyxiating gas is introduced
Death by Gas Chamber
is the deliberate and painless acceleration of death of a person usually
suffering from an incurable and distressing disease.
Euthanasia
Types of Euthanasia
Active Euthanasia
Passive Euthanasia
Intentional or deliberate application of the means to shorten the life of a person. It may
be done with or without the consent or knowledge of the person.
Active Euthanasia
absence of the application of the means to accelerate death but the natural
course of the disease is allowed to have its way to extinguish the life of a person
Passive Euthanasia
ill person is allowed to die a natural death without the application of any
operation or treatment procedure.
Orthothanasia
there is an attempt to extend the life span of a person by the use of extraordinary
treatments without which the patient would have died earlier.
Dysthanasia
It is the deprivation of a regular and constant supply of food and water.
Starvation
Types of Starvation:
Acute starvation
Chronic starvation
It happens when the necessary food has been suddenly and completely withheld from a person.
Acute starvation
It happens when there is a gradual or deficient supply of food.
Chronic starvation
Kinds of autopsy
Hospital or non official autopsy
Medico legal or official autopsy
Execution by firing squad by the used of fire arm. Capital punishment common in military in world war.
Death by musketry
