Toxicology: Drugs and Poisons

Forensic Science

Toxicology
Toxicology - Mix of Chemistry and Physiology
that deals with drugs, poisons, and other toxic
substances.
Began in 1775 when Swedish chemist Karl Scheele
discovered a way to prove arsenic was the culprit in
a suspicious death.

Poisons
ANY substance that when taken in sufficient
quantities causes a harmful or deadly reaction.
(Sufficient quantities how much enters the body, over
what period of time)

1. Intoxicant requires an ingestion of large quantities

before it is lethal
- Ex: Carbon Monoxide, Alcohol, heavy metals (mercury,
lead, selenium)

2. True Poison requires only a tiny amount

- Ex: Cyanide

The Forensic Toxicologist

Finds toxins and determines the
likely effect on the individual who
ingested or came in contact with it.
Examples:
Inebriation in an automobile accident or
industrial accident
Whether a person died from poison or from
natural cause?
Whether drugs played a role in a perpetrators
actions or in seizures or coma?

Effects of Toxins
Effects of toxins do not cause VISIBLE changes in
the body in living people or during an autopsy.
ME will collect fluids and tissues for testing
Toxins are sneaky! Biotransformation can change
one chemical into another within the body due to
metabolism.
The toxicologist may have to look for a
different sign of the toxin.
Ex: Heroin will change into morphine
in the bloodstream so looking for heroin is
fruitless

Best Places for Sample Testing

Blood most useful tells what is going on at the time of
death.
2. Urine Easily obtained Urine cant determine whether a
drug was exerting any effect at time it was collected.
3. Stomach Contents survivors are sampled by way of a
gastric tube. Still no correlation between effects at time it was
collected but will determine if in the body
4. Liver important in metabolism (destruction) of undesirables
in the body. Many drugs concentrate in the liver, so no signs
may be in the blood but the liver will reveal if
a toxin is present.
- Amounts in liver determine hours before
death
- Amount in bile determines past 3-4 days of exposure
1.

Sampling Continued
5. Vitreous Humor EYE BALL WATER resists
decaymay be the only fluid left in a decaying body
levels in this fluid lag behind the blood levels by 1 to 2
hours.
6. Hair absorbs heavy metals and provides
timeline of ingestion can determine if a
poisoning was quick (acute) or drawn out
(chromic)
- Arsenic will kill whether given all at once or slowly
administered

7. Insects that feed on the corpse will have elevated

levels of certain drugs and may provide
information if the drug was present at death.

Common Testing Procedures

1. Color Tests a reagent is added to the substance
to be tested and a color change will represent the
presence of the suspected chemical.
-

CHEAP, EASY, and QUICK

2. Immunoassays Antigen-antibody
reaction substance being sought
is the antigen-testing reagent is the
antibody.
-

An antibody will react only with antigens

and ignores all other chemicals

Testing Procedures
Continued
3. Gas Chromatography Separates compounds according to
size, shapes, and chemical properties will determine class
of compounds but not exact makeup
- can be used to separate a large mixed sample for further
analysis
4. Ultra-Violet Spectroscopy different compounds absorb and
reflect light differently indicates the concentration of a drug
in a sample
5. Mass Spectrometry (MS) high energy bombards the
sample and breaks it into tiny fragments. They are passed
through a magnetic field and separated by MWProduces the
same pattern can be used to ID.

Points of Administration
Toxins will be most concentrated at the point of entry:
a. Ingested Toxins show up more in the stomach, intestines,
and liver
b. Inhaled Toxins show up in the lungs
c. Injected Toxins linger in tissues around point
of injection muscle slows down the transfer
to the bloodstream.
d. Intravenously (IV) will bypass the stomach
and liver going directly into the bloodstream
therefore quickly distributed very little remains in the IV
site.
May find high concentrations in tissues but none in
stomach or intestines.

Testing Continued
Once testing is done, the toxicologist
evaluates what toxins are present, identifying
routes of administration, and determining
whether the concentration is sufficient to play
a role in the subjects death or behavior.
Route of entry is EXTREMELY important
in cases of injection where the person had no
means to inject or no physical capabilities
homicide is a stronger consideration.

Be Aware
Finding a large quantity of toxin in the
stomach does not meant it is the cause of
death!
The toxin may not have entered the
bloodstream yet. Blood concentration is
the MOST important!

Concentration Categories by the

Toxicologist
Normal expected in the general population under normal
circumstances
2. Therapeutic The level your doctor wants in
your bloodstream for medical reasons
3. Toxic a level that may cause harm- nausea,
vomiting, change in heart rhythm
4. Lethal Level at which the toxin consistently cause death
LD50 means the toxin at that level will cause 50% of
people to die.

Wiggle room between categories everyone reacts

differently based on age, sex, body size, genetics, and
health.
1.

Responsibilities of the Toxicologist

1. Know the chemical make-up,
physiological actions, and byproducts of the drug
2. Understand how the drug is
metabolized by the body and
the potential of the metabolites
3. Know how the chemicals will
effect healthy people and people
with various illnesses and
addictions.
4. Recognize the symptoms and signs
produced by the chemicals.

Familiar Poisons
Cyanide very lethal

Can enter by inhalation, ingestion, or direct skin contact

Used for executions
Damages internal workings of the cell
ME will notice a BRIGHT cherry red color to the victims blood.

Strychnine plant based rat poison

Extremely bitter taste: hard to disguise

Causes a LOT of pain: Not typical in suicides
Causes convulsions
Death is caused by asphyxia
Rigor mortis is quick because of the depletion of ATP during
convulsions

Mushrooms easily confused with the edible type

Implicated in accidental suicides and homicides
Causes severe damage to liver and extremely low
blood sugar level

Poisons Continued
Ethylene Glycol antifreeze
Alcoholics sometimes will consume it to satisfy the urge to
drink
Causes deadly breakdown of oxalic acid reacting with
calcium in the blood and crystallizes in the brain and kidneys
ME will find crystals in tubules of kidney

Oxalic Acid raw rhubarb

Powerful irritant to gastrointestinal track
May cause bleeding
ME will find irritation of mouth, esophagus, stomach, and low levels of
calcium in the blood

Heavy Metals Arsenic, Mercury, Lead, Antimony, Bismusth, Thallium

All behave slightly different but cause gastrointestinal injury
Leads to nausea, vomiting, diarrhea (bloody)
Damages kidneys, liver, brain, and nerves

More Poisons
Insulin drops blood sugar level
Robs brain of nutrients: death is quick
If the ME finds high levels of insulin he will look for
a tumor in the pancreas to rule out natural death
If there is NO tumor suspects homicide

Succinyl Choline injectable drug

paralyzes all the muscles of the body

Lethal injections
Leaves behind little evidence of presence
ME looks for metabolites

Corrosive Chemicals Strong alkalis bases (lye) and acids

When ingestedcorrode and burn tissues of digestive track
Causes bleeding, shock, and death
Rarely used in homicidesmostly accidental children ingestion.

Case Study Carl Coppolino

Physician Anesthesiologist

August 1965
Carl called his friend Dr. Karow to report that his wife had died.
She signed the death certificate and no autopsy was preformed.
Carl had been having an affair with a neighbor. When the affair ended, she
went to Dr. Karow with her story.
She had been given a syringe and Coppolino had instructed her on how to kill
her husband, so they could continue the affair. She did not go through with it,
but Coppolino came and strangled her husband and signed the death
certificate.
Investigations and autopsies were preformed Coppolino was acquitted in
the death of the husband.
However, the ME knew that Coppolino had access to succinyl choline and
that this drug would not be present in the corpse but the metabolite succinic
acid would be.
Large quantities were found and Coppolino was convicted of 2nd degree
murder of his wife.

Common Drugs
Categorized by physiological and
psychological effects.
Can effect structure and/or function
of tissues via chemical reactions
Legal or illegal
Addictive (Narcotics) or non-addictive
Drugs covered by law are controlled substances and
taken in excess may cause death or illness.
75% of evidence analyzed is drug-related
Pharmaceutical companies send samples of new drugs
to the FBI to be categorized for future comparisons

Depressants
Make you sleepy and lethargic
Considered downers
Ex: Alcohol
most commonly abused drug
Suppresses respiration - potentially lethal + addictive
Blood levels correlate to degree of intoxication

Ex: Opiates
Derived from poppies
Sleep producing and produces euphoria
and lethargy

Barbiturates - sleeping pills

Stimulants
Increases alertness
Lessens fatigue suppresses appetite
Irritability, anxiousness, aggressive behavior,
paranoia, fatigue, depression
The body will get use to the drug and require
more for an effect, so the person is taking ever
increasing doses
HIGHLY
ADDICTIVE!
Ex: Amphetamines,
Cocaine

Other Drugs
Hallucinogens
Alter perception and mood
Leads to delusional thinking and hallucinations.
Ex: Marijuana, cacti, mushrooms, LSD, PCP,
Ecstasy, Rohyphonol (Date rate drug)

Narcotics
Pain reducers
Ex: morphine, methadone, codeine,
heroin

Anabolic Steroids
Increase testosterone
Aggressive behavior and diminished sex drive
Liver cancer