FORENSIC PATHOLOGY

DEFINITION
FORENSIC Forensic science (often known as forensics) is the scientific method of gathering and examining evidence. PATHOLOGY The study of the essential nature of disease.

FORENSIC PATHOLOGY Forensic pathology is the study of injuries or disease in order to determine the cause of death. Application of the knowledge of pathology/medicine to aid in the administration of justice

FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST
Forensic Pathologists are specialists in medical field concerned with pathology that focuses on the investigation of sudden or unexpected death of victims. A specialist doctor who has knowledge and special skill in forensic pathology.

SCOPE OF FORENSIC PATHOLOGY

W H AT I S T H E R O L E O F F O R E N S I C PAT H O L O G I S T ?

ROLE OF FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST

Confirm death has occurred.
(No pulse or heartbeat, No respiration, Pupils fixed and dilated.)

Estimate time since death.

(Body or rectal temperature, Rigor mortis)

Ensure positive identification

(Fingerprint, Dental data, DNA , clothing)

Determine cause of death.

(Gunshot, Blunt force trauma, Heart Attack)

Form an opinion sitive identificaon possible manner of death through recontruction of event.
(Natural,Accidental / misadventureSuicidal, Homicidal)

ROLE OF FORENSIC PATHOLOGY

Do forensic examination of the body.
(autopsy to provide an opportunity for other issues raised by the death to be addressed, such as the collection of trace evidence or determining the identity of the deceased)

Record and interpret injuries and natural disease if any.

(Type of injury, Fatal injury, Defence injury, Age of injury )

Collect evidence to give to criminalists, toxicologists, or others for specialist analysis Act as an expert witness in civil or criminal proceedings.

CASE REPORT
Case Study: Lonnie Ted Binion.

On September 17, 1998, paramedics found Ted Binion dead in his Las Vegas home. An empty bottle of Xanax, a very addictive prescription drug, lay next to him. Along with this, and a hysterical interview with his girlfriend, Sandy Murphy, led the police to believe his death was a drug overdose. However, Binion's autopsy and other evidence in the case later suggested otherwise. Binion had a stash of silver in the Las Vegas desert, silver worth about seven million dollars. A man named Rick Tabish was arrested for digging up the silver and selling

it. As it turned out, Tabish was Sandy Murphy's lover, and deeply in
debt.

The Binion autopsy revealed a large amount of Xanax in his tissues, and when the medical examiner listed his cause of death as suicidal, the family of Binion asked for a forensic pathologist to consult on the case. The evidence and the information from the autopsy lead the forensic pathologist to a completley different conclusion. Hemorrhages in the eyes suggested someone had suffocated Binion. There were also marks on his wrists, which might have been from handcuffs, marks on his chest that looked like the buttons of his shirt had been pressed into his skin with some force, and linear abrasions around his lips. This evidence pointed to a method of suffocation called "burking". if this cause of death were true, it would suggest Sandy Murphy had staged the crime scene to make it look like Ted Binion committed suicide. On May 19, 2000, after hearing testimony from both the medical examiner and the forensic pathologist, a jury convicted Murphy and Tabish of first-degree murder.