The truth lies within: the reconstructive value of inner livores in a homicide case.

Brencicová, Eva; Baglivo, Manuela; Schwendener, Nicole; Schyma, Christian; Jackowski, Christian (2016). The truth lies within: the reconstructive value of inner livores in a homicide case. International journal of legal medicine, 130(6), pp. 1599-1601. Springer 10.1007/s00414-016-1386-4

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Through the widespread use of postmortem computed tomography, inner livores of the lungs have become a frequently observed phenomenon in the field of forensic medicine. Yet their time-dependent development, notably in comparison with the widely studied external livores, remains poorly understood. We present a unique homicide case where the victim was discovered in supine position with correspondent external livores fixed exclusively on the rear side. Yet upon postmortem computed tomography, the victim presented pronounced inner livores within the depending dorsal areas of both lungs but also vertical sedimentation levels solely within the right lung, suggesting an initial right-hand side position and a postmortem re-positioning of the body. Interestingly, this was consistent with tangible hints of postmortem manipulation on-site. It is likely that this repositioning occurred sometime during the early postmortem interval (<6 h) as the external livores have completely rearranged to the final supine position. The presented case suggests different development patterns of inner and outer livores, highlighting the necessity for controlled studies that explore the formation and fixation processes of livor mortis in internal organs. A better understanding of these issues can prove useful in forensic examinations.

Item Type:

Journal Article (Original Article)

Division/Institute:

04 Faculty of Medicine > Service Sector > Institute of Legal Medicine
04 Faculty of Medicine > Service Sector > Institute of Legal Medicine > Forensic Medicine

UniBE Contributor:

Brencicová, Eva, Baglivo, Manuela, Schwendener, Nicole, Schyma, Christian, Jackowski, Christian

Subjects:

600 Technology > 610 Medicine & health

ISSN:

0937-9827

Publisher:

Springer

Language:

English

Submitter:

Antoinette Angehrn

Date Deposited:

08 Jul 2016 14:39

Last Modified:

05 Dec 2022 14:56

Publisher DOI:

10.1007/s00414-016-1386-4

PubMed ID:

27169675

Uncontrolled Keywords:

Early postmortem interval; Homicide; Inner livores; Livor mortis; Postmortem imaging

BORIS DOI:

10.7892/boris.82533

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/82533

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