Factors Associated with Homicides in Psychiatric Expertise in Togo

Background: In most societies, homicide or murder is a crime that often leads to imprisonment. Studies around the world have sometimes found cases of mental illness (schizophrenia spectrum disorders) as an explanation for some homicides. The aim of this study was to determine the factors associated with homicide in the Togolese context. Methods: This was a descriptive and analytical cross-sectional study of pre-trial psychiatric expertise reports from January 31st, 2019 to January 30th, 2022. Results: Out of 704 defendants appraised, 206 (29.3%) had committed homicide. Males accounted for 91.7% of Homicide defendants (HD). Their average age was 31.6 ± 12.2 years, with extremes of 16 and 74 years. Factors associated with homicide were female gender, age between 30 and 45 years, married or cohabiting status and occupation as a farmer/fisherman/breeder. Psychoactive substance use (PAS), mental illness and psychiatric history were not associated with homicide. Conclusion: Preventing delinquency and interpersonal conflict, and promoting social cohesion, could significantly reduce homicides in Togo.

Homicide in southern India—A five-year retrospective study

Homicide has become a common practice reflecting anger in southern India. The purpose of this study was to identify the potential risk factors and susceptible victims. This retrospective study analyses the data of 590 cases. Our study revealed that the victims were mostly males of 21 - 30 years, married (63.56%), illiterates (44.07%), low socioeconomic status and belong to rural areas. The laborers and farmers were almost equally affected in males and housewives in females. Outdoor incidents were more (61.86%). Majority of victims were innocent (82.20%) with no previous history of cognizable offence. Blood alcohol was found positive in 30.23% of victims. Sharp cutting weapons were mostly used, with hemorrhage and shock being the most common cause of death. Previous enmity and familial disharmony were the two common causes behind such heinous crime. Most victims had injuries over multiple body parts. Some potential risk factors and their preventive measures pointed at the end.

Analysis of State Homicide Rates Using Statistical Ranking and Selection Procedures

Nonparametric and parametric subset selection procedures are used in the analysis of state homicide rates (SHRs), for the year 2005 and years 2014-2020, to identify subsets of states that contain the “best” (lowest SHR) and “worst” (highest SHR) rates with a prescribed probability. A new Bayesian model is developed and applied to the SHR data and the results are contrasted with those obtained with the subset selection procedures. All analyses are applied within the context of a two-way block design.

The Impact of COVID-19 on Teenage Homicide Incidence:A Retrospective Review of Forensic Autopsy Cases in Maryland from 2018 to 2021

Homicides in the United States disproportionately affect minorities,and previous research also indicates that increased economic deprivation and social disorganization correlates with increased rates of homicide.The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated economic disparities and may have magnified existing disparities in homicide rates.Few studies have examined the incidence of teenage homicides throughout the United States,especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.This was a retrospective case review of homicides involving youth between the age group of 13 and 19 years from 2018 to 2021 in the state of Maryland.The aim of this study was to assess COVID-19 affected rates of youth homicide.A total of 230 teenage homicides occurred in Maryland from 2018 to 2021 with 113 cases during the pre-COVID-19 pandemic period(2018/2019)and 117 cases during the COVID-19 pandemic(2020/2021).The majority of teenage homicide victims were African−American male.More than 83%and 79%of victims were African−American in 2018/2019 and 2020/2021,respectively.Victims were also predominantly male(90%in 2018/2019 and 88%in 2020/2021).Maryland has a population of approximately 6 million people and is made up of 23 countries and Baltimore City.Nearly half of the overall incidents of teenage homicide took place in Baltimore City(49.6%pre-COVID-19 and 44.4%during COVID-19,respectively).While the average victim age did not vary considerably between 2018/2019(17.8 years)and 2020/2021(17.5 years),the percentage of cases involving victims ages 13-15 years more than doubled from 5.3%of cases in 2018/2019 to 12%of cases in 2020/2021.The majority of teenage homicide cases were due to firearm injuries(91.7%,n=211),but during the COVID-19 pandemic,there was a rise in violence involving sharp objects such as knives.The incidence of teenage homicide did not change considerably during the COVID-19 pandemic,although we did observe a trend toward younger males who were African American.

Comparison of Block Design Nonparametric Subset Selection Rules Based on Alternative Scoring Rules

This article compares the size of selected subsets using nonparametric subset selection rules with two different scoring rules for the observations. The scoring rules are based on the expected values of order statistics of the uniform distribution (yielding rank values) and of the normal distribution (yielding normal score values). The comparison is made using state motor vehicle traffic fatality rates, published in a 2016 article, with fifty-one states (including DC as a state) and over a nineteen-year period (1994 through 2012). The earlier study considered four block design selection rules—two for choosing a subset to contain the “best” population (i.e., state with lowest mean fatality rate) and two for the “worst” population (i.e., highest mean rate) with a probability of correct selection chosen to be 0.90. Two selection rules based on normal scores resulted in selected subset sizes substantially smaller than corresponding rules based on ranks (7 vs. 16 and 3 vs. 12). For two other selection rules, the subsets chosen were very close in size (within one). A comparison is also made using state homicide rates, published in a 2022 article, with fifty states and covering eight years. The results are qualitatively the same as those obtained with the motor vehicle traffic fatality rates.

The Trend of Homicides in South Kerala from 2002-2016:A Retrospective Forensic Autopsy-Based Study

Aims:The aim was to analyze the homicide pattern in South Kerala from autopsies conducted between 2002 and 2016.Objectives:Exploring the age and gender distribution of death due to homicide,the type and distribution of injuries according to the region of the body,and trends of homicide.We also tried to study the pattern of defense wounds in homicidal cases and characteristics in dyadic deaths(homicide-suicide).Materials and Methods:It was a retrospective descriptive study.The setting was the Department of Forensic Medicine,State Medico-Legal Institute,Government Medical College(GMC),Thiruvananthapuram.All cases of autopsies with an alleged history of homicide,between 2002 and 2016,done at Mortuary of GMC,Thiruvananthapuram,were included in the study.Records of all cases of an alleged history of homicide from January 1,2002 to December 31,2016 were perused.Results:957 cases were analyzed.The annual incidence of homicide is declining after 2012.Young adult males(31T0 years)are the most common group involved(24.97%).Head injury was the most common cause of death(43.68%).The head was the most common area to be affected in fatal blunt force injuries(49%)while the chest was involved commonly in fatal sharp force injuries(36%).Females were more often the homicide victims in murder-suicides.Husband-wife and fatherchild combination was the most common pairs in dyadic deaths.Conclusion:The characteristics which were associated with the homicides were generally in agreement with the existing forensic literature.The findings encourage examining the motives of homicide and potential sociocultural factors affecting the victims and possibly the assailants.We also found that the murder-suicide cases differed from the homicides requiring a separate domain of understanding and subsequent investigations.

The Doppelgänger phenomenon and death:a peculiar case of homicide by a subject with first-episode psychosis

The Doppelgänger phenomenon refers to the experience of a direct encounter with one’s self,characteriswed by:(i)the perception of a figure with one’s own identical physical features;or(ii)the apprehension that the perceived figure shares the same personality and identity.The Doppelgänger does not only look like the same person,it is his/her double.The perceptual element is usually a hallucination,although occasionally a false perception of an actual figure may be involved.This phenomenon has been described in individuals suffering from overwhelming fear,severe anxiety or intoxication,epilepsy,as well as in the sleep-wakefulness transition.It has also been reported in major psychoses.The fear of imminent death often precedes the Doppelgänger experience.This report presents the case of a 30-year-old man,Mr.Y,who was stabbed to death by Mr.X,his“double”.The aggressor and his victim,although not related,were truly doubles;remarkably,they shared the same name and surname,age,professional activity and place of work.Moreover,they attended the same sports center but barely knew each other.The forensic psychiatric evaluations in Mr.X,subsequent to the crime committed,were suggestive of a psychotic condition.This case is unique in the scientific literature.In the most serious psychotic forms,the issue of the“double”calls into question not only the dissociative processes involved in the etiopathogenesis of the disorder,but also bio-psycho-social elements,as well as personal data in this case,which made the victim and the aggressor“identical”.In the context of psychopathological functioning,the delusional mood(Wahnstimmung)that precedes the development of delirium is a sort of gateway to an impending psychotic illness,involving delusional awareness or mood(atmosphere).In psychosis,splitting is the main issue and this influence is seen as an evil,foreign,apocalyptic and unknown side no longer recognised as belonging to the self even in a physical sense.In such a situation,it is felt that the only way to survive is by suppressing one’s double as a defense against disorganisation of the self.

Association between homicide injury severity and benzodiazepine influence

There are case reports of offenders inflicting excessive injuries on their victims when under the influence of benzodiazepines.However,the potential association between benzodiazepine influence on the offender and victim injury severity in a general homicide population has not been studied.We investigated associations between offender positive testing for benzodiazepines or z-drugs(zolpidem,zopiclone and zaleplon)and victim injury severity.Data were drawn from 95 Swedish homicide cases from 2007–2009 in which offenders had known toxicology.There were no significant differences in injury severity between cases in which the offender tested positive vs.negative for benzodiazepines/z-drugs.Thus,the findings do not support the hypothesis that there is an association between benzodiazepine influence on the offender and victim injury severity in a general homicide population.

Evaluation of Sample Taxicab Security Cameras

Background: Taxicab drivers have high homicide rates compared to all worker occupations. To help taxi fleets select effective taxicab security cameras, this project tested eight sample taxicab security cameras for determining their photographic quality which correlated to the effectiveness of in-taxicab facial identification. Methods: Five photographic quality metric thresholds: 1) resolution, 2) highlight dynamic range, 3) shadow dynamic range, 4) lens distortion, and 5) shutter speed, were employed to evaluate the photographic quality of the sample cameras. Waterproof tests and fire-resistive tests on recording memory cards were conducted to determine the memory card survivability in water and simulated fire. Results: The Full-HD (1920 × 1080 pixels), HD (1280 × 720 pixels) and dual-lens VGA (2 × 640 × 480 pixels with wide-angle and telephoto lenses) cameras performed well in resolution tests in daylight conditions. The resolution of a single-lens VGA (640 × 480 pixels) camera did not meet the resolution minimum requirements. All of the recording memory cards passed the five-meter/72-hour waterproof test. A fire resistant chamber made with one fire insulation material could protect a single memory card at 538&degC/1000°F for a five-minute simulated fire test. Conclusions: Single-lens VGA-resolution (640 × 480 pixels) cameras are not suggested for use as security cameras in taxicabs with two or more rows of seats. The recording memory cards can survive 5-meter/72-hour waterproof tests. The memory card chamber built with an existing heat insulation material can protect an individual memory card during 538&degC?(1000°F)/5-minute fire resistance oven-test.

Minimum Requirements for Taxicab Security Cameras

Problem: The homicide rate of taxicab-industry is 20 times greater than that of all workers. A NIOSH study showed that cities with taxicab-security cameras experienced significant reduction in taxicab driver homicides. Methods: Minimum technical requirements and a standard test protocol for taxicab-security cameras for effective taxicab-facial identification were determined. The study took more than 10,000 photographs of human-face charts in a simulated-taxicab with various photographic resolutions, dynamic ranges, lens-distortions, and motion-blurs in various light and cab-seat conditions. Thirteen volunteer photograph-evaluators evaluated these face photographs and voted for the minimum technical requirements for taxicab-security cameras. Results: Five worst-case scenario photographic image quality thresholds were suggested: the resolution of XGA-format, highlight-dynamic-range of 1 EV, twilight-dynamic-range of 3.3 EV, lens-distortion of 30%, and shutter-speed of 1/30 second. Practical Applications: These minimum requirements will help taxicab regulators and fleets to identify effective taxicab-security cameras, and help taxicabsecurity camera manufacturers to improve the camera facial identification capability.

Committing a Crime with the Employment of a Toxic Substance

Poisons are harmful chemicals of all sorts. They are detrimental to health and can have deadly effects on the organism. Many poisonous substances have been used for poisoning others, deliberately. This had been done throughout the ages. In comparison to visibly violent and traumatic crimes involving bloodshed, acts involving poisons have occurred in more subtle methods and accordingly been preferred by actors somehow suitable for indirect and concealed modus operandi. （Doping in sports or horse racing being a lesser form of offense, it is beyond the scope of this text）.

Primary Tracheal Reconstruction in Cut Throat Injury of a 4 Years Old Child

Cut throat injuries in children are rare, but they constitute a significant management challenge. Such injuries are rarely reported in the literature. Evaluation and treatment of such injuries is a tough task. Cervical tracheal injuries are relatively uncommon and are frequently associated with esophageal, vascular or spinal injuries. We hereby report a case of cut throat injury with incomplete transection of trachea and its management in a four years old male child.

Psychological Autopsy. A Possible Innovative Revision of the MAPI: Psychological Autopsy Structured on Individual Cases (PASIC)

The aim of this research is to propose an innovative technique of the psychological autopsy.Compared to the classic MAPI model,our procedure is structured on each single case by adapting the interview to the environmental circumstances,the socio-cultural characteristics of the subject examined and to the weapon used in the criminal act.We believe that this approach improves both confidence and compliance of the interviewee and the chances of obtaining information that could escape a standardized investigation.In one of the cold cases we studied,this new protocol led to the discovery of biological material coming from the crime scene,which had been secretly hidden by the subject for over 50 years.The aim of our work was also to coordinate the activity of the interviewer,trying to avoid repetition in the interviews that could lead to an alteration of the answers to the questions asked.In the first phase,questions with open-ended responses were preferred.In later stages,we asked specifically worded questions.We were careful not to formulate questions that had already been asked.It must be emphasized that for each case of psychological autopsy only one operator handled the interview.

Technicality of Managing Cut Throat Injury

Cervical tracheal injuries are relatively uncommon and are frequently associated with esophageal, vascular or spinal injuries. We hereby report a case of cut throat injury with complete transection of trachea and its management.

Post-mortem Interval of Buried Carcasses in a Tropical Rainforest Vegetation of Nigeria

Background: Most of the murder victims in Nigeria are concealed in shallow graves or clandestine paths or bushes. Knowledge of post-mortem interval (PMI) of buried carcasses is useful in estimating time since death for buried homicide scenarios. The PMI of buried remains is different from that of remains on the soil surface. Aims and Objectives: The study aimed at investigating the PMI of buried remains in a tropical rainforest vegetation of Nigeria using matured domestic pigs as human analogs. Materials and Methods: Four animals were used for this study. Animals were sacrificed and buried in one-foot-depth graves. A flat wood was placed on top of the animals before it was covered with sand so that the visible changes can be monitored during the study period. The study was carried out during the rainy and dry seasons. Soil analysis was carried out to ensure that there was no chemical substance inhibiting decomposition. Results: Animals did not completely skeletonize within the study period (168 days). However, four stages of decomposition were identified within the study period - Fresh, bloat, active decay, and advanced decay stages. Conclusions: The PMI was influenced by fungi activities and rain infusion. On the last day of the study, the decomposition was at the advanced decay stage and only few bones of the head, neck, trunk, and limbs were visible with greyish discoloration of the skin and other visceral structures. The visible post-mortem changes of the buried carrions noted in this study may be used to estimate the time of death of buried humans in a tropical rainforest vegetation of Nigeria.

The increase of firearm-related violence in Sweden

Firearm-related violence is common in our contemporary world and causes serious harm to humans as well as to the society.One of the countries in which firearm-related violence is increasing is Sweden and its most southern region,Skane,in which Malmo,Sweden’s third largest city,is highly affected.If not contained and limited,Sweden risks becoming more and more violent.

The“microwave oven”practice in Brazil

This article presents a forensic case of an unusual illegal cremation of a person using a process colloquially known as the“microwave oven”practice in Brazil.The microwave process involves two actions:placing the victim in a tire stack and then setting the structure on fire using flammable substances to accelerate the progression.Asimilar practice,identified as“necklacing”,has also been reported in other countries such as South Africa.This report presents a case of microwave oven cremation of a body found in a rural area of Minas Gerais,Brazil.The forensic work helped determine the biological profile and identity of the victim using radiological comparisons.Although the microwave oven cremation practice is rare,it can impose challenges for investigators.Therefore,fully understanding this practice can be helpful to the academic and forensic communities.

Holding Sweden hostage:firearm-related violence

Swedish as well as foreign publications have reported a sharp increase in firearm-related violence in Sweden. None of these publications, however, combined official statistics from the Swedish police, the National Council for Crime Prevention (NCCP), and the National Board of Health and Welfare (NBHW), to study firearm-related violence in the last 2 years:2016–2017. The results of this study show that firearm-related violence in Sweden has greatly increased compared to other Scandinavian countries, especially in recent years. This is probably the reason for the increase in the rate of deadly violence. Further, the increasing number of gangs and criminal networks, as well as the high inflow of illegal firearms to Sweden, is believed to have contributed to the disturbing increase of firearm-related vio-lence in the country. Although Sweden is one of the most democratic and freest countries in the world, and has some of the world's strictest gun laws, the country still faces signifi-cant firearm-related violence. This study not only reveals the increasing rate of firearm-related violence in Sweden, but also shows that Sweden is in dire need of additional policies to combat the illegal flow of firearms and to curb gang criminality.

Nonnatural Deaths of Children under the Age of 5 Years in Ontario, Canada: A Retrospective Autopsy Analysis of 10 Years (2006–2015)

The goal of this study is to unravel the common patterns observed among nonnatural deaths of children under 5 years and suggest ways to prevent such unnecessary deaths.The study was confined to the province of Ontario to allow the identification of regional specific patterns.The database at the Office of the Chief Coroner of Ontario was searched for all pediatric deaths from the years 2006–2015.All nonnatural deaths for children under the age of 5 years,including sudden infant death syndrome,were selected for the study.Manner and cause of death along with the corresponding year were recorded in tables.In the 10‑year period,940 nonnatural deaths were identified in Ontario through autopsy records which are equal to approximately 36.7%of the total childhood deaths.There were 295 accidental cases(11.6%)and 71 homicides(2.8%).The leading causes of nonnatural childhood deaths in Ontario were drowning,traffic accidents,blunt trauma,and asphyxia.Nonnatural deaths are preventable through education and training of parents.Implementation of educational interventions can significantly reduce nonnatural deaths of children in Ontario.

Homicidal Abuse of Young Children:A Historical Perspective

The past 50 years has seen a heightened awareness of abusive injury patterns and increased concern for the plight of children victimized by their caregivers.Murder of the young,however,has been embedded in society since the beginning of recorded time.Indeed,nature provides abundant examples of infanticide in lower animals,raising the question of whether exploitation,apathy,and violence toward children are on some level evolutionarily conserved.In human antiquity,selective killing of females,the illegitimate,and the malformed,killing by ritualistic sacrifice or to conserve resources was carried out with impunity.The middle ages and later saw a decline in these practices albeit limited.One hundred years into the industrial revolution,with harsh child labor in public view,legal remedies were sought to protect children but with little effect.The domestic abuse of children was not addressed until a pivotal 19^(th)-century case,in which the rights of animals were invoked to intervene on behalf of a child.In the 20th century,physicians began to look closely at anatomical findings;patterns due to trauma,especially inflicted trauma,began to emerge.“Battered child syndrome”was followed by“shaken baby syndrome”,the latter prompted by the recurrent findings of subdural hematoma,retinal hemorrhages,and brain injury with the absence of impact injuries and no plausible accidental or natural disease explanation.In the 21st century,high-quality studies and an emphasis on evidenced-based medicine substantiated the existence ofiiijury patterns resulting from homicidal violence.However,progress has been uneven.A case of child abuse that reached the US Supreme Court resulted in an ill-cited dissent that seems to have amplified an already toxic medicolegal environment,perhaps unjustifiably.The difficulties in balancing the welfare of society with that of caregivers in the aftermath of homicidal abuse will no doubt continue.