Criminal Poisoning: Investigational Guide for Law Enforcement, Toxicologists, Forensic Scientists, and Attorneys
Authors: John H. Trestrail
Criminal Poisoning
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S C I E N C E - A N D - M E D I C I N E
Steven B. Karch, MD,
SERIES EDITOR
CRIMINAL POISONING: INVESTIGATIONAL GUIDE FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT, TOXICOLOGISTS, FORENSIC SCIENTISTS, AND ATTORNEYS, SECOND EDITION, by
John H. Trestrail, III, 2007
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2007
THE FORENSIC LABORATORY HANDBOOK: PROCEDURES AND PRACTICE, edited by Ashraf Mozayani and Carla Noziglia,
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SUDDEN DEATHS IN CUSTODY, edited by
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2006
DRUGS OF ABUSE: BODY FLUID TESTING, edited by
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A PHYSICIAN’S GUIDE TO CLINICAL FORENSIC MEDICINE: SECOND EDITION, edited by Margaret M. Stark, 2005
FORENSIC MEDICINE OF THE LOWER EXTREMITY: HUMAN IDENTIFICATION AND TRAUMA ANALYSIS OF THE THIGH, LEG, AND FOOT, by
Jeremy Rich, Dorothy E. Dean, and Robert H. Powers,
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FORENSIC AND CLINICAL APPLICATIONS OF SOLID PHASE EXTRACTION, by Michael J. Telepchak, Thomas F. August, and Glynn Chaney, 2004
HANDBOOK OF DRUG INTERACTIONS: A CLINICAL AND FORENSIC GUIDE, edited by Ashraf Mozayani and Lionel P. Raymon, 2004
DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS: TOXICOLOGY AND CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY, edited by Melanie Johns Cupp and Timothy S. Tracy, 2003
BUPRENOPHINE THERAPY OF OPIATE ADDICTION, edited by
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2002
BENZODIAZEPINES AND GHB: DETECTION AND PHARMACOLOGY, edited by Salvatore J. Salamone, 2002
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BRAIN IMAGING IN SUBSTANCE ABUSE: RESEARCH, CLINICAL, AND FORENSIC APPLICATIONS, edited by
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2001
CRIMINAL POISONING
INVESTIGATIONAL GUIDE
FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT, TOXICOLOGISTS,
FORENSIC SCIENTISTS, AND ATTORNEYS
Second Edition
John Harris Trestrail, III, RPh, FAACT, DABAT
Center for the Study of Criminal Poisoning, Grand Rapids, MI © 2007 Humana Press Inc.
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Printed in the United States of America. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Trestrail, John Harris.
Criminal poisoning : investigational guide for law enforcement, toxicologists, forensic scientists, and attorneys / by John Harris Trestrail III.-- 2nd ed.
p. ; cm. -- (Forensic science and medicine)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 1-58829-821-3 (alk. paper)
1. Forensic toxicology. 2. Poisoning.
[DNLM: 1. Poisoning. 2. Forensic Medicine. 3. Poisons. QV 600 T799c 2007] I. Title. II. Series.
RA1228.T74 2007
614'.1--dc22
2006007611
I would like to humbly dedicate this work to my parents, John Harris and Edith (McClay) Trestrail, for emigrating from the United Kingdom and Ire-land to America, which provided unlimited professional opportunites for their two children, and for their continued support and educational encouragement over the years, which allowed us to grow within and contribute to the voca-tions that we chose to follow.
This work is also dedicated to my wife, Mary, my children, John and Amanda, and my grandchildren, Olivia and Owen, who have allowed me to passionately follow my love for the subject of toxicology, even though, at many times, they must have considered it somewhat eccentric and bizarre.
v
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The author would like to formally acknowledge and thank the following individuals and groups who were of great assistance in the continued research and preparation of this work. Mr. Arthur E. Westveer, instructor at the
F.B.I.
National Academy
, for his early-on encouragement and taking the author under his tutelage, to teach him the fundamentals of death investigation, gained through his many years as a Baltimore, Maryland, homicide detective. Also, to the dedicated members of the
Behavioral Sciences Unit
at the
F.B.I. Academy
, in Quantico, Virginia, for their continued dialogue, excellent learning opportunities, and technical support. To my friend and colleague toxicologist, Dr. Bernard H. Eisenga,
PhD
,
MD
, for reading the various drafts of this manuscript and offering his constructive comments. And to the staff of the Helen
DeVos Children’s Hospital Regional Poison Center
, and its host hospital
Spectrum Health
, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA, for their encouragement in continuing to allow the author to follow his passion, to carry out this monumental forensic project.
John Harris Trestrail, III, RPh, FAACT, DABAT
vi
I am very pleased with the success of the first edition of
Criminal Poisoning: Investigational Guide for Law Enforcement, Toxicologists, Forensic Scientists, and Attorneys
, and would like to thank those who contributed constructive comments with regard to typographical errors and what they would like to see expanded. Ideas have also been provided by attendees to my sym-posia on “Murder by Poison!” and “Poisoners Throughout History,” which have been presented at venues around the world.
In this revised and expanded edition, the reader will find more discussion on what has been revealed about the poisoner and his victims since the 2000 publication of the first.
In addition, I have expanded the Appendix to include more commonly used poisons, as well as the use of antifreeze as a posion, to reflect some cases that have recently come to light.
The bibliography has been expanded by more than 200 additional citations of texts and journal articles from the international literature related to criminal poisoning.
John Harris Trestrail, III, RPh, FAACT, DABAT
DISCLAIMER
: This publication is intended to serve the reader with general background information representing various aspects of toxicology as it applies to modern litigation. However, this is not intended to serve as a substitute for intensive research respecting various issues, as each case must be approached on a case-by-case basis. Some cases will require intensive research independent of this work.
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CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1—Poisoners Throughout History ............................................ 1
1.2.1. William Palmer, MD, “The Rugeley Poisoner” ........................................ 9
1.2.2. Edward William Pritchard, MD, “The Philandering Poisoner” ............ 9
1.2.3. George Henry Lamson, MD, “The Slight-of-Hand Poisoner” ............... 9
1.2.4. Thomas Neill Cream, MD, “The Lambeth Poisoner” ............................ 10