Criminal Poisoning: Investigational Guide for Law Enforcement, Toxicologists, Forensic Scientists, and Attorneys

BOOK: Criminal Poisoning: Investigational Guide for Law Enforcement, Toxicologists, Forensic Scientists, and Attorneys
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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

MARIJUANA AND THE CANNABINOIDS, edited by
Mahmoud A. ElSohly,
2007

FORENSIC PATHOLOGY OF TRAUMA: COMMON PROBLEMS FOR THE PATHOLOGIST, edited by
Michael J. Shkrum and David A. Ramsay,
2007

THE FORENSIC LABORATORY HANDBOOK: PROCEDURES AND PRACTICE, edited by Ashraf Mozayani and Carla Noziglia,
2006

SUDDEN DEATHS IN CUSTODY, edited by
Darrell L. Ross and Ted Chan,
2006

DRUGS OF ABUSE: BODY FLUID TESTING, edited by
Raphael C. Wong and Harley Y. Tse,
2005

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,
2005

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
Pascal Kintz and Pierre Marquet,
2002

BENZODIAZEPINES AND GHB: DETECTION AND PHARMACOLOGY, edited by Salvatore J. Salamone, 2002

ON-SITE DRUG TESTING, edited by
Amanda J. Jenkins and

Bruce A. Goldberger,
2001

BRAIN IMAGING IN SUBSTANCE ABUSE: RESEARCH, CLINICAL, AND FORENSIC APPLICATIONS, edited by
Marc J. Kaufman,
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.

999 Riverview Drive, Suite 208

Totowa, New Jersey 07512

www.humanapress.com

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording, or otherwise without written permission from the Publisher.

The content and opinions expressed in this book are the sole work of the authors and editors, who have warranted due diligence in the creation and issuance of their work. The publisher, editors, and authors are not responsible for errors or omissions or for any consequences arising from the information or opinions presented in this book and make no warranty, express or implied, with respect to its contents.

This publication is printed on acid-free paper. ∞

ANSI Z39.48-1984 (American Standards Institute) Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials.

Production Editors: Tara L. Bugg

Cover design by Nancy K. Fallatt

For additional copies, pricing for bulk purchases, and/or information about other Humana titles, contact Humana at the above address or at any of the following numbers: Tel: 973-256-1699; Fax: 973-256-8341; E-mail: [email protected], or visit our W
ebsite at www.humanapress.com

Photocopy Authorization Policy:

Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use, or the internal or personal use of specific clients, is granted by Humana Press Inc., provided that the base fee of US $30.00 per copy is paid directly to the Copyright Clearance Center at 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923. For those organizations that have been granted a photocopy license from the CCC, a separate system of payment has been arranged and is acceptable to Humana Press Inc. The fee code for users of the Transactional Reporting Service is: [978-1-58829-821-8 • 1-58829-821-3/07 $30.00].

Printed in the United States of America. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

e-ISBN 10: 1-59745-256-4

e-ISBN 13: 978-1-59745-256-4

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

DEDICATION

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

PREFACE

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.

vii

CONTENTS

Dedication ...................................................................................................... v

Preface ........................................................................................................... vii

Introduction .................................................................................................. xi

CHAPTER 1—Poisoners Throughout History ............................................ 1

1.1. Poisonsin Ancient Times ................................................................................. 1

1.1.1. Introduction ................................................................................................... 1

1.1.2. The Sumerians ............................................................................................... 2

1.1.3. The Ancient Egyptians ................................................................................ 2

1.1.4. The Hebrews ................................................................................................. 3

1.1.5. The Asian Indians ......................................................................................... 3

1.1.6. Nicander of Colophon ................................................................................. 3

1.1.7. Philon of Tarsus ............................................................................................ 4

1.1.8. Mithridates .................................................................................................... 4

1.1.9. The Greeks ..................................................................................................... 4

1.1.10. The Romans ................................................................................................... 5

1.1.11. The “Italian School of Poisoners” .............................................................. 6

1.1.12. The “French School of Poisoners” ............................................................. 7

1.2. Poisoners in the Modern Era ........................................................................... 8

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

BOOK: Criminal Poisoning: Investigational Guide for Law Enforcement, Toxicologists, Forensic Scientists, and Attorneys
13.32Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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