Citation

Ye Y, Yan Y, Gong D, Guo R, Yang L, Liao L. J. Forensic Sci. 2016; 61(3): 864-866.

Affiliation

Department of Forensic Analytical Toxicology, West China School of Basic Science and Forensic Medicine, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, Sichuan, China.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, American Society for Testing and Materials, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/1556-4029.13035

PMID

27122435

Abstract

The authors describe a case of a well-designed homicidal poisoning in China. A male was treated with starvation, intravenous fluids and antibiotics while in the hospital for acute diarrhea. He suddenly suffered from shortness of breath and subsequently died. A forensic autopsy was carried out, and several specimens were collected for toxicological screening. Propofol was tentatively identified in the blood by GC-MS. Based on the presence of propofol in the blood, a suspect confessed that two other drugs, namely midazolam and vecuronium, were involved in this murder. Analytical drug quantification was then performed by GC-MS and LC-MS/MS. Blood analysis revealed the following: propofol at 0.5 μg/mL, midazolam at 0.098 μg/mL, and vecuronium at 0.10 μg/mL. These results suggest that the cause of death was respiratory depression due to the acute combined effect of several anesthetic drugs administered by the victim's companion.

© 2016 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

Language: en