Factores asociados a la identificación de cuerpos descuartizados o desmembrados en Medellín (Colombia) / Factors associated with the identification of dismembered bodies in Medellín, Colombia

OBJETIVO: Caracterizar los cuerpos desmembrados o descuartizados abordados en la Unidad Básica Medellín del Instituto Nacional de Medicina Legal y Ciencias Forenses (INMLCF) y establecer los factores asociados con su identificación. MATERIALES Y MÉTODOS: Estudio de corte transversal de registros de cuerpos descuartizados o desmembrados que ingresaron al INMLCF de Medellín entre los años 2013 y 2017. Para evaluar las variables asociadas a la identificación de los cadáveres descuartizados o desmembrados se aplicó el test estadístico de chi-cuadrado. RESULTADOS: En el periodo de estudio se encontraron un total de 54 cadáveres. Los factores asociados con la identificación de los cuerpos fueron cuerpos de personas mayores de 26años (OR: 1,22; IC95%: 1,04-1,43; p = 0,043) y los cuerpos encontrados en sitios únicos (OR: 1,22; IC95%: 1,04-1,43; p = 0,043). Los factores asociados con una mayor probabilidad de no lograr una identificación fueron ser hombre (OR: 1,14; IC95%: 1,02-1,27; p = 0,435) y los cuerpos descuartizados (OR 1,14; IC95%: 1,02-1,28; p = 0,354). DISCUSIÓN: La identificación de cuerpos descuartizados y desmembrados es un reto para el médico forense colombiano, pero conocer los factores asociados con su identificación favorece su adecuado abordaje, lo que mejoraría este proceso

OBJECTIVE: To characterise the dismembered bodies dealt with in the Medellín Basic Unit of the National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences (INMLCF) and establish the factors associated with their identification. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Cross-sectional study of records of dismembered bodies that entered the National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences of Medellin between 2013 and 2017. To evaluate the variables associated with the identification of dismembered bodies, using the chi-square statistical test. RESULTS: A total of 54 bodies were found during the study period. The factors associated with the identification of the bodies were bodies of people older than 26years (OR: 1.22; 95%CI: 1.04-1.43; P=.043) and bodies found in unique sites (OR: 1.22; 95%CI: 1.04-1.43; P=.043). The factors that were associated with a higher probability of not achieving identification were being male (OR: 1.14; 95%CI: 1.02-1.27; P=.435) and dismembered bodies (OR: 1.14; 95%CI: 1.02-1.28; P=.354). DISCUSSION: The identification of dismembered bodies is a challenge for the Colombian coroner, but knowing the factors associated with their identification enables an appropriate approach which would improve this process

Esqueletización de lesiones en un cadáver descuartizado y congelado / Skeletonization of injuries in a dismembered and frozen body

No disponible

[Unusual questions of evidence in a case of offensive post-mortem dismemberment]. / Ungewõihnliche Beweisfragen in einem Fall von offensiver Leichenzerstückelung.

In cases of post-mortem dismemberment, the main medicolegal task apart from the identification and assignment of body parts to one or several individuals is the determination of the cause of death and the course of events. Notably in cases of offensive postmortem dismemberment, the medicolegal findings on the victim may be of special importance also for the psychiatric evaluation of the suspect. In a case of offensive post-mortem dismemberment, parts of the body were found in a stone quarry and in the apartment where the victim and the suspect had lived together. Since the suspect refused to make a statement, the medicolegal findings were of great relevance for the psychiatric evaluation. In the first trial, in which the psychiatric expert was not present when the forensic pathologist gave his opinion, the Regional Court acquitted the suspect of murder and committed him to a psychiatric hospital. The accused successfully appealed on points of law, as the form and content of the psychiatric expert opinion did not comply with the requirements of procedural law and the forensic psychiatric state of the art. In a second trial, additional psychiatric experts were summoned. In that hearing, the task of the medicolegal expert was to reconstruct the course of events as far as possible to create a reliable basis for the psychiatric evaluation, as the suspect refused to make a statement both with regard to his personal circumstances and the facts of the case and did not agree to a psychiatric exploration either. The motivational and morphological criteria of the medicolegal classification as offensive post-mortem dismemberment with a cannibalistic background are discussed. In addition, some issues to be answered such as the detection of bloodstains on nonporous surfaces by means of leucocrystalviolet and the time of heat exposure of burned body parts are dealt with.

[Surprising discovery: dismembered body found in a commercial laundry--medicolegal differentiation between infanticide, corpse dismemberment and stillbirth]. / Uberraschender Fund von Leichenteilen in einer Grosswäscherei: Kindstötung, Leichenzerstückelung oder Totgeburt?

The discovery of a dismembered corpse, especially that of a newborn, represents a significant challenge for forensic investigators. The cause of the dismemberment, be it natural, accidental, or criminal, must be determined. Another important question to distinguish between neonaticide and stillbirth is whether the infant was alive after birth. The present case - a dismembered infant corpse discovered in the washing at a commercial laundry - describes a forensic investigation which could avoid premature or wrong conclusions by identifying the corpse as a stillbirth that was accidentally disposed of in the laundry after an autopsy had been performed.