1. Jorge Nuno Pinto De Melo
07037694
Forensic
Literature Project
PH3H05
2010/2011
2. Nature of Fatal Fires:
Accidental
Homicidal
Suicidal
Homicide Concealment
The fatal fire must be viewed as an investigation for
the criminal acts of arson and homicide.
3. Fire
Fire Examination
Examination
Incident
Incident of the body
of the body
Cause and Origin/Investigative
Cause and Origin/Investigative
Canvass
Canvass
Investigativ
Investigativ
ee
Procedure
Procedure Follow-up
Follow-up Arrest and
Investigatio
Investigatio Arrest and
n Trial
Trial
n
4. Maintenance of the fire scene
Arrival of the investigator
Chiefs report
5. •Chief fire officer
•Fire/police investigator.
Firefighters and other emergency personnel should be
prevented from removing a human body, found in the
charred debris
Exception to this rule:
Any doubt as to whether the person is dead
Danger of fire-structure collapse or falling debris
creating a serious hazard
A serious threat that the body will be further
damaged by the spread of flames
The continued presence of the body being a serious
hindrance to firefighting operations.
6. General observations
Detailed background
Identification of himself to
the chief fire officer
7. Determination whether the fire’s origin and/or cause
were suspicious
Common factors that may determine a fire suspicious:
The rate of burning was not consistent with the type
of combustibles present in the fire building
A person died in the fire
There were questionable or multiple points of origin
The cause of the fire could not be readily ascertained
Firefighters noticed an odor of gasoline or other
accelerant
8. Medical examiner/coroner is responsible for ensuring that
both investigation at the scene and autopsy on the body of the
victim are conducted
Autopsy is conducted by a forensic pathologist
Scene investigation is conducted by a medical
examiner/coroner´s representative/physician
Fire/police investigator advise the local medical examiner´s
office as soon as possible as to the known facts and circumstances
relating to the fire and victim(s).
9. 1. Recording the scene
2. Identifying the victim
3. Determining whether the fire occurred ante- or
postmortem
4. Examining/collecting physical evidence
10. Photographs of the body in situ
Photographs of the room and area
Investigative notes
Rough sketches
11. Fire investigator- collect items that can identify the victim
Forensic odontologist- dental records
Pathologists- autopsy
Medical/physical- tattoos, surgical procedures, bones
fractures, unusual deformations, sex race, build, fractures
and approximate age, jewelry, clothing etc.
Gross identification (friends/relatives)
Forensic scientists - Fingerprints
12. There are several factor which may help to get to some
conclusions:
Physical examination:
•Was the victim face up or down? (Exception: victim
found in bed or couch)
•Presence of smoke and soot in the mouth and nose if
the victim was alive during the fire
Body damage is described on the table below:
13. Natural settling of the blood after death
Gravitational pooling of the blood
Purplish/Blue-black
Location depends on position of the body
Concentrations of carbon monoxide in the
blood cause postmortem lividity to be pink
to cherry-red in color. Redness of the
lividity might indicate that the victim was
alive and breathing at the time of the fire.
• Defensive boxing pose or fetal position.
• Contraction of the muscles due to the
intense heat
•If it doesn’t occur:
•No sufficient heat (flash fire)
•Body in rigor mortis during the fire.
14. Fracture implosive Fracture explosive
Natural consequence
Blow in the head
of the fire.
•Medical investigator
Postmortem: limited in size, air with
Blisters small amount of body fluid
Antemortem: larger in size, contain
complex mix of body fluids
15. Fire investigator: responsible for determining
the fire´s origin and cause (physical
examination)
Police: responsible for the death investigations
Medical investigator: authorizes and
supervises the removal of the body.
16. The result of the physical examinations carried out by the
medical examiner will depend on several narrowly
circumscribed factors:
• Cause of the fire (accidental or incendiary).
• The possible use of an accelerant
(gasoline/kerosene,etc)
• Survivability: why the victim failed to escape
safely?!
•Interview friends and/or relatives that have just escaped from
the fire
•The investigator uses the tension and stress manifested by the
fire survivors as a motivating factor to elicit information.
17. Medicolegal autopsy
Identification
Time of death
Circumstances of death
Correlation of injuries
Evidence
Survivability
X-rays
Carboxyhemoglobin
Alcohol and Controlled Substances
Toxicology
18. Causes are determined by the pathologist:
Burns
Burns plus CO asphyxiation
Spasm of the epiglottis
Acute alcoholism plus CO asphyxiation
Edema
Shock
Gunshot wound or stabbing
19. Cause of Fire Cause of Death Investigative Procedure
Accidental CO asphyxiation Close case during follow-up
investigation
Incendiary CO asphyxiation (Homicidal) Investigate as an arson/homicide
Accidental Gunshot, stabbing, manual or
ligature asphyxiation, blunt force
trauma, etc., prior to the fire Motive for the fire important
(Homicidal) Investigate as a homicide
Incendiary Prior to fire Investigate as a homicide
(Homicidal) Fire used to conceal
Accidental CO asphyxiation plus other
natural illness Close case during follow-up
(Accidental)
Incendiary CO asphyxiation Additional Investigate as an arson/homicide
injury (implosive skull fracture) Fire to conceal prior assault or
(Homicidal) attempted homicide.
20. Police investigator
• In homicide situations (e.g., apparent
shooting or stabbing victim, victim’s
hands and/or feet bound, or ligature
tied around the neck).
• Motive (e.g., domestic, robbery, narcotics, sex crime) becomes
a key issue in identifying a suspect
• Concealment
• Key element: identification of the motive of the fire
• Level of sophistication or technical knowledge exhibited by
the fire setter.
21. Arrest Based on Probable Cause
minimum level of proof necessary to justify an
arrest
must prove every element of the crime beyond a
reasonable doubt in order to secure a conviction
Arrest with a warrant
Trial
What to be proved:
1. That crime (arson) was committed
2. That the defendant committed the crime
There is an additional burden of proving:
3. That the actions of the defendant led to the death of the
victim
All witnesses are called to testify
22. Internal Bloodstains
Livor mortis
postmortem epidural hematoma (brown/honeycomb
structure)
Internal Changes
Hemolysis
External bloodstains
May fuel the fire
Wet vs. Dry Bloodstains
Dried bloodstains keep the original shape and better
configuration with the action of the heat.
23. The Human body
Burns
First degree (superficial): red skin, warm to touch
Second degree (partial thickness): red skin, blisters
Third degree (full thickness): burns appear dry and light
colored and blisters are not normally seen.
Fourth degree: burns involve long exposure to a heat source
which results in the partial cremation of the exposed portion of
the body and extends into layers below the skin
Smoke and Sludge
May cover bloodstain evidence on walls and ceilings.
Target Surfaces
Some surfaces may preserve bloodstains.
24. A Fatal fire occurred
Body found on the floor of the bedroom and it was removed
by Firefighters
Investigators found that it was used accelerant on the
mattress
Pathologist found multiple stabbing wounds
Projected bloodstains were “faded” and lighter in
appearance than the adjacent soot-covered surfaces.
Swabs were obtained from the altered blood
“Wet vs dry effect experiment”
Main objective: identify any physiological differences
between the wet and dry stains, when they were subjected
to fire
25. Results
The closer the blood stain to the fire, the more physiological
changes. The further away the stain, the less prevalent the
changes, but these characteristics were still present.
Stains on painted surfaces were most affected by the fading
phenomenon
Swiping marks situated further than 50 cm from the fire
darkened in color
All projected stains near to and at a distance from the fire were
subjected to a darkening effect
No fading in projected stains
The effects of water provided physiological changes
The stains are recognizable as being altered bloodstains and
should be used as part of the bloodstain pattern analysis.
The “wet vs. dry” experiment may be a valuable piece of
information.
27. Barracato, J.S.
Fire … Is it Arson? The Aetna Casualty and Surety Co., Hartford, CT.
1979
Brannigan, F.L., R.G. Bright, and N.H. Jason
1978 Fire Investigation Handbook. National Bureau of Standards
Handbook No. 134, U.S.
Department of Commerce, Washington, D.C.
DeHaan, J., Kirks Fire Investigation, 2nd ed., John Wiley & Sons, New
York, 1983.
DiMaio, D. J. and Vincent, J. M., Forensic Pathology, CRC Press, Boca
Raton, FL.,1993.
Furton, Kenneth & Almirall, Jose
Analysis and Interpretation of Fire Scene Evidence
2004
28. Geberth, V. J., Practical Homicide Investigation, 2nd ed., CRC Press,
Boca Raton,Florida, 1996.
Gross, E. M., The role of the medical examiner in homicide
investigation, course material, Homicide Investigation Course,
New York City Police Dept., undated.
Harris, R. I., Outline of Death Investigation, Charles C Thomas,
Springfield, IL, 1962.
Hughes, D. J., Homicide Investigative Techniques, Charles C Thomas,
Springfield, IL,1974.
Kennedy, J., Fire and Arson Investigation, Investigations Institute,
Chicago, 1962 (rev.1977).
29. Kirk, P. L., Fire Investigation, John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1969.
Niamh Nic
Fire Investigation 2004
O’Hara, C. E., Fundamentals of Criminal Investigation, 5th ed., Charles C Thomas,
Springfield, IL, 1980.
Snyder, L., Homicide Investigation, 3rd ed., Charles C Thomas, Springfield, IL,
1977.
Spitz, W. U., and Fisher, R. S., Medicolegal Investigation of Death: Guidelines for
the
Application of Pathology to Crime Investigation, Charles C Thomas, Springfield,
IL, 1973.
Tomash, M. C. (Craig), Sgt., R.C.M.P., Halifax Regional Forensic Identification
Support
Section. “How Fire May Effect Crime Scene Bloodstains,” Paper presented at
International Assoc. of Bloodstain Pattern Analysts 1995 Convention, Miami,
FL.
Watanabe, T., Atlas of Legal Medicine, J.B. Lippincott, Philadelphia, 1968.