Abstract
The authors present a case which brings out a unique modality of child homicide by placing the baby in a washing machine and turning it on. The murder was perpetrated by the baby’s mother, who suffered from a serious depressive disorder. A postmortem RX and then a forensic autopsy were performed, followed by histologic examinations and toxicology. On the basis of the results of the autopsy, as well as the histology and the negative toxicological data, the cause of death was identified as acute asphyxia. This diagnosis was rendered in light of the absence of other causes of death, as well as the presence of typical signs of asphyxia, such as epicardial and pleural petechiae and, above all, the microscopic examinations, which pointed out a massive acute pulmonary emphysema. Regarding the cause of the asphyxia, at least two mechanisms can be identified: drowning and smothering. In addition, the histology of the brain revealed some findings that can be regarded as a consequence of the barotrauma due to the centrifugal force applied by the rotating drum of the washing machine. Another remarkable aspect is that we are dealing with a mentally-ill assailant. In fact, the baby’s mother, after a psychiatric examination, was confirmed to be suffering from a mental illness—a severe depressive disorder—and so she was adjudicated not-guilty-by-reason-of-insanity. This case warrants attention because of its uniqueness and complexity and, above all, its usefulness in the understanding of the pathophysiology of this particular manner of death.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Hedlund J, Masterman T, Sturup J (2016) Intra- and extra-familial child homicide in Sweden 1992-2012: a population-based study. J Forensic Legal Med 39:91–99. doi:10.1016/j.jflm.2016.01.011
DiMaio V, Dimaio D (2001) Forensic pathology. CRC Press, Boca Raton, pp. 337–355
Polettini A, Groppi A, Vignali C, Montagna M (1998) Fully-automated systematic toxicological analysis of drugs, poisons, and metabolites in whole blood, urine, and plasma by gas chromatography-full scan mass spectrometry. J Chromatogr B Biomed Sci Appl 713:265–279. doi:10.1016/S0378-4347(98)00062-0
Polettini A (1996) A simple automated procedure for the detection and identification of peaks in gas chromatography-continuous scan mass spectrometry. Application to systematic toxicological analysis of drugs in whole human blood. J Anal Toxicol 20:579–586. doi:10.1093/jat/20.7.579
Sempio C, Morini L, Vignali C, Groppi A (2014) Simple and sensitive screening and quantitative determination of 88 psychoactive drugs and their metabolites in blood through LC–MS/MS: Application on postmortem samples. J Chromatogr B 970:1–7. doi:10.1016/j.jchromb.2014.08.039
Moulton C, Yates DW (1992) Barotrauma in a washing machine. Injury 23:339–357. doi:10.1016/0020-1383(92)90185-U
Banaschak S, Schmidt P, Madea B (2003) Smothering of children older than 1 year of age—diagnostic significance of morphological findings. Forensic Sci Int 134:163–168. doi:10.1016/S0379-0738(03)00135-X
Meadow R (1999) Unnatural sudden infant death. Arch Dis Child 80:7–14. doi:10.1136/adc.80.1.7
Lysell H, Runeson B, Lichtenstein P, Långström N (2014) Risk factors for filicide and homicide: 36-year national matched cohort study. J Clin Psychiatry 75:127–132. doi:10.4088/JCP.13m08372
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Osculati, A., Visonà, S.D., Re, L. et al. Death of a seven-month-old child in a washing machine: a case report. Int J Legal Med 131, 719–722 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-016-1521-2
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-016-1521-2