Low Down

  Surface change such as vegetation acceleration or retardation as a consequence of ground disturbance can be seen from the air using conventional aerial photography; even single graves can be identified in some circumstances. Photographs are preferably taken at an oblique angle during clear weather when the sun is low in the sky (i.e., winter months, or summer mornings or evenings). Vegetation stress due to the proximity of decaying cadaver(s) can be seen using infrared photography, and heat emitted as a consequence of either insect infestation or putrefaction and autolysis can be detected using aerial thermal imagery, as can heat differentials between disturbed and undisturbed soils. Baseline data from which to observe more recent change can also be obtained by comparing pre-existing aerial photographs in any of the forms mentioned above (vertical or oblique, traditional, infra-red, or multispectral imagery), with those recently taken. In the U.K., complete coverage of air-photog...

The thoracic and abdominal viscera are laid on a cutting bench at a convenient height and under good illumination. Ample washing water should be available from a flexible pipe, to flush the tissues as dissection proceeds. Some pathologists maintain that this should not be done, as the water can have an effect on the quality of subsequent histological sections, but this has recently been disproved. In any case, the vastly inferior naked-eye examination that results if blood is not removed at frequent intervals greatly outweighs any unsubstantiated objections about the more exquisite details of cell structure, especially as in most forensic autopsies the gross appearances are usually far more important. The viscera should be laid so that the tongue faces the pathologist, with the aorta upwards. The same sequence of examination should be carried out whatever the nature of the case, so that a fixed routine will ensure that nothing is left undone. The tongue is examined for disease and in...

  A society that stresses conformity, individualism, and hedonism may create confusion and frustration in its members and, at times, plunge them into a moral crisis. Such a type of society reduces reason to mere calculation. “Reason can [then] impose no limits on the pursuit of pleasure, [or] on the immediate gratification of every desire, no matter how perverse, insane, criminal, or merely immoral”. The above social panorama easily brings about behaviors on the part of some individuals that are socially perturbing and unacceptable thus one could opine that such a social climate breeds psychopathic behaviors and, at times, serious criminal acting out. The social and cultural context in which the killer and victims live may be a cofactor in the genesis of serial murder. They stated that “socialization is unfortunately saturated with norms, values, beliefs and behavioral models that carry strong potential for normalizing violence in interpersonal relationships”. Antisocial behavior...