Forensic science international
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The work of specialists in forensic medicine in those cases of child abuse that result in the killing of a child is defined and well known. It is less well defined in cases of (suspected) sexual abuse. The cases presented show the difficulties that arise if medical doctors and prosecutors are uncertain about the procedures that have to be followed or do not appreciate the value of objective findings. It is concluded that knowledge about necessary examinations by physicians, police officers and prosecutors has to be promoted in order to improve handling and (legal) outcome of these cases.
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Under low ambient temperatures normally bluish postmortem lividity adopts a bright red or pink colour due to resaturation of haemoglobin with O2. The most important differential diagnosis in the presence of pink hypostasis is carbon monoxide poisoning. ⋯ Reflectance curves of pink hypostasis after cold storage showed the typical pattern of O2-rich blood with reflectance minima at wavelengths 541 nm and 576 nm and a reflectance maximum at 560 nm. Pink hypostasis because of carbon monoxide poisoning showed a shift of the reflectance maximum toward 555 nm and a flattened curve in all cases with COHb concentrations exceeding 52%, whereas these changes were not regularly observed with lower COHb levels.