Aconitine involvement in an unusual homicide case
- 5 October 2006
- journal article
- case report
- Published by Springer Science and Business Media LLC in International journal of legal medicine
- Vol. 121 (3), 214-219
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-006-0119-5
Abstract
We describe a homicide complicated by an aconitine poisoning, which was initially thought to be a strangulation case. Routine toxicological analyses demonstrated only a small amount of alcohol in the blood and the urine. The case could not be clarified until 5 years after the event. A new element in the investigation made the wife the prime suspect, and finally, after thorough interrogation, she confessed her crime. She had mixed a decoction of three plants of Aconitum with red wine. Additional toxicological analyses, using the liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS) technique demonstrated 810 ng/ml of aconitine in urine, 6.5 ng/g in liver and 1.3 ng/g in the kidneys. Even though aconitine poisoning is still rare in Europe, it should be taken into account in suicides and homicides, particularly in unclarified cases.Keywords
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