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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HEALTH RESEARCH IN MODERN INTEGRATED MEDICAL SCIENCES, ISSN 2394-8612 (P), ISSN 2394-8620 (O), Vol-2, Issue-1, Jan-Mar 2015

Case Report

The Corpse is a silent witness that never lies


V Narayana Rao, AMM Patnaik, MJ Naik, Ch Laxmi Kumar
Abstract: A surgical operation is attended with pain, and is for the benefit of the individual. An autopsy is free from
pain and is for the benefit of humanity. In this article an exhumed corpse is a witness to a ghastly crime that otherwise
would have gone missing. Exhumation is an amalgamation of two words (Latin); EX- out of, HUMUS- ground or earth.
Further exhumation is an authorized digging out, a buried body from a grave, which is subjected to autopsy. Autopsy
involves external and internal examination of dead body to find out the actual cause of death. It literally means death
investigation or personal inspection or to see oneself. First autopsy was said to have been performed in the year of 1559
when king Henry II suffered a fatal injury and died. After 11 days, Dr Ambroise pare a celebrated French surgeon,
dissected the body and discovered a subdural haematoma.
In the present case the body of an unidentified male individual aged around 40 years was recovered on the road in front
of commercial complex. The police made efforts to establish the identity of deceased but could not and the body was
buried. The autopsy findings revealed the truth from the silent witness the corpus.
Key Words : Corpus delicti, Murder, Putrification.
Introduction
A Medico legal autopsy is carried out in suspicious deaths
on a requisition by a police officer or a Magistrate. No
permission or consent of the relatives is necessary. The
procedure is a legal issue and is to be performed during
day time.
In contrast, Hospital autopsy is performed for academic
and clinical purposes, where permission of the relatives is
necessary. No legal issues are involved. It can be performed
at any time.

Objectives of a medico-legal autopsy with reference to


exhumed cases Identification- For any criminal or civil purpose arising
after the burial, to know the cause of death, time since
death, manner of death, identity, second autopsy, foul play4
and more specifically -

In criminal cases like homicide, suspected homicide


disguised as suicide or other types of death, suspicious
poisoning, due to criminal abortion and criminal
negligence.

In civil cases- accidental death claim, insurance,


workmens compensation claim, professional
negligence, survivorship and inheritance claim.5

Second Autopsy when 1st is being challenged or is


ambiguous.

Roles & Procedure for exhumation: 6


1.

An executive magistrate (MRO/Thasildar/subdivisional magistrate and district magistrate) is the


only competent officer to order an exhumation. A
Police officer cannot order for exhumation.

2.

The exhumation to be conducted by police in the


presence of magistrate and a medical officer.

3.

It should preferably be performed in the morning


hours, away from public gaze. If necessary the spot
should be enclosed.

Figure 1: Digging out from grave

Corresponding author
V Narayana Rao
Professor, Dept. of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology
Maharajahs Institute of Medical Sciences, Nellimarla
Vizianagaram - 535 217, Andhra Pradesh, India.

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HEALTH RESEARCH IN MODERN INTEGRATED MEDICAL SCIENCES, ISSN 2394-8612 (P), ISSN 2394-8620 (O), Vol-2, Issue-1, Jan-Mar 2015

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4.

All the officers and workers should avoid the wind


side of the body to avoid inhaling toxic gases.

Salient case findings by forensic medicine experts


(P.M.No: 231/2000, Dt:21/03/20007).

5.

After exhumation a second inquest by the magistrate


and a postmortem by a team of doctors is to be done
on the spot.

Body was found lying on the back in a decomposed and


partially skeletonised state.

6.

All necessary soil samples and visceral samples


should be collected and bottled after observing all
formalities and precautions and the same should be
forwarded to the forensic science laboratory.

Case
The dead body of a 40 years old male was recovered from
Jagadamba junction, Visakhapatnam on the road in front
of a commercial complex.
Police made efforts to establish the identity of the deceased
but could not. There was no indication of foul play. Body
was handed over to social service organization for burial.
After a lapse of six days on 21.03.2000. A 25 yr old female
lodged a complaint that her husband had been missing
since 14.03.2000 and expressed suspicion that the
deceased person buried earlier might be her husband. A
case was registered by police vide Cr. No. 94/2000 U/S
174 Cr.P.C at II- town law and order police station.
The mandal executive Magistrate ordered for the
exhumation of the body. Conducted an inquest on the dead
body. The Professor & HOD of Forensic Medicine, AMC,
Visakhapatnam was requisitioned to be present during the
exhumation and to conduct the medico legal autopsy with
team of Doctors. The Inquest by the magistrate established
the identity of the deceased as per the womans statement.
From the inquest the cause of death of the deceased could
not be ascertained as the body was in state of
decomposition. No external injuries were found.

No ornaments were present on the body; dressed in full


hands shirt, banian, cut drawer and no pants. There was
loss of scalp tissue, soft tissue over front of neck, left hand
and left leg.
A 24cm long Fissured fracture was present on left temporal
bone of the skull passing obliquely upwards onto left
parietal bone, vault of the skull, right posterior part of the
parietal bone the fissured fracture extended into the left
middle cranial fossa of the base of the skull. Effusion and
infiltration of the blood was identified in the periosteum
at the fracture sites of the skull. Brain matter was
decomposed with blood found in left middle cranial fossa
of the base of the skull. The stomach was found empty.

Figure 3: Fissure fracture

Inquest by Mandal Executive Magistrate report suggested


that the deceased was R R (Based on the apparel found on
the body) habitual pickpocker and was a chronic alcoholic,
and death could be due to excess alcohol consumption.

Figure 4: Ante-mortem blood clots

Figure 2: Identifying the clothes

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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HEALTH RESEARCH IN MODERN INTEGRATED MEDICAL SCIENCES, ISSN 2394-8612 (P), ISSN 2394-8620 (O), Vol-2, Issue-1, Jan-Mar 2015

Discussion

References

On examination of the injuries found on the skull and the


scientific evidence of injury found on the skull suggests
injury to the brain. It was inferred that the deceased person
could have died soon after sustaining the head injury. The
head injury must have occurred due to application of blunt
force.

1.

Pillay VV. Textbook of forensic medicine and


toxicology. paras medical publisher Hyderabad
2010;15.

2.

Ajay kumar. Text book of forensic medicine medical


jurisprudence & toxicology. Avichal publishing
company New delhi India2014;2.

3.

Cotton DWK, Cross SS. Hospital autopsy. jaypee


brothers New delhi India 1994.

4.

Karmaker RN. Text book of forensic medicine &


toxicology. Academic publishers Kolkata 2007;2

5.

Anil agarwal. Text book of forensic medicine &


toxicology. Avichal publishing company New delhi
India2014.

6.

Apurba nandy. Principles of forensic medicine. New


central book agency west Bengal India 2010;3.

7.

Narayana rao V& team. Pm: no.271/2000; burial


ground Visakhapatnam.

8.

RFSL. Chemical examiner report. File no VSP/TOX/


296/2000; Dt 05-06-2000 unit: VSP.

The viscera of the deceased person were submitted for


chemical analysis but no poisonous substance was detected
by the chemical examiner report file No: VSP/TOX/296/
2000 Dt. 05-06-2000 unit, Visakhapatnam.8
Forensic Medicine Experts opinion is that it was a case of
unnatural death due to head injury and the case was
investigated.
Conclusion
The study showed what seemed to be a natural death was
actually an unnatural death.
The case study also shows importance of positive
identification of a deceased person in the first instance. It
is also important that unidentified bodies be preserved for
some time to enable identification.
Media assistance may be taken for establishing the identity.
Body must be submitted to Medico legal post mortem
examination to establish to real cause of death, it will help
in putting an end to rumors or suspicious and will go a
long way in maintaining public tranquility.
The case stresses importance of positive identification of
deceased person at the first police inquest, which would
have spared the administration the troubles of a second
inquest and the trouble of exhumation.
In spite of failure on the part of the police to read the
evidence on the corpse, the same was read by the forensic
experts even in a state of advanced decomposition there
is a common saying about corpus (dead body) that The
Corpse is silent witness who never lies. This saying is
proved that is to be true in our case. Thus the autopsy
though painless in spite of the fact that the body was
disinterred. At the same time justice was delivered to the
individual and the humanity as a whole.

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