Infanticide from intentional choking: the use of evaluating older cases
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LESSONS FROM THE MUSEUM
Infanticide from intentional choking: the use of evaluating older cases Slobodan Nikolic´ • Vladimir Zˇivkovic´
Accepted: 12 March 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York 2013
The Belgrade Higher School, the Grande E´cole, was established in 1808, and was succeed by the Belgrade Lyceum in 1836 and then by the Great School in 1863. The school was a combination of a classical gymnasium and a college and as such, it eventually became the University of Belgrade in 1905. Officially, the University Medical School itself was established in 1920 [1]. The Institute of Forensic Medicine and Department for Forensic Pathology, as sections of the University Medical School, were officially founded in 1923 by Professor Milovan Milovanovic´ (1884–1948) [2]. The following cases demonstrate that the best way to learn something new from older forensic cases is to link the autopsy report with an actual museum specimen or photograph.
Case history By virtue of the clear ‘‘L No’’ and date on the label, the case has been readily identified in the records for the year 1926: ‘‘… Date of Autopsy: December 8th. A female infant was found under a bridge near an electric power station. Date of Death: Unknown. Forensic Case No: 281 ….’’ The body of the newborn was found in the proximity of the steam power plant ‘‘Power and Light,’’ built in 1893 and located near the old Danube river harbor, in an impoverished section of the Dorc´ol quarter of the city of Belgrade. Between 1925 and 1927 this power plant was renovated and there was a temporary bridge under which the body of the infant was found. Autopsy findings
Case outline 1 Museum reference Museum specimen M No. 239 is a jar (Fig. 1a) containing a bundle of linen (Fig. 1b), attached to which is a label with the following text: ‘‘L No. 1465, M No. 239, Obturatio oris cum corpore alienae, December 8th 1926.’’
S. Nikolic´ V. Zˇivkovic´ (&) Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Belgrade - School of Medicine, 31a Deligradska Str., 11000 Belgrade, Serbia e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]
The autopsy report was hand-written by Prof. Milovanovic´ and read as follows; ‘‘… External Findings: Female infant … Length of the body 40 cm … The shape of the head is irregular, the posterior section less developed … The conjunctives are swollen, reddened, and hyperemic, possessing numerous pin-point hemorrhages … There are two linear superficial longitudinal excoriations present on the right side of the neck … The skin of the laryngeal region has numerous confluent bruises … The length of the umbilical cord is 62 cm and is pale, moist, and cut at the end … In its mouth is bundle of linen in the shape of a nut … Internal Findings: … There is a collection of blood in the subdural cavity and in the brain ventricles … A longitudinal bruise of the tongue mucosa, as well as numerous bruises of the laryngeal and the pharyngeal mucosa, are present. There are numerous bruises of the neck muscles and the neck subcutaneous tissue. There is a firm bu
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