Medicolegal death investigations

With the rise of illicit fentanyl, fentanyl analogues, synthetic cathinones, xylazine, and other substances adulterating many traditional street drugs, users often have no idea what they are consuming, leading to overdose and death.  This further complicates toxicology testing and death determination.  This presentation will cover interesting postmortem case studies from Ohio, Denver, and Miami from the scene perspective through autopsy and toxicology testing.

Fractography is a tool for studying material failure. Analysis of cracks and fractures can reveal information about how, why, and where a fracture initiated and how a crack traveled, providing insight into the cause of failure. This webinar provides a basic introduction to forensic fractography of bone, which represents a new model for skeletal trauma that emphasizes understanding the cause of material failure rather than simply classifying fracture patterns.

This webinar was hosted by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on November 2, 2022.