Cryptic chemical identification as a crime intelligence aid.
A dead body was found near the sea and a commercial port in north-east Italy. The man had been shot and then burnt, by using a large volume of fire accelerant. The chemical composition of the flammable mixture had to be determined in order to aid police investigations. GC-MS analysis of residual cloth and soil identified a common gasoline, together with some unrelated compounds deriving from the container used to carry the inflammable liquid. A reconstruction of the event, an examination of the surroundings where the crime took place and the cryptic chemicals found, enabled the investigators to restrict and intensify their enquiries within a specific area.
Sturaro
A
A
Servizio di Prevenzione e Protezione del C.N.R., Padova, Italy.
Rella
R
R
Parvoli
G
G
Doretti
L
L
D005390:Fires; D005554:Forensic Medicine / Q000379:methods*; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D005742:Gasoline / Q000032:analysis; D006708:Homicide; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male
D005742:Gasoline