Aconitine involvement in an unusual homicide case.
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.
Van Landeghem
An A
AA
Department of Forensic Medicine, Ghent University, Gent, Belgium.
De Letter
Els A
EA
Lambert
Willy E
WE
Van Peteghem
Carlos H
CH
Piette
Michel H A
MH
D000157:Aconitine / Q000032:analysis / Q000506:poisoning*; D031841:Aconitum / Q000506:poisoning*; D000276:Adjuvants, Immunologic / Q000032:analysis / Q000506:poisoning*; D002853:Chromatography, Liquid; D005554:Forensic Medicine; D006708:Homicide; D006801:Humans; D007668:Kidney / Q000737:chemistry; D008099:Liver / Q000737:chemistry; D008297:Male; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D008875:Middle Aged
D000276:Adjuvants, Immunologic; D000157:Aconitine