Aconitine involvement in an unusual homicide case

Int J Legal Med. 2007 May;121(3):214-9. doi: 10.1007/s00414-006-0119-5. Epub 2006 Oct 5.

Abstract

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.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Aconitine / analysis
  • Aconitine / poisoning*
  • Aconitum / poisoning*
  • Adjuvants, Immunologic / analysis
  • Adjuvants, Immunologic / poisoning*
  • Chromatography, Liquid
  • Forensic Medicine
  • Homicide*
  • Humans
  • Kidney / chemistry
  • Liver / chemistry
  • Male
  • Mass Spectrometry
  • Middle Aged

Substances

  • Adjuvants, Immunologic
  • Aconitine