Doctor's perspective in a post-mortem burn solving of a crime: A case report

Abstract

Medico-legal autopsies are conducted routinely in every case of death due to ante-mortem burns. In a common autopsy, the absence of the ante-mortem signs of burns on the body of the deceased provides enough evidence for it being a post-mortem burn. Still such evidences are missed due to large number of autopsies or lack of diagnosing by the inexperienced doctor. The police on the other hand will present such cases as simple burns cases which can further lead to misdiagnosis of the case. The charring associated with the post-mortem burns makes the diagnosis more doubtful. Many of the post-mortem burns are result of afterthought, to conceal the evidence of a crime. Such burns are done in the perimortem period or when the victim have just died, making their diagnosis more difficult. This case highlights one such situation where the findings of strangulation were concealed behind post-mortem burning of the body.