Male

2001
Nevada
SHE Casework – Equivocal Death Analysis
SHE determination – Natural Causes

SHE Recommendations for Professionals involved in Case – Death in hospital was from natural causes. Because of concerns with the behaviors of some family members, it was questioned as to the possibility of poisoning. Since no autopsy was performed because the patient was hospitalized and elderly and no toxicology tests run, there is no way short of exhuming the body to determine if foul play was involved.

It is amazing how often the question of foul play comes into loved ones minds when there is no proof as to the absolute cause of death. In an attempt to keep costs down, if there is no reason for the medical staff to suspect foul play, no tests to prove such would be conducted. While many times this makes sense from an economic standpoint, quite a few homicides go undiscovered in the elderly because of this. In this case there was a suspicion of arsenic causing the death of the elderly man and arsenic was determined in another family member. However, the arsenic levels in this individual were consistent with natural environmental levels which the doctor failed to explain to the patient. Likewise, there was not a clear explanation of the symptoms of the deceased as symptoms of the disease he was suffering from and therefore led to suspicions of foul play.