| 1. |
- Mostad, Petter, 1964, et al.
(författare)
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Mathematically optimal decisions in forensic age assessment
- 2022
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Ingår i: International Journal of Legal Medicine. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0937-9827 .- 1437-1596. ; 136:3, s. 765-776
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Forensic age estimation generally involves considerable amounts of uncertainty. Forensic age indicators such as teeth or skeleton images predict age only approximately, and this is likely to remain true even for future forensic age indicators. Thus, forensic age assessment should aim to make the best possible decisions under uncertainty. In this paper, we apply mathematical theory to make statistically optimal decisions to age assessment. Such an application is fairly straightforward assuming there is a standardized procedure for obtaining age indicator information from individuals, assuming we have data from the application of this procedure to a group of persons with known ages, and assuming the starting point for each individual is a probability distribution describing prior knowledge about the persons age. The main problem is then to obtain such a prior. Our analysis indicates that individual priors rather than a common prior for all persons may be necessary. We suggest that caseworkers, based on individual case information, may select a prior from a menu of priors. We show how information may then be collected over time to gradually increase the robustness of the decision procedure. We also show how replacing individual prior distributions for age with individual prior odds for being above an age limit cannot be recommended as a general method. Our theoretical framework is applied to data where the maturity of the distal femur and the third molar is observed using MRI. As part of this analysis we observe a weak positive conditional correlation between maturity of the two body parts.
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| 2. |
- Tamsen, Fredrik, 1974-, et al.
(författare)
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Association between homicide injury severity and benzodiazepine influence
- 2021
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Ingår i: Forensic Sciences Research. - : Taylor & Francis. - 2096-1790 .- 2471-1411. ; 6:1, s. 53-58
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- There are case reports of offenders inflicting excessive injuries on their victims when under the influence of benzodiazepines. However, the potential association between benzodiazepine influence on the offender and victim injury severity in a general homicide population has not been studied. We investigated associations between offender positive testing for benzodiazepines or z-drugs (zolpidem, zopiclone and zaleplon) and victim injury severity. Data were drawn from 95 Swedish homicide cases from 2007–2009 in which offenders had known toxicology. There were no significant differences in injury severity between cases in which the offender tested positive vs. negative for benzodiazepines/z-drugs. Thus, the findings do not support the hypothesis that there is an association between benzodiazepine influence on the offender and victim injury severity in a general homicide population.
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| 3. |
- Tamsen, Fredrik, 1974-
(författare)
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Homicide Injury Quantification : Measures of injury severity in homicide victims and associations with homicide characteristics
- 2019
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Some previous studies have found that the amount and severity of injuries in homicide victims correlate with different homicide characteristics, such as the victim-offender relationship and drug influence of the offender. If such relationships exist, they may be used by homicide investigators as part of an offender profiling.Furthermore, injury severity may be helpful in understanding the nature of lethal violence. If the injuries change over time or differ between regions, this may say something about the underlying causes and thus help society to take preventive measures. However, measures of injury severity are often missing in homicide epidemiology. This may in part be due to a lack of standardized and accessible ways to quantify injuries in homicide victim.To address these issues, there is a need for methods to quantify injury severity in homicide victims. The aim of the current thesis was to investigate different types of injury measures and their applicability to homicide victims. The aim was also to use such measures to address research questions related to offender profiling.Starting off with injury scores used in trauma research and two scores developed specifically for homicide victims, these measures were applied to a general homicide population. Since there is no obvious “gold standard” for injury severity quantification on homicide victims, one had to be defined to validate the applied methods. Out of forensic experience and rational reasoning, the Sum of all AIS scores (SAIS) was proposed as a reference measure. The other scores were then evaluated through their correlations with the SAIS.In the following study, the injury severity in homicides from different time periods was measured. There were statistically significant increases over time with respect to excessive injuries and the number of lethal injuries per victim. These changes can reflect both a brutalization of homicidal violence, improved trauma care, or shifts in the methods by which people are killed.Next, the associations between injury severity and homicide characteristics were analysed. No relevant associations between injury severity and victim-offender relationship were found. Neither were there any connections between benzodiazepine influence in the offender and injury severity on the victim. Thus, the studies do not support the use of injury severity scores for offender profiling in a general homicide population.
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| 4. |
- Tamsen, Fredrik, 1974-, et al.
(författare)
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Quantifying Homicide Injuries : A Swedish Time Trend Study Using the Homicide Injury Scale
- 2019
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Forensic Science. - : Walter de Gruyter GmbH. - 1503-9552 .- 2353-0707. ; 25:1, s. 20-25
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Studies report that the homicide rate has decreased considerably in most Western countries since the 1990s. However, few studies have examined the level of injury in homicides. The injury severity in homicide victims was studied in the Stockholm area using both the Homicide Injury Scale (HIS) and the number of lethal injuries per victim. Cases were included from four periods; 1976-78, 1986- 88, 1996-98, and 2006-08. The number of homicides with overkill according to the HIS was significantly higher in 1996-98 compared to 1976-78. Compared with 1976-78, the number of lethal injuries per victim was significantly higher both in 1986-88 and 1996-98. There are various possible reasons for the changes, including a brutalization of lethal violence or a more effective trauma care. More in-depth analysis of individual cases together with research on victims of attempted homicides is needed to explain these shifts in injury severity.
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| 5. |
- Tamsen, Fredrik, 1974-, et al.
(författare)
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When is a postmortem examination carried out? : A retrospective analysis of all Swedish deaths 1999-2018
- 2023
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Ingår i: Virchows Archiv. - : Springer Nature. - 0945-6317 .- 1432-2307. ; 482:4, s. 721-727
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The objective of this study was to assess who is merited an autopsy in Sweden. Data from the Swedish cause of death (COD) registry over a period of 20 years was retrieved and analysed. A multinominal logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the variables that were most strongly associated with the performance of a clinical or forensic autopsy (CA/FA). A definite COD, i.e. a COD based on autopsy findings, was registered in 12.6% of all deceased during the investigated period. In the remaining cases, the COD was presumed by the clinicians. Being male, born in the Nordic region, dying in a private residence, and unnatural death were most strongly associated with the performance of CA/FA. In contrast, being female, dying from dementia, dying at a nursing home, being born outside of Europe, or living in a small city or rural area seldom led to the performance of CA/FA.The above is certainly surprising as an autopsy provides an opportunity to investigate the cause of death, validate clinical diagnoses, detect unexpected aberrations, audit health care, and provide feedback to clinicians to facilitate their continuing education.
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