Forensic Toxicology – Postmortem Drug Analysis
Michael Jackson Tox Results May Be Inconclusive
Most people draw information from TV shows like the CSI trilogy and other crime shows when it comes to forensic science knowledge. In these television crime shows everything happens in under an hour, so it is no wonder that expectations for a fast and speedy resolution in the forensic testing in the Michael Jackson case are pretty unrealistic.
Toxicology screening in real life, is a long and painstaking process which can take weeks, even months and might end up producing no results at all.
Michael Jackson Died on 25 June 2009
King of Pop, Michael Jackson (50) died on 25 June 2009 after collapsing from a cardiac arrest at his home in Los Angeles. Doctors at the UCLA Medical Center tried to resuscitate him for more than an hour.
The autopsy was performed by Dr Lakshmanan Sathyavagiswaran, who was also a star witness in the OJ Simpson case, celebrity website tmz.com reported. According to the coroner, the autopsy revealed that there were no signs of foul play or trauma to the body. He also confirmed that Jackson was taking some unspecified prescription medications, but could not confirm which ones.
Forensic Toxicology Testing
According to forensic experts, identifying drugs in the human body requires a lengthy sequence of tests and confirmations that can take weeks and even months.
Questions about the possible role of prescription medications in Jackson’s death have been flying around all over the media since the Michael Jackson’s death on 25 June.
Who Decides What Toxicology Test Should Be Done?
The medical examiner determines whether a toxicology test is required. The testing becomes more extensive in cases of a suspected drug death or one in which the cause of death is unclear.
According to Richard Anthony Fox, forensic science and criminalistics teacher from Las Vegas, “the specific aim of post-mortem forensic toxicology testing is the determination of the absence or presence of drugs and their metabolites, chemicals such as ethanol and other volatile substances, carbon monoxide and other gases as well as toxic chemicals present in human fluids and tissues. The results of laboratory testing are reported to the forensic pathologist who is responsible for evaluating the role of these substances as a determinant or contributing factor in the cause and manner of death.”
What Tox Screens are Routinely Done?
Are there any forensic toxicology tests that are done as a matter of routine? Well, in the case of high profile cases and celebrities, especially where some kind of drug issues are suspected like the current issue of Michael Jackson or past cases like Heath Ledger and Anna Nicole Smith, extensive series of tests are run.
According to The Huffington Post, the New York City medical examiner finished Heath Ledger's toxicology report 15 days after he was found dead in his New York apartment. The ruling was that Ledger's death was caused by "acute intoxication" and abuse of prescription medications.
Elvis Presley, the Landmark Celebrity Forensic Toxicology Case
Presley's death on 16 August 1977 was ruled the result of an irregular heartbeat, and his autopsy report was sealed amid accusations that abuse of prescription drugs caused the problem. The toxicology reports revealed that Elvis had around 14 different drugs in his body/system at the time of death
Toxicology Screening and Results
Quoted on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360, William Anderson, chief toxicologist for the Washoe County Sheriff's Office, in Reno, Nevada explains, “In standard screening, blood samples are drawn from various areas of the body, including the leg and heart, because drugs and poisons can circulate. The initial screening test using blood and urine samples indicates what type of drugs – for example opiates, cocaine or amphetamines – might be present.”
In sensitive or high profile cases, like the Michael Jackson case, the samples probably will be sent to other labs for confirmation. Once the lab has determined what drugs and or poisons were present in a person's body, and the results are analyzed, the medical examiner determines the cause of death and issues a death certificate.
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