Misrepresentation of UK homicide characteristics in popular culture

Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine
Volume 23, March 2014, Pages 62–64

J. Brown, MA, MRCPsych [a], (Specialty Registrar in Forensic Psychiatry),
N.S. Hughes, MA (Cantab), MRCPsych [b] (Specialty Registrar in Forensic Psychiatry),
M.C. McGlen, MBChB, MRCPsych [a] (Specialty Registrar in Forensic Psychiatry),
J.H.M. Crichton, PhD, FRCPsych [c] (Honorary Fellow)

[a] Royal Edinburgh Hospital, Morningside Place, Edinburgh EH10 5HF, UK
[b] Rohallion Clinic, Murray Royal Hospital, Perth, UK
[c] School of Law, University of Edinburgh, Old College, South Bridge, Edinburgh, UK

Abstract

The homicide statistics of a popular UK television fictional crime series and the former Lothian & Borders police force region, Scotland were compared. This comparison was used to consider the implications for public attitudes which may influence the adoption of public health interventions to reduce homicide.

217 homicides were identified by 105 perpetrators in the television series 'Midsomer Murders' between 1997 and 2011; these were compared to 55 homicides by 53 perpetrators in the regional sample between 2006 and 2011. The numbers of serial killings (p < 0.0001), planned homicides, female perpetrators (p < 0.0001), shootings (p = 0.0456) and poisonings (p = 0.0289) were higher in the fictional sample. Lothian & Borders cases were almost all single killings, mostly unplanned, with a far greater rate of homicide by kitchen knives (p < 0.0001) and hitting/kicking (p = 0.0005) by intoxicated perpetrators.

Control of access to pointed kitchen knives by members of certain groups may reduce homicide rates. If the popular perception of UK homicides is influenced by popular culture, the importance of such a public health intervention may not be apparent.

Keywords

Homicide; Media; Forensic; Psychiatry

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1752928X14000110

The British Hitman: 1974–2013

The Howard Journal of Criminal Justice
Early View (Online Version of Record published before inclusion in an issue)
DOI: 10.1111/hojo.12063

Donal MacIntyre, Visiting Professor
David Wilson, Professor of Criminology
Elizabeth Yardley, Director
Liam Brolan, Research Assistant

Centre for Applied Criminology, Birmingham City University

Abstract

This exploratory article presents a typology of British ‘hitmen’ as identified within newspaper reports about contract killing. Demographic and criminological data related to these hitmen and their victims are analysed and, on the basis of this analysis, a typology of British hitmen is developed. Our typology suggests that British hitmen are: ‘Novices’; ‘Dilettantes’; ‘Journeymen’; or ‘Masters’. It is hoped that this typology will be of use to law enforcement.

Conclusion

The dearth of academic research about hitmen is to be regretted, no matter the all-too-real difficulties of researching this particular form of violent crime. Even so, this exploratory article has only attempted to sketch in the broad contours of the phenomenon and in doing so we hope to prompt greater interest in this subject area, and its various cultures and subcultures. Further research is clearly needed and, if it were possible, these broad contours would benefit from the finer detail that might come through interviews with hitmen themselves. So, too, we hope that others will test our suggested typology and our broader conclusions that British hitmen do not exist solely or perhaps even primarily, within some secret, criminal underworld. Rather they are usually part of that community in which their hits takes place. Indeed, this simple reality is one of the major reasons why they are eventually apprehended.

Nor were all of the hits in our sample particularly professionally carried out. ‘Dilettante’ British hitmen, in particular, changed their minds; they got cold feet and could, in extreme circumstances, become the victims of their intended targets themselves. Even so, the ‘Journeyman’ hitman could be successful over a long period of time, although he was, thankfully, eventually caught – largely due to the intelligence that was built up about his activities and through developments in forensic science. Here, too, the importance of police informants cannot be underestimated.

Finally, the sites of British hits were not usually bars, clubs, or casinos but were far more likely to be the shopping centre, or the suburb in which the intended target lived. As a result, members of the public were all too often witnesses to a hit. Hits in this respect were not unusual and extraordinary, but rather commonplace and ordinary. So, too, the motives for a hit being contracted were mundane. Frankly, the motivations to pay a hitman the relatively small amount to carry out a murder were depressingly banal. Husbands and wives fell out with each other, or wanted to gain early access to life assurance policies; business partners decided to go, or wanted to go, their separate ways; business deals fell apart; and young gang members wanted to impress other, older, gang members with their bravado. All of this is far removed from the media portrayal of the fictional hitman who, on the evidence presented here, has little, or no connection, to his British reality.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/enhanced/doi/10.1111/hojo.12063/

Joking in the face of death: A terror management approach to humor production

Humor
Volume 26, Issue 4 (19 Oct 2013), Pages 493–509
DOI: 10.1515/humor-2013-0012

Christopher R. Long [1], Dara N. Greenwood [2]

[1] Ouachita Baptist University
[2] Vassar College

Abstract

Terror management theory has spawned a body of experimental research documenting a multitude of defensive responses to mortality salience manipulations (e.g., rigid adherence to dominant cultural values, self-esteem bolstering). Another substantive body of work suggests that humor functions as a natural and often effective means of down-regulating stressful or traumatic experiences. Integrating a terror management paradigm with a cartoon captioning task, the present study finds that participants subliminally primed with death wrote funnier captions than those primed with pain, as judged by outside raters. Interestingly, a reverse pattern was obtained for participants' own ratings of their captions; explicitly death-primed participants rated themselves more successful at generating humorous captions than their pain-primed counterparts, while no significant difference emerged between the two subliminal priming conditions. Findings contribute new insights to recent research suggesting that death reminders may sometimes facilitate creativity and open-mindedness.

Keywords: humor; terror management; mortality; creativity

http://www.degruyter.com/view/j/humr.2013.26.issue-4/humor-2013-0012/humor-2013-0012.xml

Lemonade from Lemons: The Taphonomic Effect of Lawn Mowers on Skeletal Remains

Journal of Forensic Sciences
Volume 58, Issue 5, pages 1273–1278, September 2013
Issue published online: 4 Sep 2013

DC Martin M.A., Gretchen R. Dabbs Ph.D. and Lindsey G. Roberts B.S.

Department of Anthropology
Southern Illinois University-Carbondale
1000 Faner Drive
Mail Code 4502
Carbondale, IL 62901

Abstract

This study provides a descriptive analysis of the taphonomic changes produced by passing over skeletonized remains (n = 4, Sus scrofa) with three common lawn mowers. Two skeletons were mowed over with a riding lawn mower set at multiple blade heights (10.16, 7.62, 5.08 cm) and one each with a rotary mower (9.53, 6.35 cm) and a mulching mower (6.35 cm). Results show that different types of common lawn mowers will produce different patterns of bone dispersal and fragmentation rates. Overall, skeletal elements projecting upward from the surface frequently exhibited a sheared morphology characterized by a smooth, flat, cut surface (7.0–7.6% of elements). The push mowers yielded a higher frequency of undamaged bone than the riding mower (54.8–61.2% vs. 17.7%), and the riding mower created more catastrophic damage to skeletal elements. Additionally, each mower produced a distinct dispersal pattern of skeletal fragments. The dispersal patterns have been identified as “bull's-eye” (riding), circular (mulching), and discontinuous rectangle (rotary).

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1556-4029.12177/abstract

Psychological phenomena in dead people: Post- traumatic stress disorder in murdered people and its consequences to public health

Australian Journal of Parapsychology
Vol. 13, No. 1, Jun 2013: 37-56

de Almeida Ferreira, Wasney

Faculdade de Medicina (FM), Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Abstract: The aims of this paper are to narrate and analyze some psychological phenomena that I have perceived in dead people, including evidence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in murdered people. The methodology adopted was "projection of consciousness" (i.e., a non-ordinary state of consciousness), which allowed me to observe, interact, and interview dead people directly as a social psychologist. This investigation was based on Cartesian skepticism, which allowed me a more critical analysis of my experiences during projection of consciousness. There is strong evidence that a dead person: (i) continues living, thinking, behaving after death as if he/she still has his/her body because consciousness continues in an embodied state as 'postmortem embodied experiences'; (ii) may not realize for a considerable time that he/she is already dead since consciousness continues to be embodied after death (i.e., 'postmortem perturbation' - the duration of this perturbation can vary from person to person, in principle according to the type of death, and the level of conformation), and (iii) does not like to talk, remember, and/or explain things related to his/her own death because there is evidence that many events related to death are repressed in his/her unconscious ('postmortem cognitive repression'). In addition, there is evidence that dying can be very traumatic to consciousness, especially to the murdered, and PTSD may even develop.

http://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=406555355897542;res=IELHSS

Observational cadaveric study of emergency bystander cricothyroidotomy with a ballpoint pen by untrained junior doctors and medical students

Emerg Med J. 2013 Apr;30(4):308-11
doi: 10.1136/emermed-2012-201317
Epub 2012 May 5

Andrew Neill [1], Philip Anderson [2]

[1] Anatomy Department, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
[2] Foundation Year 2 Doctor, Northern Ireland Deanery, UK

Correspondence to Dr A Neill, Level 1, Biomedical Sciences Institute, Trinity College, Pearse St, Dublin 2, Ireland

Contributors
AN conceived the study, performed most of the dissection and drafted the manuscript. PA aided with the dissection and compiled the results.

Objective

Apart from case reports and anecdotes, there are no published studies on the feasibility of using non-medical devices for emergency bystander cricothyroidotomy. This study evaluated the ability of non-trained junior doctors and medical students to place an emergency cricothyroidotomy on an embalmed cadaver using only a blade and a ballpoint pen.

Methods

Participants were junior doctors with no prior experience of surgical airways and second year medical students at the end of their head and neck anatomy course. Nine participants were asked to place an emergency cricothyroidotomy in an undissected embalmed cadaver using only a No 26 scalpel and a dismantled ballpoint pen (Papermate Flexigrip Ultra, external diameter 8.9 mm; internal diameter 7.0 mm). Times were recorded and direct visualisation by dissection was used to assess placement and complications.

Results

Nine participants performed a total of 14 separate cricothyroidtomies on separate cadavers. Landmarks were palpable by researchers in 10 of the 14 cadavers. Eight of 14 (57%) procedures were deemed successful. No major vascular injury occurred. Injuries to the thyroid and cricoid cartilages were common; four of 14 (29%) of these injuries were fractures.

Conclusions

In embalmed cadavers, inexperienced junior doctors and medical students with no prior training were able to place a successful cricothyroidotomy slightly more than half the time. It suggests that surgical cricothyroidotomy with a ballpoint pen and blade is a feasible option in extremis. It is unknown whether junior doctors from other specialties, such as emergency medicine, would perform better.

http://emj.bmj.com/content/30/4/308.abstract

The Mental Lives of Zombies

Philosophical Perspectives
Volume 26, Issue 1, pages 343–372, 19 December 2012
DOI: 10.1111/phpe.12013

Declan Smithies
The Ohio State University

A zombie is a creature that is just like a conscious subject in all relevant physical, functional or behavioral respects, except that it has no conscious states – there is nothing it is like to be a zombie. Zombies have figured prominently in metaphysical debates about the nature of consciousness, but they can also be usefully employed in raising questions about the relationship between consciousness and cognition. Could there be a cognitive zombie – that is, a creature with the capacity for cognition but with no capacity for consciousness? By definition, zombies cannot have conscious states, but can they nevertheless have cognitive states, such as beliefs, and cognitive processes, such as reasoning and other forms of rational belief revision?

In this paper, I am primarily concerned with conceptual questions about the relationship between consciousness and cognition. As  far as possible, I want to remain neutral on empirical questions about the functional role of consciousness and metaphysical questions about the nature of consciousness and its place in the physical world. So, when I ask whether there could be cognitive zombies, the relevant modality is conceptual possibility, rather than physical possibility or metaphysical possibility. The question is whether cognitive zombies are conceptually possible or impossible – that is, whether they can be coherently conceived or whether this involves some kind of inherent conceptual confusion.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/phpe.12013/abstract

The nurses' role in the prevention of Solanum infection: dealing with a zombie epidemic

Journal of Clinical Nursing
Volume 21, Issue 11-12, pages 1606–1613, June 2012
DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2702.2011.03920.x

David Stanley, MSc, RN, RM, Associate Professor

University of Western Australia
35 Stirling Highway
Crawley, 6009 WA
Australia

Keywords:
disaster; emergency; infection; nurses; nursing; solanum; zombies

Aims
To outline the background and nursing interventions for Solanum infection in the event of a zombie epidemic.

Background
Literature and feature film evidence supports the theoretical probability for an outbreak of a Solanum infection which could result in a zombie epidemic. This paper discusses the causative agent, history of zombiism, signs and symptoms, diagnosis and nursing interventions.

Design
Review.

Methods
Academic and general literature and web sites were searched up to February 2011 for the key words, ‘zombie’, ‘zombie nurses’, ‘zombie epidemic’ and ‘zombie nursing interventions’. Limited academic literature was sourced pointing to a serious knowledge deficit in this area.

Results
If nurses are to respond successfully to a potential Solanum epidemic they need to be prepared and able to recognise Solanum infection, prevent its spread and care appropriately for sufferers and victims of a zombie attack. Advice is offered on prevention, initial nursing management and secondary nursing interventions including dealing with reanimation, palliative care and psychological support.

Conclusion
History offers numerous examples of the sudden appearance of a serious disease that has impacted on man kind’s survival. While difficult to conceive, a zombie epidemic is theoretically possible and nurses have a responsibility to be as prepared as possible to support and care for victims.

Relevance to clinical practice
Nurses are likely to be the front line staff faced with initiating most primary and secondary care interventions, including isolation and infection control, wound care, pain relief, documentation observations, support for activities of daily living, nutrition and fluid support, medication administration and other interventions.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2702.2011.03920.x/abstract

Float, explode or sink: postmortem fate of lung-breathing marine vertebrates

Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments
March 2012, Volume 92, Issue 1, pp 67-81
Cover Date 2012-03-01
DOI 10.1007/s12549-011-0067-z

Achim G. Reisdorf (1), Roman Bux (2), Daniel Wyler (3), Mark Benecke (4), Christian Klug (5), Michael W. Maisch (6), Peter Fornaro (7), Andreas Wetzel (1)

1. Geologisch-Paläontologisches Institut, Universität Basel, Bernoullistrasse 32, 4056, Basel, Switzerland
2. Institut für Rechtsmedizin und Verkehrsmedizin, Universitätsklinikum Heidelberg, Voßstrasse 2, Gebäude 4420, 69115, Heidelberg, Germany
3. Pathologie und Rechtsmedizin, Kantonsspital, Loëstrasse 170, 7000, Chur, Switzerland
4. Internatinal Forensic Research & Consulting, Postfach 250411, 50520, Köln, Germany
5. Paläontologisches Institut und Museum, Universität Zürich, Karl Schmid-Strasse 4, 8006, Zürich, Switzerland
6. Institut für Geowissenschaften, Eberhard Karls-Universität Tübingen, Hölderlinstr. 12, 72074, Tübingen, Germany
7. Imaging and Media Lab, Universität Basel, Bernoullistrasse 32, 4056, Basel, Switzerland

Abstract

What happens after the death of a marine tetrapod in seawater? Palaeontologists and neontologists have claimed that large lung-breathing marine tetrapods such as ichthyosaurs had a lower density than seawater, implying that their carcasses floated at the surface after death and sank subsequently after leakage of putrefaction gases (or ‘‘carcass explosions’’). Such explosions would thus account for the skeletal disarticulation observed frequently in the fossil record. We examined the taphonomy and sedimentary environment of numerous ichthyosaur skeletons and compared them to living marine tetrapods, principally cetaceans, and measured abdominal pressures in human carcasses. Our data and a review of the literature demonstrate that carcasses sink and do not explode (and spread skeletal elements). We argue that the normally slightly negatively buoyant carcasses of ichthyosaurs would have sunk to the sea floor and risen to the surface only when they remained in shallow water above a certain temperature and at a low scavenging rate. Once surfaced, prolonged floating may have occurred and a carcass have decomposed gradually. Our conclusions are of significance to the understanding of the inclusion of carcasses of lung-breathing vertebrates in marine nutrient recycling. The postmortem fate has essential implications for the interpretation of vertebrate fossil preservation (the existence of complete, disarticulated fossil skeletons is not explained by previous hypotheses), palaeobathymetry, the physiology of modern marine lung-breathing tetrapods and their conservation, and the recovery of human bodies from seawater.

http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs12549-011-0067-z/fulltext.html

Is 27 really a dangerous age for famous musicians? Retrospective cohort study

BMJ. 2011 Dec 20;343:d7799
doi: 10.1136/bmj.d7799
(Published 20 December 2011)

Martin Wolkewitz, statistician [1], Arthur Allignol, statistician [1], Nicholas Graves, health economist [2], and Adrian G Barnett, statistician [2]

[1] Freiburg Center of Data Analysis and Modelling, University of Freiburg and Institute of Medical Biometry and Medical Informatics, University Medical Center, Freiburg, Germany
[2] Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation and School of Public Health, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD 4059, Australia

OBJECTIVE:

To test the "27 club" hypothesis that famous musicians are at an increased risk of death at age 27. Design Cohort study using survival analysis with age as a time dependent exposure. Comparison was primarily made within musicians, and secondarily relative to the general UK population.

SETTING:

The popular music scene from a UK perspective.

PARTICIPANTS:

Musicians (solo artists and band members) who had a number one album in the UK between 1956 and 2007 (n = 1046 musicians, with 71 deaths, 7%).

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:

Risk of death by age of musician, accounting for time dependent study entry and the number of musicians at risk. Risk was estimated using a flexible spline which would allow a bump at age 27 to appear.

RESULTS:

We identified three deaths at age 27 amongst 522 musicians at risk, giving a rate of 0.57 deaths per 100 musician years. Similar death rates were observed at ages 25 (rate = 0.56) and 32 (0.54). There was no peak in risk around age 27, but the risk of death for famous musicians throughout their 20s and 30s was two to three times higher than the general UK population.

CONCLUSIONS:

The 27 club is unlikely to be a real phenomenon. Fame may increase the risk of death among musicians, but this risk is not limited to age 27.

http://www.bmj.com/content/343/bmj.d7799?view=long&pmid=22187325

When Zombies Attack!: Mathematical Modelling of an Outbreak of Zombie Infection

Infectious Disease Modelling Research Progress,
eds. J.M. Tchuenche and C. Chiyaka,
Nova Science Publishers, Inc.
pp. 133-150, 2009

Philip Munz [1], Ioan Hudea [1], Joe Imad [2], Robert J. Smith? [3]

[1] School of Mathematics and Statistics, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON K1S 5B6, Canada
[2] Department of Mathematics, The University of Ottawa, 585 King Edward Ave, Ottawa ON K1N 6N5, Canada
[2] Department of Mathematics and Faculty of Medicine, The University of Ottawa, 585 King Edward Ave, Ottawa ON K1N 6N5, Canada

Abstract

Zombies are a popular figure in pop culture/entertainment and they are usually portrayed as being brought about through an outbreak or epidemic. Consequently, we model a zombie attack, using biological assumptions based on popular zombie movies. We introduce a basic model for zombie infection, determine equilibria and their stability, and illustrate the outcome with numerical solutions. We then refine the model to introduce a latent period of zombification, whereby humans are infected, but not infectious, before becoming undead. We then modify the model to include the effects of possible quarantine or a cure. Finally, we examine the impact of regular, impulsive reductions in the number of zombies and derive conditions under which eradication can occur. We show that only quick, aggressive attacks can stave off the doomsday scenario: the collapse of society as zombies overtake us all.

https://www.novapublishers.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=9750

Elvis to Eminem: quantifying the price of fame through early mortality of European and North American rock and pop stars

J Epidemiol Community Health
Oct 2007; 61(10): 896–901
doi:10.1136/jech.2007.059915

Mark A Bellis, Clare Lushey, Karen Hughes, Karen Tocque, John R Ashton
Centre for Public Health, Liverpool John Moores University, Castle House, North Street, Liverpool L3 2AY

Tom Hennell
Public Health Group, Government Office for the North West of England, Manchester, UK

Background

Rock and pop stars are frequently characterised as indulging in high‐risk behaviours, with high‐profile deaths amongst such musicians creating an impression of premature mortality. However, studies to date have not quantified differences between mortality experienced by such stars and general populations.

Objective

This study measures survival rates of famous musicians (n = 1064) from their point of fame and compares them to matched general populations in North America and Europe.

Design

We describe and utilise a novel actuarial survival methodology which allows quantification of excess post‐fame mortality in pop stars.

Participants

Individuals from North America and Europe performing on any album in the All‐Time Top 1000 albums from the music genres rock, punk, rap, R&B, electronica and new age.

Results

From 3 to 25 years post fame, both North American and European pop stars experience significantly higher mortality (more than 1.7 times) than demographically matched populations in the USA and UK, respectively. After 25 years of fame, relative mortality in European (but not North American) pop stars begins to return to population levels. Five‐year post‐fame survival rates suggest differential mortality between stars and general populations was greater in those reaching fame before 1980.

Conclusion

Pop stars can suffer high levels of stress in environments where alcohol and drugs are widely available, leading to health‐damaging risk behaviour. However, their behaviour can also influence would‐be stars and devoted fans. Collaborations between health and music industries should focus on improving both pop star health and their image as role models to wider populations.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2652970/

The first case of homosexual necrophilia in the mallard Anas platyrhynchos (Aves: Anatidae)

DEINSEA 8: 243-247 [ISSN 0932-9308]
Published 9 November 2001

C.W. Moeliker

Natuurmuseum Rotterdam

On 5 June 1995 an adult male mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) collided with the glass façade of the Natuurhistorisch Museum Rotterdam and died. An other drake mallard ‘raped’ the corpse almost continuously for 75 minutes. Then the author disturbed the scene and secured the dead duck. Dissection showed that the rape-victim indeed was of the male sex. It is concluded that the mallards were engaged in an ‘Attempted Rape Flight’ that resulted in the first described case of homosexual necrophilia in the mallard.

http://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/sillymolecules/papers/duck.pdf

A matter of large body passing through a small hole: the holeproof out the window

Forensic Science International
Volume 56, Issue 2, October 1992, Pages 183–188

Patel F.

Department of Forensic Medicine, UMDS Guy's Hospital, University of London, UK

Abstract

A baffling case of fall-from-height is described focusing on aspects of a human body passing through a small hole, within a holeproof window. It is a classic example of an unsatisfactory outcome when a scene of death is modified adversely due to delay in the commencement of scene management. The operative factors may be entirely outside the control of scene investigators. The primary medical attendant is reminded of the forensic obligations at a scene of unnatural death. Reporting this case might encourage forensic practitioners having experience of a similar case to respond through this journal.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1452109

The Effect of Country Music on Suicide

Social Forces
Vol. 71, No. 1 (Sep., 1992), pp. 211-218
Published by: Oxford University Press

Steven Stack, Wayne State University
Jim Gundlach, Auburn University

Abstract

This article assesses the link between country music and metropolitan suicide rates. Country music is hypothesized to nurture a suicidal mood through its concerns with problems common in the suicidal population, such as marital discord, alcohol abuse, and alienation from work. The results of a multiple regression analysis of 49 metropolitan areas show that the greater the airtime devoted to country music, the greater the white suicide rate. The effect is independent of divorce, southernness, poverty, and gun availability. The existence of a country music subculture is thought to reinforce the link between country music and suicide. Our model explains 51% of the variance in urban white suicide rates.

http://www.jstor.org/stable/2579974