Postmortem stability of seminal components
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Authors
Sakata, Michael K.
Issue Date
2000
Type
Thesis
Language
en
Keywords
Forensic sciences
Alternative Title
Abstract
Vaginal, oral, and rectal swabs may provide important evidence for investigating homicides of women that include a sexual assault. The factors influencing the forensic utility of postmortem seminal evidence are not well defined in the literature. Homicide cases occurring in the City of San Diego, California between the years 1979 and 1995 were examined to evaluate the quality of seminal components collected from the victims. Twelve cases were selected based on the reported presence of spermatozoa. Environmental and circumstantial factors were inventoried and compared to the results of assays for sprematozoa, acid phosphatase, p30, and DNA. Semen deposition appeared to be limited to the vagina; acid phosphatase quantitation was low, and spermatozoa were rare in oral and rectal samples. Five cases provided PCR data that contributed to the investigation. No useful data for p30 were obtained. Postmortem interval did not appear to be the primary factor determining the amount and quality of seminal components obtained from swabs. A larger sample should prove useful in further defining the roles of environmental and circumstantial factors in determining the forensic viability of seminal components in a postmortem context.