"This chapter is the unabridged version of the author's original manuscript and has been revised since publication by Mr Sekar, the author of it. It is published on this website by kind permission of the publishers Palgrave. The definitive edited version of this chapter appears as The Failure of the Review of the Possible Wrongful Convictions Caused by Michael Heath in The Criminal Cases Review Commission - Hope for the Innocent? edited by Michael Naughton which can be purchased from www.palgrave.com We recommend the book highly to our readers and support the work of the Innocence Network UK. http://www.innocencenetwork.org.uk/ is their website address. "

Next Time The Fire – The Expertise of Michael Heath

by Satish Sekar © Satish Sekar March 2007

Introduction:

Forensic pathology is undoubtedly a very important science, but one that is surrounded by misunderstanding of its limitations and significance. It cannot, for example, say precisely when a murder took place. There are far too many variables to enable anything more than a range of times within which death occurred. There are however, several indicators that should be established and not just the obvious ones such as body weight: body temperature, ambient temperature and the progress of rigour mortis. Analysis of stomach contents and the rate of dissipation of alcohol content in the body can all assist in establishing a likely range for when death occurred. However, despite ongoing research no science can give a precise time of death – yet. Normally the time of death is established not by pathology but by investigative circumstances ranging from collection of newspapers, reading of mail, usage of electricity in a house to the metabolism of alcohol. Doing an alcohol back calculation is really the only factor related to the body which is accurate and can give a time of death accurate within an hour – provided the victim has consumed alcohol of course.

In homicide cases the forensic pathologist will be the first to perform scientific examinations on the body. They will also take samples from it – some of which will be used by other forensic scientists. Consequently, the integrity and competence of forensic pathologists can also affect the ability of other experts to obtain and interpret scientific evidence. When a body is too decomposed for other methods forensic entomology – the study of the life cycles of insects recovered from crime scenes – is a science that can offer useful evidence, enabling investigators to establish the post-mortem-interval. It cannot say precisely when a murder occurred either, but it can often give investigators a range of a few days to work with.

May 27 2009 by Our Correspondent, Western Mail

As the controversy over who should be included on a national DNA database continues, author Satish Sekar argues that a new EU ruling poses a threat to cracking unsolved crimes

Over 13 years ago – March 10, 1996 – the half-naked body of 34-year-old Karen Skipper was recovered from the River Ely in Cardiff.

Within five weeks, an innocent man – her estranged husband Philip – was charged with her murder and acquitted in 1997. He subsequently died in November 2004, the same year that crucial DNA profiles were obtained from crime scene samples.

Two years later, John Pope, the real murderer, was arrested on an unrelated matter for which he was not convicted.

His DNA profile was put on the National DNA Database and within a month the labourer, then 57, was identified as a prime suspect in the murder of Karen Skipper.