The trials of Steven Truscott

Determination of time of death (postmortem interval) is one of the most difficult problems confronting forensic pathologists. One noteworthy such case is that of Steven Truscott, a 14-year-old Canadian youth who was convicted of the June 1959 rape-murder of 12-year-old Lynne Harper in rural southwestern Ontario. The two had been seen together on the evening when Lynne was last seen alive. At her autopsy approximately 48 h later, the prosecutor, relying almost entirely on examination of the gastric contents, placed the time of death during the period in which the two were apparently in each other's company. Truscott's defense was unable to refute this opinion, and Truscott was sentenced first to death, then to life imprisonment. Isabel LeBourdais, a Canadian journalist, published a book defending Truscott that eventually led to a judicial rehearing, but his conviction was upheld. The examination of gastric contents is only one measure employed in the often difficult determination of time of death. It has not been made inherently more reliable in this regard since 1959. It is crucial, therefore, to use all available evidence in determining time of death.