Homicide by organophosphorus compound poisoning: a case report

Pesticides are responsible for less than 1% of deaths from poisoning in the UK while various studies in India indicate that the figures range from 20% to a staggering 70% (Sharma, 1998). Organophosphorus compounds are reported to be the most commonly used substances for suicidal purposes (Dixit, 2007). Homicidal poisoning involving pesticides has always been rare owing to the disagreeable odour and taste rendered to them by their hydrocarbon solvents (Pillay, 2008). An unusual case of homicide using an organophosphorus compound is presented here. The body of a 28-year-old woman was brought for post-mortem examination at the mortuary of the Government Medical College and New Civil Hospital, Surat, Gujarat, India. It had been exhumed after forty-five days of burial under the supervision of a medical officer from the nearby primary health centre, the police and a magistrate. There was a history of marital discord between the deceased and her husband. Their ten-year-old daughter, who was the only witness to the incident, revealed later that her mother was struck by a wooden block and forcibly made to ingest some medicine. The 'medicine' was identified on chemical analysis as an organophosphorus compound (dichlorvos).