'Oral hygiene'--a method of killing in a medical setting

'Oral hygiene' is a routine nursing care procedure used in the treatment of critically ill patients. In the course of their confessions the women accused of the homicides at the Lainz Hospital in Vienna admitted having applied another form of 'oral hygiene'. About 250 ml of tap water was administered per os into the airways of severely ill and comatose patients, and death occurred about one hour later. Pathophysiological investigations have shown that this procedure is a suitable method of killing comatose patients with pulmonary impairment. Possible findings and the problems of detection on the corpse are discussed.