The Need for an Interdisciplinary Approach in Forensic Sciences: Perspectives from a Peculiar Case of Mummification

No abstract

Matricide is one of the rarest of reported murders and has always been considered one of the most abhorrent crimes. Psychiatric investigations as to why a son might murder his mother yield indications of a high rate of mental illness, primarily psychotic disorders, in perpetrators. In an attempt to gain an in-depth understanding of the role of the mother-son bond in the etiology of matricide by mentally disordered sons, this article presents a qualitative study of nine cases of matricide examined at two Italian Forensic Psychiatry Departments between 2005 and 2010 and retrospective analysis of forensic psychiatry reports on the offenders. Most matricides suffered from psychotic disorders, especially schizophrenia. Nevertheless, not all the perpetrators had psychotic symptoms at the time of the crime. A "pathologic" mother-son bond was found in all cases. However, mental illness is not the only variable related to matricide and, taken alone, is not enough to explain the crime. Several factors in the history of the mother and son need to be probed, especially how their relationship developed over the years. The peculiar dynamics of the mother-son relationship and the unique personalities and life experiences of both subjects are the real key to cases of matricide.

Nowadays, the finding of a mummified body preserved by chance in a domestic environment is an occasional but not rare event in urban society [1]. Mummification can maintain intact a dead body, or parts of it, in a warm dry environment with an air current, such as in closed apartments [2]. The time of death is often difficult to estimate, requiring a multidisciplinary team of forensic pathologists, geneticists, entomologists, and possibly forensic psychiatrists. Mummification usually occurs in about 12 weeks, and the early stages may involve putrefactive changes. Elderly people are at greater risk of dying suddenly and unnoticed by others [3,4]. Victims' corpses can remain undiscovered in their homes for several months or years after their death, being well preserved if environmental conditions promote their desiccation [5]. The delayed discovery is often explained by the social isolation of the subjects when alive, with limited contact with other people and society. In addition, the absence of family support and poor neighborly relationships can worsen their social living conditions [6,7].