NCJ Number
227810
Journal
International Journal of Legal Medicine Volume: 122 Issue: 1 Dated: January 2008 Pages: 59-62
Date Published
January 2008
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This paper reports on a case in which the death of a baby was caused by a dog attack, with the specific dog determined from the use of human and canine short tandem repeat (STR) analysis.
Abstract
A 3-month-old baby boy was found dead on the floor in front of the sofa in the living room. He had been in his father's arms on the sofa when his mother went out shopping. The father had fallen asleep in an intoxicated state. The baby was found dead near the father's feet by the mother when she returned home some 5 hours later. There was a severe circular wound at the area of the infant's right ear, with loss of skin, soft tissue, and the right ear itself. A linear or wide circumference abrasion with a radiating pattern was evident around the wound. The skull had a round defect at the site of the wound, and small pieces of brain were found outside the wound. Three miniature dachshunds were in the house at the time of death. The autopsy determined that the wound had been caused by a dog attack. The identity of the dachshund that attacked the infant was determined by using both human and canine STR obtained from samples of the suspected dog and from the scene of the attack. 1 figure, 2 tables, and 13 references