HISTORY AND FORENSICS
First episode
Forensic science is a fascinating subject for almost everyone, especially if it deals with celebrities like Michael Jackson’s case or high profile cases like Caylee Anthony’s case. Lately, a new interest has emerged among the forensic community and keeps growing more and more. It’s a blend of history and forensic science. Forensic History? Even when any forensic scientist knows that human remains older than 50 years are generally not subject to a forensic investigation, the analysis of cases that go beyond the legal scope thrill many colleagues worldwide.
From “historic autopsies” to the actual exhumation and analysis of remains, the forensic study of historic cases is the new trend.
We will be presenting some cases from all continents on a series of different episodes beginning in this post with a case from the 18th century.
Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, or simply Mozart, died in Vienna at the age of 35 at 1:00 AM on December 5, 1791. The mysterious death of the famous composer has long fascinated researchers. Mozart’s cause of death is recorded as hitziges Frieselfieber, or “severe miliary fever” referring to symptoms such as high temperature and rash. One of the problems with Mozart’s cause of death investigation lies on the fact that there is no corpse, no bones to analyze. All scholars have are the testimonies of those who were around Mozart at the time of his decease. Several years before the musician’s death, his grave was dug up to be reused and his remains were lost forever.
Proposed manner of death include all but suicide. The list of causes is enormous. Wolfgang could have been murdered by the Venetian composer Antonio Salieri although it is not clear why Salieri would have done such a thing. Arsenic and mercury poisoning have been suggested as possible causes, the latest being used by many poets, painters, philosophers, and musicians victims of syphilis. For the accident theory, the anthropologist, Pierre-Francoise Puech suggested Mozart had died from complications of a head injury after he studied a fracture on a skull rescued by a gravedigger who dug up Mozart’s grave and knew which body was Mozart’s.
Quite a few diseases (i.e. rheumatic fever Henoch-Schönlein purpura, chronic glomerulonephritis, and trichinosis) have been blamed of being the responsible of the composer’s death too. However, a new study from the University of Amsterdam points out to kidney damage caused by a streptococcal infection. In other words, a strep throat. Here’s the paper published in this week’s issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.
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