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Insulin murder and the case of Colin Norris
Linköping University, Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Division of Clinical Chemistry and Pharmacology. Linköping University, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences.
2023 (English)In: Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine, ISSN 1752-928X, E-ISSN 1878-7487, Vol. 94, article id 102483Article, review/survey (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Although insulin is an essential medicine and a life-saving drug, it has also been incriminated in many poisoning deaths; accidental, suicidal and some with malicious intent. Overdosing with insulin precipitates a lifethreatening state of hypoglycemia and if untreated leads to coma, irreversible brain damage and death. Normally, the pancreatic 13-cells secrete equimolar amounts of insulin and C-peptide into the portal venous blood, although under physiological conditions the plasma concentration ratio (insulin/C-peptide) is less than unity, because insulin is more susceptible to hepatic first-pass metabolism. A high ratio of insulin/C-peptide in plasma from a poisoned patient is compelling evidence that pharmaceutical insulin was administered, which does not contain C-peptide. The analysis of insulin and C-peptide was traditionally done by immunoassay methods (RIA and/or ELISA), although high resolution LC-MS/MS is more suitable for forensic purposes and permits the identification of insulin analogues. Use of insulin as a murder weapon is exemplified by the case of Colin Norris, a male nurse found guilty of murdering four elderly patients and the attempted murder of a fifth by injecting them with insulin. However, the prosecution evidence against Norris was mainly circumstantial and hearsay. Toxicological evidence against Norris consisted of a high insulin/C-peptide concentration ratio in plasma from one of the victims. This analysis was done by an immunoassay method at a clinical laboratory and not a forensic laboratory. Analytical procedures, including chain-of-custody routines, are more stringent at forensic laboratories. Since his conviction, some of the medical evidence against Norris has been called into question, especially the prevalence of spontaneous attacks of hypoglycemia in elderly and frail patients with co-morbidities.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
ELSEVIER SCI LTD , 2023. Vol. 94, article id 102483
Keywords [en]
Clinical analysis; Diabetes; Insulin; Hypoglycemia; Overdose deaths; Forensic toxicology
National Category
Forensic Science
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-191981DOI: 10.1016/j.jflm.2023.102483ISI: 000926700700001PubMedID: 36680946OAI: oai:DiVA.org:liu-191981DiVA, id: diva2:1740136
Available from: 2023-02-28 Created: 2023-02-28 Last updated: 2023-02-28

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