A case of drug-facilitated sexual assault leading to death by chloroform poisoning

The purpose of this investigation was to determine the cause of death of a 13-year-old girl, where none was immediately evident. Our analysis showed it to be a very unusual case of a drug-facilitated sexual assault (DFSA), which led to the tragic death of the young rape victim and then to the suicide of the rapist. The incapacitating agent used was chloroform. The post-mortem analysis revealed a blood concentration of 833.9 mg/l for the girl, whereas the quantitation of chloroform in various fluids and viscera of the rapist proved that he had recently been handling the solvent (with concentrations in fat tissues 20 times higher than in his blood). This case draws attention to the need for broad searches for volatile substances in such investigations.