Checking to see if any forensic experts are hanging out here today...

[OneGrassRoot]

:D

No, seriously.

I've searched and searched online for forensic forums (I'm doing research for a novel), to no avail. I posted a question in the True Crime forum here at DU, but no responses yet.

Soooooo, anyone here familiar with postmortem toxicology?

Here's the specific question, in case anyone wants to chime in with information or suggestions regarding online forums. I've contacted the local medical examiner's office, but that could take a while for them to respond, if ever.

Here goes:

In this novel, there is a character who is murdered by unknowingly ingesting GHB (Gamma Hydroxy Butrate) along with alcohol and, while under the influence of both agents, drowns.

Initially, the death is ruled accidental, with the GHB aspect of the story not revealed. Later, a full autopsy will be requested and the body will be exhumed. The timeframe, however, is what I need to know.

How long postmortem - with drowning the official cause of death - would GHB be able to be detected? And, would it need to be detected in both the blood and urine; how feasible is that?


Thanks!

[Bunny]

1. Google: ghb detectability post-mortem

I did that and found a few articles that may be useful. I was going to post them here for you but I screwed something up and lost the post. I'm too lazy to look again!

[OneGrassRoot]

4. I thought I tried every combination in Google, but just in case...

I'll type in what you suggested and see what comes up this morning!

Thanks much :-)

[MonkeyFunk]

2. You're really trying to kill someone, aren't you?

[OneGrassRoot]

3. LOL....nah, but I'm sure Agent Mike follows my Googling habits

quite closely


:P

[flvegan]

5. As I recall, when GHB was a bodybuilding drug

it was ineffective after like, 12 hours. It couldn't be detected in urine after 24 hours.

I'm assuming that since this is "unknowingly ingesting" that it's used either for pleasure or rape, so I'm unaware of how the dosage would differ.

[MonkeyFunk]

6. does it degrade on its own...

or is it metabolized?

[skygazer]

7. I would call your local coroner's office

Explain that you're a writer and ask your question. Sometimes the direct route works best. Worth a try, anyway.

[OneGrassRoot]

8. Yes, I ended up doing that. Thanks everyone. n/t

[Mike03]

9. I might be able to find out, but it will take me a day or so

I'll have to access some books in storage and see if they discuss testing indicators for that particular drug.

For some reason, and I may be wrong, I think that GHB has a long half life but I am not sure whether it is detected in blood, urine, or both. But your situation is interesting, in that it might be more important to look at the tissues themselves, possibly hair, nails, since the body has presumably been immersed in water.

[mulsh]

10. a better question to ask might be " do coroners regularly test for

the presence of GHB?" I worked for 5 years in a coroner's office but that was back in the late 70's, early 80's GHB was very uncommon at that time I doubt any of the standard tests would isolate it. not sure what they do these days.

[OneGrassRoot]

11. Thanks everyone! If anyone comes up with info, maybe you could...

PM me? Don't go out of your way, but any info would be appreciated. I still haven't gotten a detailed answer to my question yet.

I'm not a scientist, so the academic documents really go over my head. But it does seem GHB has a long half life, which bodes well for the interim between death and autopsy. What I don't know is how being in the ocean for several days postmortem affects it. It seems the best way to test is through urine and vitreous fluid postmortem for most accurate results.

Oy...this is my first foray into research for a crime novel. The next one is a medical mystery, a la Michael Creighton, so I need to find good resources for future reference. I'm surprised I haven't found good online forums for these types of questions. Surely they're out there, just waiting to be found. :shrug:

Thanks any for your thoughts and input! Much appreciated, as always. :yourock: