3.2.2. Case no. 2
A 53-year-old man was found dead on the ground, away from home. Near the body were two cans of paint thinner. The crime scene investigation suggested suicide. Clinical information indicated that the victim was a long-term solvent abuser. Samples sent for toxicological VOC analysis were peripheral blood and gastric contents. In the blood sample the substances acetone, methanol, 2- propanol, acetaldehyde, ethanol and toluene were confirmed and quantified by HS GC-FID (Table 4 and Fig. 3), but in the gastric content sample only the presence of ethanol, toluene and ethyl acetate was confirmed. The results suggest that toluene, methanol and ethanol were ingested. Acetaldehyde may be a consequence of ethanol metabolism, since there was no information of cadaver putrefaction and the blood was stored in tubes containing sodium fluoride. Also for these reasons, the 2-propanol and acetone may have been produced endogenously.