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# The autopsy in a suspected sexual homicide

- Procedure

When a person may have been sexually assaulted before death, the autopsy must find and preserve the evidence before the body is washed.

Updated Nov 13, 2026

## Key points

- Collect surface evidence (swabs, hairs, fibres, nails) before washing the body.
- Strangulation is the most common cause of death in series of sexual homicide.
- Examine every orifice, with a speculum for the vagina, and take oral, vaginal and anal swabs; air-dry them and store them in paper envelopes.
- No genital injuries does not rule out sexual assault.
- Femicide (Penal Code, art. 104A): the investigation starts ex officio and must be thorough (Law 1761 of 2015, art. 8).

## What it is

A sexual homicide is one in which the death is associated with a sexual assault. Most victims are women and girls, and in forensic series the most common cause of death is strangulation. The autopsy has two aims at once: to establish the cause and mechanism of death, and to collect the evidence of the assault (the assailant's biological material, genital and non-genital injuries, hairs and fibres) without contaminating it. Order matters: surface evidence is collected before the body is washed. In Colombia, killing a woman because she is a woman or because of her gender identity is femicide (Penal Code, art. 104A, created by Law 1761 of 2015), and its investigation must start ex officio and be thorough.

## What to document

- The state of the clothing: torn, unfastened, inside out or missing.
- Each genital and non-genital injury with its site, size and a photograph with a scale.
- Restraint injuries, defence injuries and bite marks.
- Which samples were taken, from where, by whom and to whom they were handed.
- What was not found, stating that the absence of semen or injuries does not prove there was no assault.

## How it is done

- Review the inspection record and scene photographs; examine and photograph the clothed body before touching the clothing.
- Remove the clothing over a clean sheet and keep each garment separately in labelled paper bags.
- Search the skin under good light for stains, hairs and fibres and collect them before washing the body.
- Photograph bite marks with a scale and swab them for saliva before washing; ask for a dental opinion.
- Clip the nails and take scrapings from under them, keeping each hand separate.
- Examine the genitals, inner thighs and perianal area; use a speculum; comb the pubic hair and keep the victim's own hairs with roots.
- Take oral, vaginal, rectal and skin swabs, air-dry them and store them in individual paper envelopes.
- Complete the autopsy with attention to the neck, defence injuries and restraint marks on the wrists and ankles.
- Take blood for reference DNA and toxicology, and hand everything over under chain of custody.

## Next step: what to do and document

- If a dead or dying victim of suspected sexual assault reaches the emergency room, do not wash them or discard the clothing: keep it in paper and hand it over under chain of custody.
- Record resuscitation procedures and the devices you placed, so they are not mistaken for injuries.
- Inform the Fiscalía at once; the autopsy is medico-legal and does not need the family's consent.
- If you perform the autopsy, follow the order: surface evidence, genital examination, full autopsy and reference samples.
- In the report, separate findings from interpretation and state which injuries are consistent with the events under investigation.
- Official text checked on 2026-11-13 at funcionpublica.gov.co.

## Common mistakes

- Washing the body before collecting surface evidence.
- Storing swabs wet or in plastic bags, which encourages degradation of biological material.
- Concluding there was no sexual assault because there are no genital injuries.
- Forgetting oral and anal swabs or nail scrapings.

## Test yourself

Think of the answer, then tap the question to see it.

## Why is surface evidence collected before washing the body in a suspected sexual homicide?

Because washing removes the assailant's semen, saliva, hairs and fibres, which are the evidence that can identify them.

## What is the most common cause of death in sexual homicides in forensic series?

Strangulation.

## How are swabs for DNA testing preserved?

Air-dried, in individual labelled paper envelopes, under chain of custody.

## Does the absence of genital injuries rule out sexual assault?

No. Many assaults leave no genital injury; the findings and evidence are assessed as a whole.

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## Connections

## Related 7

- [Sexual violence: samples and evidence](https://durgical.com/en/forensic-medicine/sexual-violence-samples-and-evidence/)
- [The forensic exam after sexual violence](https://durgical.com/en/forensic-medicine/the-forensic-exam-after-sexual-violence/)
- [Manual strangulation (throttling)](https://durgical.com/en/forensic-medicine/manual-strangulation/)
- [Ligature strangulation](https://durgical.com/en/forensic-medicine/ligature-strangulation/)
- [Defence wounds and hesitation marks](https://durgical.com/en/forensic-medicine/defence-wounds-and-hesitation-marks/)
- [DNA identification: basics](https://durgical.com/en/forensic-medicine/dna-identification-basics/)
- [Chain of custody (cadena de custodia) in the hospital or rural post](https://durgical.com/en/forensic-medicine/chain-of-custody-in-the-hospital-or-rural-post/)

## Related conditions 2

- [Sexual violence (care of the survivor)](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/sexual-violence/)
- [Intimate partner and sexual violence (mental-health care)](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/intimate-partner-and-sexual-violence/)

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Educational content on forensic and legal medicine; not legal advice and no substitute for the technical guides of Colombia's National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences. Laws change: each page links the official text and says when it was last checked. For a real case, follow the guide in force and ask the competent authority.

Sources: [The Minnesota Protocol on the Investigation of Potentially Unlawful Death (2016)](https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/Publications/MinnesotaProtocol.pdf) (Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), 2017); [Sexual homicides in South Africa: A national cross-sectional epidemiological study of adult women and children](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5645125/) (PLoS One (PMC), 2017); [Ley 1761 de 2015, por la cual se crea el tipo penal de feminicidio como delito autónomo (Rosa Elvira Cely)](https://www.funcionpublica.gov.co/eva/gestornormativo/norma.php?i=65337) (Función Pública, Gestor Normativo, 2015).

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