NCJ Number
197332
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 47 Issue: 5 Dated: September 2002 Pages: 1133-1134
Date Published
September 2002
Length
2 pages
Annotation
This paper reports on a case that involved an alleged sexual assault linked to the surreptitious administration of gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) to the victim; the procedure for identifying GHB in a sample of the victim's urine following the alleged attack is described.
Abstract
A 48-year-old Caucasian woman with a history of taking the tricyclic antidepressant amitriptyline, met with a 43-year-old man through the Internet and agreed to meet him at her home before going out on a date. While at her home, he persuaded her to drink from a bottle that he claimed contained a relaxing health product, which he mixed with a sports drink. Following absorption of the mixture, the victim became unconscious for about 4 hours. During this time, the victim had a physical perception of being subjected to nonconsensual sexual intercourse while she was unconscious. Urine samples, the specimen of choice for toxicological investigation of drug-facilitated sexual assault, were collected less than 12 hours after the reported incident during the hospital rape examination; they were sent to the toxicological laboratory of the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation for analysis. The toxicological testing on urine identified GHB, amitriptyline, and nortriptyline. The effects of GHB include euphoria, drowsiness, reduced inhibitions, dizziness, nausea, and sedation. Unconsciousness associated with GHB usually occurs approximately 15 minutes after oral administration and persists for about 3 hours on average. The testing procedure used a capillary Hewlett-Packard 6890 gas chromatograph coupled to a Hewlett-Packard 5973 mass selective detector (MSD). The GHB concentration in urine was found to be 26.9 mg/ml. Urine concentrations of amitriptyline and nortriptyline were not determined. The GHB concentrations observed from the urine samples of the victim were consistent with GHB being exogenously administered. 16 references