- Registrado
- 16 de Sep, 2013
I want to first start out by saying that I am basing my opinion on previous cases I have seen throughout the years.
the ER was likely briefed before Barb's arrival to the department. Depending on how Greene county runs their EMS system, this would have either been over a (likely encrypted) walkie-talkie channel, or through a pager system. The 'old-timers' in the ER will definitely have remembered Chris as the weirdo that sliced his taint, so they will already have an idea on how unstable he is mentally. Secondly, the ER staff are human just like the rest of us...trust me, they look people up on Facebook/Google/etc. I feel bad for the ER nurse that got Barb as a patient, I'm sure he/she got one hell of an education from that google search.
The first thing that they will do is to collect urine to rule out a urinary tract infection (which can cause confusion/increased confusion in an elderly person). One thing that a urinalysis *can* pick up is the presence of sperm cells in the urine (typically an incidental finding in a sexually active female, but in Barb's case, that *shouldn't* be a finding at all). It's likely that Chris hasn't taken Barb to a doctor in quite some time, and the ER physician will likely have no trouble in finding a reason to admit her to the hospital for observation at the very least (UTI, placement, even difficulty ambulating can get her admitted to the hospital). Because of the alleged incident, she will (likely) have a signifier in her chart to be a 'private' patient, meaning that if someone calls in to see if she's in the hospital/what room she's in/how she's doing, no information will be given out to anyone, and will likely be told that she's not even in the hospital.
The rape kit is where things get tricky. If a person (of sound mind) comes in to the ER with a complaint of alleged sexual assault, that person still has the right to refuse a rape kit and only request treatment for any injuries/STI concerns. Barb, on the other hand, has obvious confusion/dementia, and will unlikely be able to legally make the decision on her own whether she wants a rape kit or not. The hospital will then try and get in touch with Cole, as he would be considered her next-of-kin and the one to make her medical decisions. The hospital would likely not be able to get in touch with him, or he may refuse to get involved. If that is the case, the social worker assigned to her case will then petition to the court for an emergency power of attorney (essentially making her a ward of the state), and once one is obtained, that POA can make the decision to have a rape kit done (or to decline, however, in cases like this the POA appointed would most likely consent for the kit to be done).
Genetic material (sperm) can be collected from a rape kit for up to 7 days after the event where PIV (penis in vagina) assault took place. The most likely scenario would be to look for vaginal/vulvar/cervical injuries (bruising, lacerations, abrasions), and with Chris' fucked up anatomy, I would be more surprised if there weren't any injuries inside of her (especially with his comments about how he tried different things to make it hurt less). Physiologically, Chris would be more likely to injure Barb because as a woman goes through menopause, the skin, and especially the vaginal/vulvar lining starts to thin; and the lack of estrogen causes a lack of natural lubrication. This process continues to 'worsen' as the woman reaches elderly years.
I've seen several pieces of misinformation over the various social media outlets over the rape kit since this all blew up. To clear some misinformation up:
-- No, we do not use 'black lights' during a rape kit to find semen/genetic material. The interview is how the SANE nurse zeroes in on where/how to collect evidence. The downfall in Barb's case though is, will she be able to recall the assaults? (for her sake, I hope that she cannot. I know she was a shit mother and all, but she certainly doesn't deserve to be raped)
--Every state has a huge backlog of rape kits still needing to be processed. Without seeing Virginia's numbers, I can still say with certainty that Barb's kit will not be processed for a while. However, Chris' still could be charged with rape of a vulnerable person should her medical record show the aforementioned vaginal/vulvar/cervical injuries.
Hopefully this provides a little more insight. If I think of any more information, or if anyone has any questions, I'll be glad to add them in the comments.
the ER was likely briefed before Barb's arrival to the department. Depending on how Greene county runs their EMS system, this would have either been over a (likely encrypted) walkie-talkie channel, or through a pager system. The 'old-timers' in the ER will definitely have remembered Chris as the weirdo that sliced his taint, so they will already have an idea on how unstable he is mentally. Secondly, the ER staff are human just like the rest of us...trust me, they look people up on Facebook/Google/etc. I feel bad for the ER nurse that got Barb as a patient, I'm sure he/she got one hell of an education from that google search.
The first thing that they will do is to collect urine to rule out a urinary tract infection (which can cause confusion/increased confusion in an elderly person). One thing that a urinalysis *can* pick up is the presence of sperm cells in the urine (typically an incidental finding in a sexually active female, but in Barb's case, that *shouldn't* be a finding at all). It's likely that Chris hasn't taken Barb to a doctor in quite some time, and the ER physician will likely have no trouble in finding a reason to admit her to the hospital for observation at the very least (UTI, placement, even difficulty ambulating can get her admitted to the hospital). Because of the alleged incident, she will (likely) have a signifier in her chart to be a 'private' patient, meaning that if someone calls in to see if she's in the hospital/what room she's in/how she's doing, no information will be given out to anyone, and will likely be told that she's not even in the hospital.
The rape kit is where things get tricky. If a person (of sound mind) comes in to the ER with a complaint of alleged sexual assault, that person still has the right to refuse a rape kit and only request treatment for any injuries/STI concerns. Barb, on the other hand, has obvious confusion/dementia, and will unlikely be able to legally make the decision on her own whether she wants a rape kit or not. The hospital will then try and get in touch with Cole, as he would be considered her next-of-kin and the one to make her medical decisions. The hospital would likely not be able to get in touch with him, or he may refuse to get involved. If that is the case, the social worker assigned to her case will then petition to the court for an emergency power of attorney (essentially making her a ward of the state), and once one is obtained, that POA can make the decision to have a rape kit done (or to decline, however, in cases like this the POA appointed would most likely consent for the kit to be done).
Genetic material (sperm) can be collected from a rape kit for up to 7 days after the event where PIV (penis in vagina) assault took place. The most likely scenario would be to look for vaginal/vulvar/cervical injuries (bruising, lacerations, abrasions), and with Chris' fucked up anatomy, I would be more surprised if there weren't any injuries inside of her (especially with his comments about how he tried different things to make it hurt less). Physiologically, Chris would be more likely to injure Barb because as a woman goes through menopause, the skin, and especially the vaginal/vulvar lining starts to thin; and the lack of estrogen causes a lack of natural lubrication. This process continues to 'worsen' as the woman reaches elderly years.
I've seen several pieces of misinformation over the various social media outlets over the rape kit since this all blew up. To clear some misinformation up:
-- No, we do not use 'black lights' during a rape kit to find semen/genetic material. The interview is how the SANE nurse zeroes in on where/how to collect evidence. The downfall in Barb's case though is, will she be able to recall the assaults? (for her sake, I hope that she cannot. I know she was a shit mother and all, but she certainly doesn't deserve to be raped)
--Every state has a huge backlog of rape kits still needing to be processed. Without seeing Virginia's numbers, I can still say with certainty that Barb's kit will not be processed for a while. However, Chris' still could be charged with rape of a vulnerable person should her medical record show the aforementioned vaginal/vulvar/cervical injuries.
Hopefully this provides a little more insight. If I think of any more information, or if anyone has any questions, I'll be glad to add them in the comments.
