Murder by poisoning: successful analytical investigations of spectacular cases in Austria.

To prove murder by poisoning requires the application of analytical toxicology to detect the fatal substance and clear up the cause of death. Improvements in the development of mass spectrometry in combination with high-resolution chromatographic methods are steadily enhancing detection and identification power but making use of these advances relies on proper sample preparation as well as on knowledge about the chemical nature of the substances and their bio-transformation products. This review gives examples of case reports with successful analytical investigations of murder by poisoning in spectacular Austrian cases involving low molecular weight. Copyright 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.