Double Fatal Sodium Nitrite Poisoning—Double Homicide, Extended Suicide, or Suicide and Accident?

Smędra, Anna; Wochna, Katarzyna; Lisowski, Mateusz; Skulska-Birgiel, Agnieszka; Suchan, Marta; Berent, Jarosław

doi:10.3390/ijms27010218

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Double Fatal Sodium Nitrite Poisoning—Double Homicide, Extended Suicide, or Suicide and Accident?

by

Anna Smędra

¹

,

Katarzyna Wochna

^1,*

,

Mateusz Lisowski

²,

Agnieszka Skulska-Birgiel

³,

Marta Suchan

³ and

Jarosław Berent

¹

Department of Forensic Medicine, Medical University of Lodz, Urzednicza 44, 91-304 Lodz, Poland

²

Toxicology Department, Clinic of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care, Central Clinical Hospital, Medical University of Lodz, Pomorska 251, 92-213 Lodz, Poland

³

Sehn Institute of Forensic Research, Westerplatte 9, 31-033 Krakow, Poland

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2026, 27(1), 218; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms27010218

Submission received: 12 November 2025 / Revised: 9 December 2025 / Accepted: 22 December 2025 / Published: 24 December 2025

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Post-Mortem Toxicology)

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Abstract

Recent years have seen an increasing number of cases of intentional poisoning with sodium nitrite. This is due, in part, to its inexpensive and readily available nature, and to the growth of social media. This paper briefly reviews the toxicity of sodium nitrite and the mechanism of death associated with its consumption and then presents a case of the fatal sodium nitrite poisoning of two sisters within a few hours of each other. It goes on to discuss both the growing problem of mental disorders, particularly among young people, and the potential diagnostic difficulties associated with sodium nitrite poisoning. It also addresses the approach to determining the manner of death, which may not be evident to the investigator; an accurate investigation is, of course, essential, as mistakes can result in the failure to identify the actual perpetrators and even lead to false accusations of guilt.

Keywords: accident; extended suicide; homicide; manner of death; methemoglobin; poisoning; sodium nitrite; suicide

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MDPI and ACS Style

Smędra, A.; Wochna, K.; Lisowski, M.; Skulska-Birgiel, A.; Suchan, M.; Berent, J. Double Fatal Sodium Nitrite Poisoning—Double Homicide, Extended Suicide, or Suicide and Accident? Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2026, 27, 218. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms27010218

AMA Style

Smędra A, Wochna K, Lisowski M, Skulska-Birgiel A, Suchan M, Berent J. Double Fatal Sodium Nitrite Poisoning—Double Homicide, Extended Suicide, or Suicide and Accident? International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2026; 27(1):218. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms27010218

Chicago/Turabian Style

Smędra, Anna, Katarzyna Wochna, Mateusz Lisowski, Agnieszka Skulska-Birgiel, Marta Suchan, and Jarosław Berent. 2026. "Double Fatal Sodium Nitrite Poisoning—Double Homicide, Extended Suicide, or Suicide and Accident?" International Journal of Molecular Sciences 27, no. 1: 218. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms27010218

APA Style

Smędra, A., Wochna, K., Lisowski, M., Skulska-Birgiel, A., Suchan, M., & Berent, J. (2026). Double Fatal Sodium Nitrite Poisoning—Double Homicide, Extended Suicide, or Suicide and Accident? International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 27(1), 218. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms27010218

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

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Double Fatal Sodium Nitrite Poisoning—Double Homicide, Extended Suicide, or Suicide and Accident?

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