Rafael Whitney's Death: A Case Study

Rafael Whitney’s death, an unfortunate one at that, was likely a homicidal cause. The deceased’s specific cause of death was cardiac arrest. For this sudden cessation of function of the heart to occur naturally, a previous, often undiscovered, heart condition generally needs to have been present. Other ways for this medical emergency to occur must include some outside trigger, including an electrical shock, the use of illegal drugs, or an ill timed trauma to the chest. Besides evidence of sudden cardiac arrest, the victim’s heart displayed as generally healthy, showing no signs of previous heart conditions. There were no observed signs of electrical currents on the body and we were not informed of any illegal drugs being present in the bloodstream.