| Site of entrance wound and direction of bullet path in firearm fatalities as indicators of homicide versus suicide. | |
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MedLine Citation:
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PMID: 9251234 Owner: NLM Status: MEDLINE |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
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In a retrospective study, 288 firearm deaths were analysed to identify factors indicating homicide. The cases were classified as suicides (213), homicides (54), accidents (14) and undetermined cases (7). A number of factors, related to the circumstances and the autopsy findings, were studied. Whereas 41% of the homicide victims were females, women only constituted 1.4% of the suicide victims. The mean age was 37 and 50 years among homicide and suicide victims, respectively. Most suicides were committed at or in the vicinity of the residence, whereas a majority of the homicides occurred elsewhere. The majority of the suicide victims had either left a suicide note or had medical records of previous psychiatric illness. In all groups, shotguns were the most frequent weapon used. Fifty-seven percent of the homicide victims, but only three percent of the suicide victims had sustained more than one gunshot wound. One-third of the homicide victims were shot at close range. Alcohol was present in one-third of both homicide and suicide victims. Whereas 38% of the homicidal gunshot wounds had their entrances at anatomical regions typical of suicide, the direction of the bullet path often differed from the directions recorded in suicides. Hence, in this material, an entrance wound in the right temple indicated suicide, but in combination with a direction back-to-front, the wound was more likely to be homicidal. This study suggests that an estimation of the direction of the internal bullet path should be conducted in firearm fatalities, and that this factor may assist in the determination of the manner of death. |
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Authors:
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H Druid |
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Publication Detail:
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Type: Comparative Study; Journal Article |
Journal Detail:
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Title: Forensic science international Volume: 88 ISSN: 0379-0738 ISO Abbreviation: Forensic Sci. Int. Publication Date: 1997 Aug |
Date Detail:
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Created Date: 1997-09-15 Completed Date: 1997-09-15 Revised Date: 2006-11-15 |
Medline Journal Info:
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Nlm Unique ID: 7902034 Medline TA: Forensic Sci Int Country: IRELAND |
Other Details:
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Languages: eng Pagination: 147-62 Citation Subset: IM |
Affiliation:
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Department of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Health, University Hospital, Linköping, Sweden. henrik.druid@rm.rmv.se |
Export Citation:
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| MeSH Terms | |
Descriptor/Qualifier:
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Accidents
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legislation & jurisprudence,
statistics & numerical data Adult Cause of Death Female Firearms* / statistics & numerical data Forensic Medicine / methods* Homicide* / legislation & jurisprudence, statistics & numerical data Humans Incidence Male Middle Aged Retrospective Studies Sex Distribution Suicide* / legislation & jurisprudence, statistics & numerical data Sweden / epidemiology Wounds, Gunshot / diagnosis*, epidemiology |
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
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