Suizid oder Homizid? Eine rechtsmedizinische Auswertung letaler Bolzenschussverletzungen

[Forensic-radiological diagnosis of gunshot wounds]

BACKGROUND

Although gunshot wounds are less common in Germany than in other countries, a proportion of suicides and violent crimes are committed with firearms, which is why basic knowledge of diagnosis is important.

OBJECTIVE

Fundamentals regarding forensic assessment of gunshot wounds are discussed alongside typical radiological findings.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In addition to analyzing our own cases and evaluating official statistics, this article is based on a discussion of basic research and expert recommendations.

RESULTS

The article describes the characteristics of the bullet entry and exit as well as special features of the bullet trajectory, particularly in bony injuries, and discusses their significance for radiological findings. Pitfalls in interpretation, such as changes in body position and the deflection of projectile (fragments) in the body, are presented, as are the advantages of supplementary radiological diagnostics (projectile search before initiation of dissection, simple detection of an air embolism, clarity of bullet trajectory reconstruction).

CONCLUSION

This article is intended to provide an overview of not only typical types of weapons and projectiles but also their effects on the body of the victim, which must be documented by the examiner.

Unusual suicidal penetrating heart injury by captive-bolt gunshot

We present a case of a 56-year-old man who committed suicide using a captive-bolt gun, pressed against the left side of his chest. As the victim worked as a butcher, slaughtering livestock, he owned a captive-bolt gun. Just before committing suicide, he received a disturbing phone call from a person to whom he owed money. The autopsy revealed a 12-mm wound in the left pectoral region with two symmetrical, oval soot deposits. The wound extended through the fifth left rib, the pericardium, and the inferior portion of the anterior wall of the left ventricle. There was a partial-thickness tear in the left aspect of the interventricular septum with associated contusion. About 300 ml of the blood was found within the pericardial sack and about 1200 ml in the left pleural cavity. Atypical location (left chest vs. head), absence of previous suicide attempts and suicide note, and the apparent immediate provoking event suggest abrupt rather than premeditated suicide.

The punched-out tissue complex (skin-bone "imprimatum") in shots from captive-bolt guns: does it act as a secondary projectile?

From the first half of the twentieth century to the present day, injuries and fatalities from captive-bolt livestock stunners are a major topic in forensic medicine. The vast majority of cases account for suicides with the frontal, temporal, parietal, and occipital regions being the most common sites of entrance (in descending order of frequency). Due to the limited length of the bolt, the corresponding wound channel within the braincase is only several centimeters long. It has been a controversial subject for a long time, whether the skin-bone complex punched out by the conically grooved end of the steel rod may act as a "secondary projectile" being propelled beyond the actual path of the bolt. To answer this question, experimental shots from various types of captive bolt-guns were fired to simulants. Video-documentation employing a high-speed motion camera showed that the punched-out pieces of skin and bone did not move further than the bolt. Thus, a secondary extension of the total wound channel could not be observed. However, the suction effect caused by the bolt's rearward movement may induce a slight retrograde displacement of the skin-bone complex.