Axe injury pattern in homicide

A Case of Fatal Exsanguination by a Japanese Short Sword

ABSTRACT

We report a rare case of fatal exsanguination by a wakizashi , a Japanese short sword ( shinken ). A man in his 60s was found lying on his back on his bed. He was in cardiopulmonary arrest when the ambulance crew arrived and was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital. A wakizashi with blood stains on the blade was found on the floor, and blood was present on the bed sheets on which the man was found. Autopsy revealed an incised wound extending diagonally from superolaterally to inferomedially on the anterior left thigh as the only injury. The wound appeared mostly straight, approximately 44 cm long and 9 cm deep, with smooth walls. The left femoral artery and vein had been cleanly severed, and the cause of death was determined to be blood loss from the severed blood vessels. The wakizashi (blade length, 45 cm) was large enough to have caused the wound, and the left thigh was presumed to have been incised by a downward slash from the sword.

Postmortem CT and autopsy findings in nine victims of terrorist attack

In a foreign country, a religious terrorist group raided a restaurant, using pipe bombs, sharp-edged weapons, and various types of firearms (handguns, submachine guns, and AK-47 assault rifles) loaded with normal and prohibited bullets to kill foreigner customers, some of whom were Italian tourists. Local pathologists performed forensic autopsies on the bodies, but we were asked to perform additional external examinations, postmortem computed tomography (PMCT) scans, and then a second round of complete autopsies on nine victims (5 females and 4 males). Four victims had slash wounds inflicted by sharp-edged weapons, mostly localized in the head and neck. All but two victims had gunshot wounds. Finally, three casualties had injuries caused by the explosion of improvised explosive devices. In all cases, PMCT was a reliable source of information and provided strategic guide during autopsies, helping identify and describe the injuries and thus reconstruct the events. Therefore, in these cases, we suggest integrating the autopsy findings with the postmortem radiological data.

Penetrierende Schädelverletzungen mit elektrischen Bohrmaschinen – ungewöhnliche Verletzungsmuster

Zwei außergewöhnliche Fälle von fremdbeigebrachten penetrierenden Kopfverletzungen durch elektrische Bohrmaschinen werden präsentiert. Derartige Abläufe stellen als Tötungsdelikt bzw. versuchtes Tötungsdelikt eine extreme Rarität dar. Wenige Beschreibungen betreffen Suizide, Suizidversuche oder unfallbedingte Verletzungen durch Bohrmaschinen. Im Fall eines 47 Jahre alten Mannes wurde dem Opfer von seiner in Scheidung lebenden Exfrau mit einer ausgeschalteten Bohrmaschine im Schlaf durch das Ohr in den Schädel gestochen. Der Mann überlebte den Angriff. In dem anderen Fall kam es zu einer Auseinandersetzung zwischen zwei jungen Männern, wobei der Beschuldigte seinem Opfer zunächst Messerstiche und anschließend Bohrerverletzungen zufügte. Insgesamt konnten autoptisch drei durch das Auge in das Schädelinnere eindringende Bohrkanäle festgestellt werden. Das Opfer verstarb unmittelbar am Geschehensort.