Herman the Shocker
The Shocker brings you unfiltered views of reality and educational content from the world of crime, accidents, and forensics

When attempting to identify the remains of an unknown decomposed individual, it may be necessary to deflesh the…

Thermal charring (“fourth degree burns”). If an individual dies in a fire that continues to burn after death,…

Patterned lacerations from the claw end of a hammer. Claw hammers have the specific characteristic of having two…

Postmortem feeding from fish and crustaceans found on this body retrieved from the ocean. No further info. Bodies…

Multiple stab wounds into the back consistent with piquerism in a case of sexual homicide. Piquerism (from the…

Russia - 2018. A 21-year-old Russian woman has been detained after confessing to dismembering the body of her…

Frontal aspect of a train after collision with a 63-year-old woman who remained standing between the rails in…

Spain. This middle-aged man committed suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning, he connected the exhaust to a tube that…

Contact wound of the left breast from a double barrel 0.12 gauge shotgun with a muzzle impression from…

Facial dissection. Facial fractures may not be visualized by radiologic imaging techniques. In this case it was important…

Circular saw cuts of the neck in a suicide, no further info. Accidental table saw injuries are common…

Cranial burst from a contact gunshot wound to the forehead. No further info. In the head, neck, and…

27-year-old man was playing with a .40 caliber handgun and accidentally shot himself in the head. No further…

Spain. Maxillary fractures caused by shotgun blast suicide with entrance via the oral cavity. No further info. In…

Various insects may take advantage of the nutritional factors a decomposing body has to offer whether through natural…

This individual has greenish putrefaction skin discoloration and purging of putrefactive fluid from mouth and nostrils. During the…

Associated with putrefaction is the production of gases. These gases, primarily located in the abdomen, cause the body…

Powder tattooing is seen in this intermediate range gunshot wound. The actual entrance site is somewhat irregular, because…

Australia. This middle aged adult male has blunt- and sharp-force trauma injuries to the head and neck after…

India. On a fateful day, a 27-year-old mechanic was fixing the compressor of a nonworking AC when there…

On May 2, 2009, at approximately 1:30 in the morning, attorneys Barbara Scharton and Daniel Lyons, were murdered…

This individual committed suicide using a shotgun, no further info. The head is the most common location for…

There are five stages of decomposition, namely fresh, bloated, active decay, advanced decay, and skeletal stage. These stages…

Multiple irregularly distributed deep stab wounds to the head and back: homicide by a perpetrator suffering from paranoid…

The forces necessary to cause skeletal fracture is usually significantly greater but may be dependent on the condition…

Lenexa, Kansas, US. Police were dispatched to an apartment complex at the request of a resident, who advised…

Russia. This individual died at his home from thromboembolism, he was found a week later, during that time…

Germany. A 40-year-old man who lived alone was found deceased in his apartment on the 13th floor of…

A 41-year-old woman, from Lalitpur, Kathmandu, Nepal, who was decapitated by her husband in their bedroom. The victim…

This individual committed suicide with a gunshot under the chin using a rifle also resulting in a complete…

Contact gunshot wound with stellate blow back lacerations and singeing. In contact gunshot wounds with bony tissue underlying…

Explosive-induced trauma of the upper posterior part of the trunk with decapitation and gaping lacerations of the superior…

Decomposition of a corpse is a continual process that can take from weeks to years, depending on the…

Body in stages of black putrefaction. Black putrefaction is the stage where the exposed flesh blackens, and the…

Spain. A middle-aged woman suffering from major depressive disorder who jumped out of a fourth floor window in…

Identification may sometimes be challenging when the victim has severe injuries. This individual has facial injuries from a…

Adipocere, also known as corpse wax, grave wax or mortuary wax, is a wax-like organic substance formed by…

Inspection of teeth in a skeletonized corpse. The teeth and dental restorations are the strongest elements in the…

Russia. A mentally ill man killed his mentally ill mother. According to the son, the mother was possessed…

Distant-range wounds of the right side of the face (from a .357 Magnum revolver). Irregular, cruciform, or stellate…

Adipocere formation occurs by alteration of subcutaneous fat of a corpse into a grey-white lipid mixture. With time,…

Spain. This 55-year-old male was run over by a train with the intention of committing suicide. His family…

This cadaver is being dissected by medical students. A pacemaker can be seen on the chest. The modern…

Toronto, Canada. Body is bloated with increased internal gases heightened during mid-stages of putrifaction. Note the bagging of…

2012. The New York Police Department (NYPD) received a call informing them of a possible homicide. The informant…

Spain. Mummification occurs in hot, dry environments. The body dehydrates and bacterial proliferation may be minimal. The skin…

Spain. Homicide carried out by two attackers at the same time; one with a normal knife, and another…

This individual has signs of postmortem (after death) animal scavenging around the mouth, made by a dog that…

The February 2024 issue is out With a monthly subscription the Shocker brings you unfiltered views of…

Germany. A young, initially unidentified female was found dead in public on a snowy winter day. She was…

Advanced decomposition is characterized by an extremely bloated, greasy, and darkened body. This is the decomposed body of…

This individual committed suicide by gunshot wound of the forehead. A large stellate contact entrance wound of the…

Although putrefaction is a mainly anaerobic bacterial reduction process, decomposition is dominated by aerobic microbiological processes that may…

Maggots are the larval form of flies. Flies lay their eggs in small and sometimes large bulky clusters…

This individual has an extensive destruction of the head, no further info about this case. Head trauma from…

The individual in this photograph has postmortem changes associated with small fish that feed on soft tissue like…

Larger carnivore activity is common in rural and suburban areas. In many cases, there may be activity from…

Almaty, Kazakhstan - 29 May 2013. A young couple committed suicide together by jumping off a 12-story building.…

Arterial patterns on wall and floor in conjunction with large accumulation of blood from victim with malfunctioning arterial…

This 28-year-old man committed suicide by cutting his throat, he was feeling depressed after a breakup with his…

A postmortem face peel-down examination showing injury of and around the left eye with bleeding (hemorrhage). When injury…

Contact (entrance) gunshot wounds to the head often show large stellate defects, due to the explosive blast of…

Turkey. A 54-year-old male was found murdered in prison by his cellmate. Examination of the scene and the…

New York. This individual was murdered by his male partner. Note the increased level of violence and “overkill”-type…

This woman was found dead in bed, fully dressed. The upper front of her shirt was heavily blood-stained…

The January 2024 issue is out With a monthly subscription the Shocker brings you unfiltered views of…

Mexico. A 42-year-old man was murdered and left out in the field. Animal scavenging had occurred to his…

This image is an example of how clothing can slow down the decomposition process. Note that the skin…

When deaths are violent, suspicious, sudden, and unexpected, a Medical Examiner performs a post-mortem examination. Medical examiners specialize…

Mummification occurs in hot, dry environments. The body dehydrates and bacterial proliferation may be minimal. The skin becomes…

Germany. Suicidal cut of the throat by a chainsaw. No further info. Suicides involving the use of chainsaws…

Maggots cause most of the body's decomposition because the maggot will do the majority of the eating. Maggots…

A 47-year-old female was found lying unclothed on the kitchen floor at her home address. There was extensive…