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Fig.1 Postmortem predation by eels.

Postmortem predation by eels

| Animal Scavenging, Decomposition | No Comments
This individual was found dead in water. Postmortem activity by eels were discovered on the body. Such injuries…
Fig.1

18-year-old man died in a motor vehicle crash

| Accident | No Comments
USA. This 18-year-old man died in a motor vehicle crash with rollover and ejection. No further info. Rollover…
Fig.1 Suicide with a hunting rifle.

Suicide with a hunting rifle

| Gunshot, Suicide | No Comments
This individual died after shooting himself under the chin with a hunting rifle. No further info. Head injuries…
Fig.2 The two separated parts of the skull.

Woman committed suicide with a band saw

| Suicide | No Comments
~1990s - A 48-year-old landlord’s wife suffering from chronic depression committed suicide with a band saw by amputation…
Fig.1 The female decedent was on her left side on the bed.

Woman killed in a murder-suicide

| Gunshot, Homicide, Suicide | No Comments
A 25-year-old woman had moved in with her 34-year-old boyfriend 3 weeks earlier. The brother of the boyfriend…
Fig.1 Tissue tears extending from the sides of the mouth from intraoral shotgun wound.

Tears from the sides of the mouth from intraoral shotgun wound

| Gunshot, Suicide | No Comments
In this intraoral shotgun wound, note the tissue tears extending from the sides of the mouth. These tears…
Fig.3 A gunshot wound was noted in the right temporal region.

Young woman found dead with a gunshot wound to the head

| Gunshot, Suicide | No Comments
2006 - Belo Jardim, Brazil. The Police was called to a residential unit located in the rural area…
Fig.1 Postmortem animal activity.

Postmortem animal activity

| Animal Scavenging | No Comments
The phenomenon of postmortem animal interference with human bodies or their remains is a substantial part of the…
Fig.1 This photo depicts the victim’s body when removed from the river along with a comparison of the victim’s driver’s license photo.

Identification of bloated bodies in water

| Decomposition | No Comments
Many times it is difficult to make a physical identification of the victim’s bloated body recovered from the…
Fig.5 Stellate exit wound.

Young man commits suicide with a shotgun

| Gunshot, Suicide | No Comments
Iceland. A 28-year-old man was reported missing by his mother. He had a medical history of depression, for…

Cuts on woman’s face

| Medical | No Comments
I have sadly no information about this one. Found in teaching material from the Office of the Armed…
Fig.1 Fatal propeller injuries.

Fatal propeller injuries

| Accident | No Comments
No info about this case. The wounds produced by this mechanism are chopping, cutting, penetrating injuries produced by…
Fig.1

Road explosion by guerrilla group FARC kills six police officers

| Explosion, Homicide | No Comments
Colombia - November 2003. Six police officers died in a road explosion by guerrilla group FARC. According to…
Fig.1 Prison inmate who wrote an inscription on the wall of the prison cell using his own blood before hanging himself.

Satan is coming take me home

| Asphyxiation, Hanging, Suicide | No Comments
USA. Self-inflicted injuries on a prison inmate who hanged himself after writing "Satan is coming take me home"…

Man found hanging and decomposing in the forest

| Decomposition, Hanging, Suicide | No Comments
A young man in Brazil was found hanged and decomposed in the forest, he had been missing for…
Fig.1 Mummified body of a woman preserving her facial features, weighing 13 kilos.

Mummified body of a woman

| Decomposition, Mummification | No Comments
Spain. Mummified body of a woman preserving her facial features, weighing 13 kilos. Mummification occurs in hot, dry…
Fig.1 Scene where the body was recovered from.

Indoor postmortem animal scavenging by 15 dogs

| Animal Scavenging, Decomposition | No Comments
In Sri Lanka, a 76-year-old female was found dead in her house lying supine on the bed and…
Fig.1 Raccoon eyes and pulpified brain tissue forced out of the nostrils

Raccoon eyes and pulpified brain tissue forced out of the nostrils

| Accident | No Comments
Occasionally, the fragile orbital roofs and ethmoid bone are so severely fractured as to allow pulpified brain tissue…
Fig.1 Decomposition with purge fluid.

Decomposition with purge fluid

| Decomposition | No Comments
Decomposition of the gastrointestinal tract results in a dark, foul-smelling liquid called "purge fluid" that is forced out…
Fig.1 A photograph of the individual.

Shotgun suicide

| Gunshot, Suicide | No Comments
Spain. This middle-aged man decided to end his life using a shotgun. No further info. Head injuries from…

Hanging with mummified body

| Decomposition, Hanging, Suicide | No Comments
Spain. This individual committed suicide by hanging, with possible change of mind and attempt to remove the ligature,…
Fig.1 Postmortem injuries by pet dog with near total absence of facial skin and nose.

Postmortem injuries inflicted by a domestic dog

| Animal Scavenging | No Comments
The individual in the images received the injuries postmortem by a domestic dog, cause of death unknown. No…
Fig.1 Masses of maggots concentrated around eyes, mouth, and neck.

Masses of maggots concentrated around eyes, mouth, and neck

| Decomposition | No Comments
Maggots cause most of the body's decomposition because the maggot will do the majority of the eating. Maggots…

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Fig.1 This decomposed man had collapsed to the ground face first near his kitchen table.

This decomposed man was found suspended by a telephone cord

| Accident, Decomposition | No Comments
This decomposed man was found in the prone position, having collapsed to the ground face first near his…
Fig.1 A gaping stellate wound on the right side of the forehead.

A gaping stellate wound on the forehead

| Gunshot, Suicide | No Comments
The premise that exit wounds are larger than entrance wounds is a generality only. A man was found…
Fig.1 Decomposition showing varying degrees of putrefactive changes.

Decomposition showing varying degrees of putrefactive changes

| Decomposition | No Comments
Post-mortem decomposition showing varying degrees of putrefactive changes in the face, trunk and extremities. The image shows the…
Fig.2 The body turned over showing numerous wounds to the trunk.

Multiple stab wounds to chest – suicide or homicide?

| Suicide | No Comments
Poland. The body of a 36-year-old man with multiple torso wounds was found by the police in the…
Fig.1 Maggots on a body.

Maggots on a body

| Decomposition | No Comments
Maggots are the larval form of flies. Flies lay their eggs in small and sometimes large bulky clusters…
Fig.1 Anterior view showing the crushing-type injury to the skull with evisceration of the brain.

Pedestrian died after stepping in front of a moving bus

| Accident | No Comments
A middle-aged female pedestrian died after accidentally stepping in front of a moving bus. The cause of death…

Facial dissection

| Medical | No Comments
Autopsy facial dissection is a procedure that involves the careful dissection and examination of the facial structures of…
Fig.2 Head and chest of the mummified body.

Mummified body with cobwebs in the oral cavity

| Decomposition, Mummification | No Comments
Spain. Mummified body with cobwebs in the oral cavity. No further info. Mummification occurs in hot, dry environments.…
Fig.2 Right lateral view of the head and neck showing the knife in situ and the associated large wound.

Man located in a burnt-out car with a knife protruding from his neck

| Fire, Homicide | No Comments
This middle-aged male individual was located in a burnt-out car with a knife protruding from his neck. This…
Fig.2

Dead woman found inside a refrigerator

| Homicide | No Comments
February 2020 - San Vicente, Venezuela. The body of a woman was found inside a refrigerator in a…
Fig.1 Woman was shot in the face.

Defense wound on arm after getting shot in the face

| Gunshot, Homicide | No Comments
The little info I have on this one is that she was fatally shot by her son's friend…

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Fig.1 Suicide by shotgun: entrance wound in the mouth and facial major lesions.

Suicide by shotgun

| Gunshot, Suicide | No Comments
Suicide by shotgun: entrance wound in the mouth and facial major lesions. It has been clearly established that…
Fig.1 The knife protruding from the forehead.

An Unusual Death by Transcranial Stab Wound

| Suicide | No Comments
France. A 24-year-old man was found dead by his father lying on the ground in his yard, facedown,…
Fig.1 Injuries on the victim's face.

Man with disfigured face found dead

| Explosion, Suicide | No Comments
March 2016 - Belo Horizonte, Brazil. A 37-year-old man was found dead by his father at his residence…
Fig.1 The victim.

Man eaten by vulture catfish

| Accident, Animal Scavenging, Drowning | No Comments
A 29-year-old man was fishing when his canoe turned over and his body submerged. The body was recovered…

Accidental masochistic death and sadomasochistic drawings

| Accident, Asphyxiation, Autoerotic Death | No Comments
Spain. This is probably a case of autoerotic activity or masochism, where the victim appears to have hanged…
Fig.1 A photograph of a suicide by shotgun.

Man kills himself with a shotgun

| Gunshot, Suicide | No Comments
Spain. This individual killed himself with a shotgun. He had just killed his father, who had terminal cancer.…
Fig.1 Body of a 66-year-old man lying in a structure made of plastic garbage bags.

Autoerotic activity that ultimately led to asphyxiation

| Accident, Asphyxiation, Autoerotic Death | No Comments
Cologne, Germany. The body of a 66-year-old man was found by his wife wrapped up in plastic garbage…
Fig.1 Stellate-shaped contact wound to the head.

Stellate-shaped contact wound to the head

| Gunshot | No Comments
Nassau County, New York. This individual has a stellate-shaped contact wound to the head, stippling, and soot deposit.…
Fig.1 Bloated body found in water.

Bloated body found in water

| Decomposition | No Comments
The body of this male had been in the water for approximately one week. Notice the effects of…
Fig.1 Animal feeding on badly burned body.

Animal feeding on badly burned body

| Animal Scavenging, Fire, Homicide | No Comments
Nassau County, New York. This badly burned body had been dumped at an outside location where animals fed…
Fig.3 Advanced decomposition is marked by a deflation of the body, a darkening and drying of the outside tissue.

Cadaver decomposition island

| Decomposition | No Comments
Cadaver decomposition island is the area of concentrated decomposition fluid surrounding decomposing remains. Associated with active decomposition is…
Fig.1 Postmortem predation by a dog.

Postmortem predation by a dog

| Animal Scavenging | No Comments
Early postmortem predation by a dog with bite marks evident at the edge of the soft tissue defect.…

Three women were sexually assaulted and killed in Yonkers, New York

| Homicide, Serial Killers | No Comments
Between 1989 and 1996 three women were sexually assaulted, strangled, and killed in Yonkers, New York, by an…
Fig.1 Face consumed postmortem by a domestic dog.

Face consumed postmortem by a domestic dog

| Animal Scavenging | No Comments
The individual in the images received the injuries postmortem by a domestic dog, cause of death unknown. No…
Fig.1 Fatal crushing injury to the head from a train.

Fatal crushing injury to the head from a train

| Accident | No Comments
This individual suffered a fatal head crushing injury from a moving train, no further info. Railroad deaths in…
Fig.1 Fatal head crushing injury.

Fatal head crushing injury

| Accident | No Comments
This individual suffered a fatal head crushing injury, no further info. A crushing brain injury causes damage to…

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The April 2023 issue is out   With a monthly subscription the Shocker brings you unfiltered views of…
Fig.2 Detectives noticed the prominent ligature mark around the victim’s neck consistent with hanging.

Embarrassed wife finds her husband dead from autoerotic asphyxiation

| Accident, Asphyxiation, Autoerotic Death, Hanging | No Comments
Knox County, Tennessee, USA. Police were called to a home residence in connection with an unresponsive man. His…
Fig.1 Bloating, skin slippage, and discoloration on decomposing remains.

Bloating, skin slippage, and discoloration on decomposing remains

| Decomposition | No Comments
Associated with putrefaction is the production of gases. These gases, primarily located in the abdomen, cause the body…
Fig.1 The woman was decapitated and eviscerated.

Body of decapitated and eviscerated woman

| Homicide | No Comments
Xiangzhou, China - 2014. The body of a woman was found in a sack by a sanitation worker…
Fig.1 During the investigation of the oral cavity, several blowfly larvae of different sizes were revealed.

Body found outdoors

| Suicide | No Comments
In December 2007, the body of a man was found on the waterfront of a lake in the…
Fig.4 Frontal view of the pericranial soft tissue damage produced by a circular saw blade.

Man commits suicide with a circular table saw

| Suicide | No Comments
Slovakia. A newly widowed 79-year-old man was found dead in front of the garage of his family home,…
Fig.1 Flies are often first on the scene of a dead body.

Flies are often first on the scene of a dead body

| Decomposition | No Comments
The first type of insect to arrive at a dead body is usually a blowfly (Calliphoridae), attracted by…
Fig.1 Putrefaction with skin slippage is also associated with loss of hair.

Putrefaction with skin slippage is also associated with loss of hair

| Decomposition | No Comments
Decomposition, or putrefaction, is a combination of two processes: autolysis and bacterial action. Autolysis is the breakdown of…
Fig.1 26 year old Ingrid Escamilla Vargas.

Maniac skins girlfriend – flushed her guts through the toilet

| Homicide | No Comments
Mexico City, Mexico - February 9, 2020, a woman was brutally murdered by her partner who skinned and…
Fig.1 Moderate to marked putrefaction.

Tattoos can be helpful in identifying unknown bodies

| Decomposition | No Comments
Moderate to marked putrefaction. Identification may sometimes be challenging with advancing decomposition. This individual had a tattoo on…
Fig.1 Destruction of the facial skeleton due to shotgun blast.

Destruction of the facial skeleton due to shotgun blast

| Gunshot, Suicide | No Comments
Spain. Destruction of the facial skeleton due to shotgun blast. No further info. Shotguns differ from rifles and…
Fig.1 Destruction of the head with loss of a large part of the brain after a fall from a height.

Destruction of the head from a fall from height

| Accident | No Comments
This individual fell from a height and suffered fatal destruction of the head with a loss of a…
Fig.1 The deceased was registered in the guest house as male.

Suicide by hanging

| Hanging, Suicide | No Comments
New Delhi, India. The incident took place in one of the guest houses in the city. The deceased…
Fig.1 This individual has a contact-range gunshot wound on the forehead.

Stellate wound

| Gunshot | No Comments
This individual has a contact-range gunshot wound on the forehead. No further info. In contact gunshot wounds with…
Fig.3 Her neck had been cut open with a large butcher knife, which was then placed across her throat.

Woman sexually assaulted and neck cut open with a butcher knife

| Homicide | No Comments
Pasadena, Texas, 1975. The nude body of 22-year-old Deborah Elizabeth Hester was found strangled in her apartment. She…
Fig.1 The woodchipper and product truck.

Man accidentally pulled into a woodchipper

| Accident | No Comments
Larimer County, Loveland, Colorado, USA. The decedent and one employee were trimming trees on private residential property. The…
Fig.1 Anterior left lateral view of the head and neck showing the electrical cord wrapped around the neck.

Man tied down with electrical cords and murdered in his home

| Homicide | No Comments
Australia - This middle-aged male individual was assaulted in his home. When the individual was located his ankles…
Fig.1. Multiple fractures of the facial bones with deformity.

Multiple fractures of the facial bones with deformity

| Accident | No Comments
This individual suffered a fatal head crushing injury, no further info. A crushing brain injury causes damage to…

The lust murder of 20-year-old Keri Lynn

| Homicide, Serial Killers | No Comments
October 1998 - Bellingham, Washington, US. 20-year-old Keri Lynn was visiting relatives in Bellingham, Washington, and she had…

Decomposition of the entire body

| Decomposition | No Comments
Decomposition of the entire body, including discoloration, skin slippage, bloating, mummification of lower arms, legs, and thighs, and…
Fig.1 Bulging eyes, lips and face with protrusion of the tongue on this decomposing individual.

Bulging eyes, lips and face with protrusion of the tongue

| Decomposition | No Comments
Note the bulging eyes, lips and face with protrusion of the tongue on this decomposing individual, all related…
Fig.1 Shotgun shot wound.

Shotgun shot wound

| Gunshot | No Comments
This individual has a shotgun shot wound. A large central defect is surrounded by smaller shotgun shot wounds…
Fig.3 Flayed and crushed pattern of lacerations are developed on the orofacial area.

Fatal freight elevator accident

| Accident | No Comments
South Korea. A 53-year-old man was found dead on the roof of a freight elevator car installed on…
Fig.2 The man had a plastic bag over his head.

Autoerotic death

| Accident, Asphyxiation, Autoerotic Death, Decomposition | No Comments
C.a. 1995. This individual died during autoerotic activity, it is possible the individual was inhaling some chemical inside…
Fig.1 Destruction of most of the head from a contact shotgun wound.

Destruction of most of the head from a contact shotgun wound

| Gunshot, Suicide | No Comments
Destruction of most of the head from a contact shotgun wound. There was no further info about this…
Fig.5 The severed left hand.

Fatal assault and dismemberment with a knife and hatchet

| Homicide | No Comments
Australia. This male individual died from sharp-force injuries to the chest and left wrist in the setting of…

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The March 2023 issue is out   With a monthly subscription the Shocker brings you unfiltered views of…
Fig.1 Advanced decomposition. The body was recovered after fourteen days in a well-heated residence. The necks of the teeth display ‘pink’ tooth discoloration.

Body recovered after 14 days in a well-heated residence

| Decomposition | No Comments
This body was recovered after fourteen days in a well-heated residence. The necks of the teeth display ‘pink’…

Worker dies in a lathe accident

| Accident | No Comments
Naberezhnye Chelny, Tatarstan, Russia - November 2020. A 65-year-old worker died at the KAMAZ PJSC factory when he…
Fig.1 Man died after choking on scrambled eggs.

Man died after choking on scrambled eggs

| Accident | No Comments
This man died after choking on scrambled eggs which can be seen draining out of the mouth, no…
Fig.4 Complete crushing of the base of the skull of fatality 1.

Two military pilots killed in a helicopter induced propeller accident

| Accident, Aircrash | No Comments
February 14th 2000 - Mendig, Germany. Following routine maintenance, a Sikorsky CH-53G military helicopter was returned to service.…

Woman’s face eaten postmortem by her dog

| Animal Scavenging | No Comments
A 40-year-old woman was found dead in her apartment lying supine on the bed and the upper trunk…
Fig.1 Contact wound of the right temple with evisceration of the brain.

Contact wound of the right temple

| Gunshot, Suicide | No Comments
Contact wound of the right temple with evisceration of the brain. Note soot at the entrance site. In…
Fig.1 Woman shot in the face at close range with a rifle.

Woman shot in the face at close range with a rifle

| Gunshot, Homicide | No Comments
This woman was shot in the face at close range with a bullet from a 30.06 rifle in…
Fig.1 Stab wounds into the victim’s back made with a large bladed knife.

Stab wounds into the victim’s back

| Homicide | No Comments
New York - Stab wounds into the victim’s back made with a large bladed knife. No further info…

Multiple stab wounds into chest with barbecue fork

| Homicide | No Comments
Chicago, Illinois. The victim of a lust murder, who had been stabbed multiple times in the chest with…
Fig.1 Dumped body.

Dumped body

| Animal Scavenging, Homicide | No Comments
Dumped body (Illinois State Police case Highway 64). Animal scavenging on face and left arm. This victim was…

Postmortem animal predation by a cat

| Animal Scavenging | No Comments
This individual died and was attacked postmortem by a cat, no further info. Postmortem animal depredation is a…

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Fig.1

Fatal chop injuries after falling off a tractor

| Accident | No Comments
This victim fell off a tractor and sustained severe chop injuries when he was overrun by the chopping…

Shotgun blast to the head

| Gunshot, Suicide | No Comments
Spain. Middle facial injury with cranial rupture caused by shotgun blast. No further info. Despite the extreme amount…

The murder of a 43-year-old Pontiac woman

| Homicide | No Comments
Pontiac, Michigan, US. On Tuesday, July 11, 1995, the nude and battered body of Margaret Midkiff, a 43-year-old,…
Fig.1 Death scene. Her face was pale and the protrusion of the tongue was observed.

Woman committed suicide by hanging herself in her bathroom

| Hanging, Suicide | No Comments
Germany. A 45-year-old woman committed suicide by hanging herself in her bathroom. The string was attached to the…
Fig.1 Gore had jammed the girl’s body into the trunk to hide her.

The killing cousins

| Homicide, Serial Killers | No Comments
Indian River County, Florida, US. On July 26, 1983, David Alan Gore and his cousin, Fred Waterfield, were…

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If I had a dollar for every time I've received a notification of a violation of a content…
Fig.1 The crime scene after the blanket was removed. Her throat had been cut and she had been stabbed in the back of the neck. There was a man’s black t-shirt over the cut throat.

Alabama woman stabbed and her throat cut

| Homicide | No Comments
Homewood, Alabama, US. On March 9, 1990, Homewood Police responded to a report of a murder from the…
Fig1. Contact rifle wound of the head.

Contact rifle wound of the head

| Gunshot, Suicide | No Comments
In some contact rifle wounds of the head, the entrance may be difficult to locate because of the…
Fig.1 Typical stellate shaped entry wound showing tattooing effect.

Typical stellate shaped entry wound showing tattooing effect

| Gunshot | No Comments
In contact gunshot wounds with bony tissue underlying the injury, the injuries are typically called a stellate wound,…