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

Spain. Destruction of the facial skeleton due to shotgun blast. No further info. Shotguns differ from rifles and…

This individual has a contact-range gunshot wound on the forehead. No further info. In contact gunshot wounds with…

Pasadena, Texas, 1975. The nude body of 22-year-old Deborah Elizabeth Hester was found strangled in her apartment. She…

Larimer County, Loveland, Colorado, USA. The decedent and one employee were trimming trees on private residential property. The…

Australia - This middle-aged male individual was assaulted in his home. When the individual was located his ankles…

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

October 1998 - Bellingham, Washington, US. 20-year-old Keri Lynn was visiting relatives in Bellingham, Washington, and she had…

Decomposition of the entire body, including discoloration, skin slippage, bloating, mummification of lower arms, legs, and thighs, and…

Note the bulging eyes, lips and face with protrusion of the tongue on this decomposing individual, all related…

C.a. 1995. This individual died during autoerotic activity, it is possible the individual was inhaling some chemical inside…

Australia. This male individual died from sharp-force injuries to the chest and left wrist in the setting of…

This body was recovered after fourteen days in a well-heated residence. The necks of the teeth display ‘pink’…

Naberezhnye Chelny, Tatarstan, Russia - November 2020. A 65-year-old worker died at the KAMAZ PJSC factory when he…

February 14th 2000 - Mendig, Germany. Following routine maintenance, a Sikorsky CH-53G military helicopter was returned to service.…

Contact wound of the right temple with evisceration of the brain. Note soot at the entrance site. In…

Chicago, Illinois. The victim of a lust murder, who had been stabbed multiple times in the chest with…

Dumped body (Illinois State Police case Highway 64). Animal scavenging on face and left arm. This victim was…

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

This victim fell off a tractor and sustained severe chop injuries when he was overrun by the chopping…

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

Pontiac, Michigan, US. On Tuesday, July 11, 1995, the nude and battered body of Margaret Midkiff, a 43-year-old,…

Germany. A 45-year-old woman committed suicide by hanging herself in her bathroom. The string was attached to the…

Indian River County, Florida, US. On July 26, 1983, David Alan Gore and his cousin, Fred Waterfield, were…

Homewood, Alabama, US. On March 9, 1990, Homewood Police responded to a report of a murder from the…

In contact gunshot wounds with bony tissue underlying the injury, the injuries are typically called a stellate wound,…

This individual placed a 12-gauge shotgun against his right temple and pulled the trigger. As can be noted,…

Los Angeles. A murder case showing sex-related mutilation. No further info about this case. A lust murder is…

Dallas, Texas, US. This image shows multiple injuries on a young adult female from an attack by three…

Swelling of the scrotum and abdomen occurs with putrefaction as gases accumulate from bacterial action. Numerous maggots can…

Bodies removed from water show excessive gas production and tissue discoloration, owing to explosive bacterial gas production. The…

Australia. This elderly woman was located in a state of advanced decomposition. Because of decomposition the body was…

Township of Van Buren, Michigan. Police received an anonymous call reporting a body of a female in an…

Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Composite facial allografts have become increasingly popular in the reconstruction of complex…

Czech Republic. A 39-year-old man was discovered dead in the bathroom of his house, hanging by the neck…

A hard-contact wound of the head with the central entrance wound containing a marginal abrasion, soot, and searing…

The February 2023 issue is out With a monthly subscription the Shocker brings you unfiltered views of…

The image is of a body at the bodyfarm at The University of Tennessee Anthropology Research Facility. The…

Toronto, Canada. A 34-year-old intoxicated male was found dead in his apartment. On scene inspection, the deceased body…

South Korea. Loosely translated from Korean. The deceased is a 48-year-old man who had been suffering from schizophrenia…

South Korea. Most cases of ligature strangulation are generally homicides, and deaths due to suicide or accident are…

Extreme case of sadomasochism. This man inserted large dildos into his anus and with the trapeze-like contraption could…

Decomposed sclera showing hemorrhagic discoloration of the whites of the eyes. This is sometimes misinterpreted as true injury.…

Vandalia, Ohio. On June 22, 2013, an airplane carrying wing walker Jane Wicker crashed at the Vectren Dayton…

In this case, police and scene investigators were suspicious that this individual was killed by blunt force injuries…

On February 21, 1997, at approximately 4:09 p.m., the Pottawatomie County, Kansas, Sheriff’s Department took a missing person’s…

This individual committed suicide by shooting himself in the head with a hunting rifle, no further info on…

Billings, Montana - This 66-year-old man committed suicide after being told he had cancer. The entrance of the…

Decomposition studies have elucidated many different factors affecting the rate and process of decomposition. However, no study has…

November 2017 - Belo Horizonte, Brazil. A 57-year-old female was found dead in a room in the residence…

South Korea. Loosely translated from Korean. The deceased was a 61-year-old unemployed woman who lived alone. The mother…

The woman shown in the images was trying to open the electronically controlled iron gate by reaching through…

Badly decomposed bodies like the one shown here are typically not visually identifiable. I have no further info…

August 2016 - Italy. The police was called to a villa, following the reporting by neighbors of malodorous…

I colorized the original black and white images. Poland, 1999. A 26-year-old man killed his father by multiple…

This individual has stippling around the gunshot entrance wounds of the face, intermediate range, no further info. Stippling…

January 2017 - Pretoria, South Africa. A 76-year-old Caucasian man was admitted to a medico-legal postmortem examination after…

Four friends came from South America to vacation for a week (Probably Florida c.a. 2000). When one of…

A 39-year-old prostitute stabbed and beaten. Nipples cut off and “skinned” in pubic and perineal region. No further…

In these intraoral gunshot wounds, note the tissue tears extending from the sides of the mouth. These tears…

The head must be slightly raised with appropriate supports. There is no one correct device; each autopsy surgeon…

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

Destruction of most of the head from a contact shotgun wound with preservation of the avulsed brain (next…

The January 2023 issue is out With a monthly subscription the Shocker brings you unfiltered views of…

Italy. When a 38-year-old policeman did not arrive at work and could not be reached by telephone, two…

In this particular case, the badly charred and burned remains of the victim of a kidnapping, rape, and…

This middle-aged individual was involved in an altercation with another male relating to the manufacture of amphetamines. Circumstantial…

This individual who was an alcoholic was found dead, and in the bloating stage of decomposition. The t-shirt…

This deceased individual has multiple stab wounds on the back from the same knife, showing differing shapes and…

The decomposing body of a woman was discovered in a bathroom in Indonesia, no further info. Putrefaction begins…

This individual died and was attacked postmortem by dogs, no further info. Postmortem animal depredation is a substantial…

This old man died and was then partially consumed by some mice, no further info. Postmortem animal interference…

This suicide shows the devastating result of a shotgun blast in the mouth, which resulted in the top…

Australia. A 69-year-old man was found lying on the floor at his home address(Fig. 1). According to the…

Note the bulging face with protrusion of the tongue on these decomposing individuals, all related to the decomposition…

Catastrophic disruption of the head after a distant range discharge. Homicide with a 30-06 Springfield rifle. Note petal…

Australia - 2016. Four elderly adults died in a light-plane accident. The light plane crashed into water. Male…

The partially clad body of a 22-year-old female, who had been beaten and sexually mutilated, was discovered in…

The catastrophic effect of an intraoral discharge. The head has completely opened up in a petal like fashion.…

Contact gunshot wound to the eye. Note the lacerations of the eyelid and eye globe with soot deposition…

Two vehicles collided in an intersection. Vehicle 2 collided with Vehicle 1 on the passenger side. A male…

New York, NY. This photo depicts a victim who has been smothered. She committed suicide by placing a…

Dearborn Heights, Michigan. Police officers were summoned to a residence to check on the welfare of a man…

Australia. This elderly male individual was significantly decomposed and not visually identifiable. Postmortem CT showed a metal orthopedic…

This individual received the injuries postmortem by rats, cause of death unknown. No further info on the case.…

Italy, 2014. A 41-year-old Spanish professional scuba diver, died while he was working to clear the wreck of…

Seoul, South Korea. The victim, a 46-year-old male dentist, was found dead of ligature strangulation next to a…

Chicago, Illinois. This photo illustrates decomposition, skin slippage, lividity, and marbling. No further info. Skin slippage is something…

A series of murders occurred in Washington State in 1990. The murders began in Bellevue, Washington, in June…

Decomposition: extreme tissue discoloration and gas formation in a body removed from water. Bodies removed from water show…

Forensic entomology is the study of insects as they relate to death investigation. For example, fly larvae can…

Spain. This individual died after ingesting poison. The injuries were inflicted postmortem by a dog. No further info.…

An elderly male was found dead, slightly decomposed, lying on a couch with a pair of scissors protruding…

This victim’s throat was slashed. No further info about this case. Slash wounds occur as a result of…

This male individual was driving when an LPG cylinder(Liquefied petroleum gas), which was in the front passenger side…

This victim shot himself under the chin with a shotgun creating this classic massive tissue destruction. No further…

This male individual placed an explosive detonator in his mouth. There was extensive destruction of the bone and…

This individual was found in the Northern Adriatic Sea, near Italy. No further info. Many times it is…

Spain. This middle-aged woman with major depressive disorder committed suicide by train. No further info. Suicide by collision…

Woman’s body lying face down in a bathtub in an advanced state of decomposition and with no apparent…

East Lake, Ohio. Police who had responded to an emergency call discovered a woman named Susan murdered in…

A contact shotgun wound of the lower chin. Note the stretch-type lacerations of the right side of the…

Chicago, Illinois. This victim was inhaling an unknown chemical substance while practicing autoerotic activities. He was wearing a…

This individual shown here had been dead approximately two weeks in an unheated, unventilated room. Note the extreme…

This individual has died after a self-inflicted gunshot to the head, no further info. The head is the…

Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, US. On November 3 1998, a man and a woman encountered a gunman on the front…

Grand Prairie, Texas - The victim’s throat was slashed by her assailant during a sexual assault and murder.…

A 52-year-old man was found dead, already putrefied, in his apartment. He wore women’s underwear with a female…

I don't have the backstory from this case but here's some general info. At close range, the shotgun…

Case scenario April 2019 - Mönchengladbach, Germany. Two men had met on a bus and after a conversation…

The December 2022 issue is out With a monthly subscription the Shocker brings you unfiltered views of reality…

Maryland, USA. The unusual position of the body at this scene resulted from the deceased experiencing a heart…

Serbia. A 63-year-old mechanic, diagnosed with schizophrenia, was released from a psychiatric clinic to spend a weekend with…

This individual has an extensive destruction of the head, I don't have the details of what happened, I…

The corpse of this individual was found in his apartment, the deceased is partially clothed and partially covered.…

Grinding and compression forces can cause crushing injuries of tissues. This form of injury may cause total or…

This individual died from natural causes while taking a bath. Dark-yellow and brown discoloration can be seen due…

This victim shot himself under the chin with a 7.62 calibre rifle creating massive tissue destruction, no further…

A 77-year-old woman in the Czech Republic committed suicide by train. The face of the woman was reconstructed…

Note the bulging eyes, lips and face with protrusion of the tongue on this decomposing individual, all related…

Skeletonization is the total or partial loss of soft tissue (complete or incomplete skeletonization, respectively) with resultant exposure…

Marked putrefactive change with dark brown discoloration and maggot feeding. Note the small circular perforations caused by maggots…

Germany. Translated by Hermantheshocker. The bodies of a 27-year-old woman and a 44-year-old man were found lying entwined…

This woman was decapitated after committing suicide by hanging. The image was in black and white and I…

Animal predation is less commonly seen than insect predation. Because most putrefied bodies are recovered from a home…

Australia. This case demonstrates the death of a 69-year-old male which has occurred in the setting of a…

An extreme example of facial splitting from an intraoral discharge. Conspicuous splitting is noted along the paranasal and…

This individual was found in the Northern Adriatic Sea, near Italy. No further info. Many times it is…

Germany. This 70-year-old man committed suicide by gunshot to the forehead. He was found kneeling by his bathtub,…

Homicidal cut throat, showing single slash with no tentative cuts. Clean-cut edges with no sign of repetitive strokes,…

Germany - On New Year's Eve, a 33-year old hobby pyrotechnician sustained a lethal craniofacial trauma secondary to…

Head injuries from shotguns and high-powered rifles are typically quite devastating, often with extensive soft tissue destruction, skull…

Sacramento, California, USA. On December 29, 1977. A 51-year-old man, who had exited his house to retrieve groceries…

This individual committed intraoral suicide with a shotgun. The shotgun wound resulted in extreme facial splitting from the…

March 18, 2003 - Bonn, Germany. A lethal occupational accident occurred at the Bonn Salierweg sewage treatment plant…

This individual died after getting attacked with a broken bottle that slashed his neck, no more info. A…

Newport, Rhode Island. The body of a man who overdosed on methadone has gone into gross decomposition. No…

2010 - Montana, US. This 25-year-old man apparently was known to have been drinking into the early morning…

This decomposing individual died of natural causes while sitting in a warm tub. Note the bloating from putrefactive…

Huntington Beach, California. The victim was a white male, 37 years of age, living alone in a large…

Pachuca, Mexico. This happened about ~10 years ago. A woman died when she fell into a rotating machine…

Note the bulging eyes and face on this decomposing individual, all related to the decomposition process. No further…

This individual was murdered and stabbed with various kitchen utensils, no further info about this case. The general…

An elderly male pilot was flying a microlight aircraft with one middle-aged male passenger in the rear of…

The individual in the picture has a tangential distant gunshot wound produced by mag-safe ammunition (prefragmented). I don't…

In mid-November 2010 a hunter walking on the Po river bank near Parma (Emilia-Romagna Region, in the north-east…

Columbus, Ohio. The victim was a 22-year-old male, who reportedly had been experimenting with asphyxial recreation for a…

This 55 year old male was fatally crushed by a concrete culvert. He suffered from compound skull fractures,…

This individual received the injuries postmortem by rodents, cause of death unknown. No further info on the case.…

Brazil. A 38-year-old man was found dead in his house, already in a state of decomposition, with no…

Mishawaka, Indiana, US. In the fall of 2011, the badly injured body of a 65-year-old male was found…

Blast injury. The suicide victim detonated one kilogram of TNT on his chest. No further info. Explosive-caused injuries…

Germany. Complex suicide of a 31-year-old man following the attempted killing of his 29-year-old partner. Atypical hanging in…

Note the bulging eyes, lips and face with protrusion of the tongue on these decomposing individuals, all related…

Australia. This middle aged male individual was located at home in an advanced state of decomposition. Postmortem CT…

Krönlein shot indicates a prolapse of an intact brain hemisphere or, more rarely, of both brain hemispheres in…

Germany. Self-inflicted gunshot to the forehead with a shotgun. The scalp is torn open in several long stretches;…

Germany. A 39-year-old metalworker was found dead in his workroom. He had manipulated a model cannon with jackscrews…

2011 - Portage, Indiana, USA. A 19-year-old woman named Amanda A.B. was reported missing by her father on…

This individual committed suicide by fastening cable ties around his neck, leading to suffocation. Each cable tie was…

Flash suppressors generally consist of a cylinder, having a number of longitudinal slits along its length that is…

Wausau, Wisconsin, USA. This individual shot himself in the head with an upward trajectory. The man was determined…

A middle-aged male was driving a semi-tractor with an attached trailer in heavy fog. On approaching a sharp…

Intensive blue color of mouth and lips in a case of suicidal intoxication with solvents. No further info…

I colorized the original black and white images. The United Kingdom, ~1980s. The deceased was an unmarried 32-year-old…

The decomposition of the gastrointestinal tract results in a dark, foul-smelling liquid called "purge fluid" that is forced…

In Germany, a 65-year-old woman told police that she killed her 71-year-old husband the previous evening and then…

Contact-range discharge to the left side of the neck (12 G shotgun, homicide). (left image) Exit site on…

The November 2022 issue is out With a monthly subscription the Shocker brings you unfiltered views of reality…

April 1995 - East Wenatchee, WA, USA. A young woman discovered the bodies of her mother and sister.…

Initially, it may be difficult to distinguish the entrance and exit wounds, but by loosely reconstructing the skull…

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

Hobbs, New Mexico, USA. This was the view that the arriving police officers had when they responded to…

This photograph illustrates the devastating effect of a high-powered weapon placed into the mouth of a suicide victim.…

The woman in this photograph committed suicide with a box cutter by severing the peroneal artery, which is…

I colored and upscaled the original low quality black and white image, quality is rather poor. Chopping wounds…

Cuyahoga County, Ohio, USA. This individual committed suicide by intraoral gunshot wound to the head, no further info.…

This individual was involved in a fatal high-velocity accident resulting in facial trauma with loss of skin, soft…

Moderately early changes of decomposition, showing gaseous distension of the breasts and abdomen. Skin slippage, marbling, and blistering…

King County, WA, USA. The face of this woman shows typical postmortem animal scavenging injuries, in this case…

King County, WA, USA. This woman was found dead at her residence. She has been stabbed multiple times…

This individual killed himself with a gunshot under the chin creating a massive tissue destruction. Facial disruption can…

On Halloween night, 1979, at approximately 10:30 p.m. Lawrence Bittaker and Roy Norris abducted their final victim, 16-year-old…

Spain. This is a case of gender-based violence and murder, with the perpetrator subsequently killing themselves (i.e., murder-suicide)…

This individual was found in a state of decomposition inside plastic bags buried in soil. No further info…

Note the bulging eyes, lips and face with protrusion of the tongue on this decomposing individual, all related…

Incised wounds of the neck can be accidental, homicidal or suicidal. Accidental wounds are extremely rare, usually seen…

Stuart, Florida, USA. Occasionally, self-inflicted gunshots involve elaborate apparatus. This individual took the time and patience to construct…

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

Massive explosive burstlike exit wound to the head from a .30-06 hunting rifle suicide. Note outward petal like…

Two persons were flying in a gyrocopter when deteriorating weather conditions resulted in the gyrocopter crashing. A middle-aged…

This individual has a contact gunshot wound on the forehead. Note the split by tears radiating from a…

1998 - Miami-Dade County, Florida, US. This young man has a self-inflicted intraoral shotgun wound with birdshot ammunition.…

Drowning victim in Australia showing evidence of prolonged immersion, focal skeletonization, and evidence of postmortem marine feeding activity.…

Notice the linear tears extending laterally from the corners of this individuals mouth after the tremendous force imparted…

This woman was strangled and died, note the scleral hemorrhages and petechiae, larger scleral hemorrhages can be seen…

Crushing head injuries are characterized by extensive soft tissue laceration, closed and open comminuted fractures of cranial and…

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

A 44-year-old man was found deceased after an autoerotic activity, he had pulled a plastic bag over his…

I unfortunately don't have the backstory here, other than this is from a case of postmortem animal interference,…

Alabama, United States. This young man was working at a loading dock when a reversing semi-trailer crushed his…
![Fig.1 Wounds caused by a German shepherd postmortem [Colorized].](https://i0.wp.com/www.hermantheshocker.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/001-10.jpg?resize=600%2C403&ssl=1)
I colorized the original black and white image. Rounded, regular wound margins caused by a German shepherd postmortem.…

A 68-year-old male with a history of chronic ethanol abuse was found dead in his washroom with blood…

Skeletonization is the total or partial loss of soft tissue (complete or incomplete skeletonization, respectively) with resultant exposure…

On March 13, 1999, in San Luis Obispo, California, Aundria Crawford was reported missing by her mother. Aundria’s…

Suicide with a homemade 12-gauge shotgun cartridge filled with screws, nuts, and other metal objects
The image shows a wound caused by a flare gun that fired a homemade 12-gauge shotgun cartridge filled…

The October 2022 issue is out With a monthly subscription the Shocker brings you unfiltered views of reality…

This individual committed suicide with a sawed-off IZH-18 shotgun. The entrance wound is on the forehead and has…

This individual died after getting electrocuted, an electric arc formed and burned away part of his neck. An…

Identification of decomposed remains requires techniques such as forensic odontology, forensic anthropology, and/or DNA typing. This victim was…

This male individual jumped from the 28th floor of an apartment block and fell approximately 84 m (275…

Germany. A 21-year-old man was found hanging in a stairwell. A noose ran around the neck, ascending to…

Police responded to a single-family residence. Upon arrival, they were met at the front door by the victim’s…

This 33-year-old man was riding his bicycle on the interstate highway when he was struck by a tractor-trailer.…

This 52-year-old man sustained an intermediate range rifle wound to the left side of his head from a…

Skeletonization is the state of a dead organism after undergoing decomposition. Skeletonization refers to the final stage of…

City of Lacey, Washington, USA. Police were called to a hotel after employees discovered a deceased man locked…

There was no further info with the images except that this happened in Southern Arizona. From a study…

Hangings in jail using telephone cords have been described in the literature. Note the telephone cord looped around…