Skip to main content

This individual committed suicide with a gunshot to the head. Head injuries from shotguns and high-powered rifles are typically quite devastating, often with extensive soft tissue destruction, skull fractures, and pulpifaction of the brain. Occasionally, the brain is largely expelled from the cranial vault and may be found near the body.

Fig.1 Gunshot to the head in a suicide.

Latest posts

Fig.1 Note that the eyes are intact whilst the lower part of the body is partially decayed due to influence of faces and urine/bacteria. Upper part of body mummified (dried out).

An elderly woman was found dead

| Accident, Decomposition | No Comments
An elderly woman was found dead in October 2002 in her third floor apartment in urban Cologne, Germany.…
Fig.1 Self-stabbing of the throat in an elderly woman.

Self-stabbing of the throat in an elderly woman

| Suicide | No Comments
Whether the death is accidental, suicidal, or homicidal is one of the main questions asked of the forensic…
Fig.1 Postmortem predation by mice.

Postmortem predation by mice

| Animal Scavenging | No Comments
Postmortem animal interference of human corpses or remains is a well known phenomenon to forensic death investigators, the…
Fig.1 Fatal injuries after falling on an escalator.

Fatal injuries after falling on an escalator

| Accident | No Comments
This woman has fatal injuries after falling on an escalator. Linear lacerations and abrasions are clearly consistent with…