A woman was found prone on the floor just inside the front door of her house. A puddle of blood was on the floor under her head. A distinct pattern of blood spatter on the wall above and to the right of the head was consistent with originating from the position of the head on the floor. Blood was smeared on the back of her shirt. Multiple patterned ecchymoses/contusions on the back were consistent with a blood-stained baseball bat on the lawn outside the house. All of the contusions were oriented from left to right and downward.
Fig.1 A woman was found prone on the floor just inside the front door of her house.
Fig.2 A distinct pattern of blood spatter on the wall above and to the right of the head.
Fig.3 A puddle of blood was on the floor under her head.
Autopsy disclosed one right frontal scalp laceration and five additional right parietal scalp lacerations. The parietal scalp lacerations were in close approximation and parallel with each other. Multiple depressed right calvarial fractures were associated with focal superficial lacerations of the cerebrum.
Fig.4 Multiple patterned ecchymoses/contusions on the back.
Fig.5 The contusions were consistent with a blood-stained baseball bat on the lawn outside the house.
Most likely, the victim was struck with the baseball bat first on the right frontal scalp. This blow caused her to collapse prone onto the floor. Once she was on the floor, the additional five blows were dealt to the right parietal region. The victim was immediately immobilized from the first or the second blow, allowing the successive impacts to be delivered to virtually the same location on the head. The blows to the back were delivered after the blows to the head. The blood from the scalp lacerations was transferred from the bat to the back of the shirt. The cause of death was blunt craniocerebral trauma.
Fig.6 Right frontal scalp laceration and five additional right parietal scalp lacerations.
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