Young woman found dead with a gunshot wound to the head

2006 – Belo Jardim, Brazil. The Police was called to a residential unit located in the rural area of Belo Jardim where the body of a deceased 18-year-old woman was found. Upon arriving and entering the site, the police team found a female body sitting on the edge of the bed with her head flexed between the legs, the upper limbs semi-flexed between the chest, and the lower limbs semi-flexed. Between the lower limbs, there was a glass cup with a liquid substance similar to beer, two controls (one for TV and one for DVD), and the case from a spent round.

Fig.1 The police team found a female body sitting on the edge of the bed

Fig.2 Between the lower limbs, there was a glass cup with a liquid substance similar to beer.

A gunshot wound was noted in the right temporal region and an exit wound in the left temporal region, no other injury was found on the victim’s body. There were no injuries suggestive of physical struggle or any other injuries or signs of violence or defense. Several empty beer cans were found in the kitchen and bedrooms, including the room where the victim’s body was found.

A Rossi gun, revolver type, 38 caliber, with five chambers was found next to the victim’s right foot. The mark of a test shot was evidenced on the front wall in front of the victim. A notebook and a pen were found on the TV rack, the notebook was sent for forensic handwriting examination. A bag was found on the kitchen table, inside it, as well as some personal belongings, a wallet with R$ 36.00 ($6.80), and a cell phone.

Fig.3 A gunshot wound was noted in the right temporal region.

Fig.4 An exit wound was noted in the left temporal region.

The doors and windows were closed and no signs of break-in or tampering were found; the bed where the victim lay was properly lined, indicating that no one else besides the victim has been on the bed; at the scene of the occurrence only women’s garments were found; there were no signs of blood anywhere else on the property except where the victim lay, there was also a pair of sandals that were found on the main access door frame and these were female sandals which matched with the size of the victim’s feet; the furniture and objects at the place of occurrence were not in disarray, especially in the immediate environment (near the victim); no signs of physical struggle were evidenced; the bullet hole on the wall in front of the victim was most likely caused when the victim was testing the weapon. Belongings such as money and cell phone were not removed from the location, ruling out the possibility of robbery.

The forensic handwriting examination found that the handwriting in the notebook’s writings, indicative of suicidal ideation, was the victim’s and that on one of its pages was a revolver-type firearm drawing compatible in size and type with the weapon found with the victim, that is, the weapon was part of the environment.

Fig.5 A Rossi gun, revolver type, 38 caliber, with five chambers was found next to the victim’s right foot.

Fig.6 The cause of death was determined as a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

There were no signs of dragging or displacement of the victim from the place where the body was found, the bloodstain was concentrated on the body and nearby objects, corroborating its position indicating that the shot was fired in the position in which the victim was found. The bloodstain found on the carpet produced by the victim was continuous, that is, it did not show any faults indicating that objects were close to it; the victim had no other injuries or signs of violence. The region chosen for the fatal shot was the same one that the criminal literature describes as the one chosen by potentially suicidal victims, namely the precordial region. The cause of death was determined as a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.