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Forensic Analysis
Pathology
The body of a Marine Corps officer was found in his backyard lying on a 12 gauge shotgun. A death certificate certifying
suicide was issued the following day when the autopsy was performed. The purpose of this paper is to not only show
the officer's death was by homicide, but also to illustrate the difference between "instantaneous"
and "sudden" death, and to emphasize that the initial death certificate is a preliminary document and
should not be finalized until all the evidence is available. The death certificate indicated that the victim died
immediately after a self-inflicted intraoral shotgun wound that completely destroyed his brainstem and upper spinal
cord as well as lacerating his entire brain cortex. Indeed, under these circumstances, death would have been instantaneous.
However, the totality of evidence illustrates that this was not the case. Rather, the presence of a depressed skull
fracture resulted from a fatal blow to the head. Death was sudden but not instantaneous. Autopsy findings indicate
that the victim retained basic brainstem functions for a minimum of several minutes after the head blunt force
trauma before he succumbed.
Download pdf: SABOW&BURNETT
Crime Scene Reconstruction
A United States Marine Corps colonel allegedly died by an intraoral shotgun blast in the backyard of his home on
the El Toro MCAS, Orange County, California in 1991. The shotgun when fired was shown to leak gunshot residue (GSR)
from its breech and trigger housing. Two scenarios for the manner of death, suicide and homicide, were evaluated
as to the relative concentrations and distribution of GSR and back spatter residue (BSR) on the colonel's
clothing. Results show there are no concentrations of GSR or BSR on the clothing that should be present if the
colonel committed suicide. Bloodstains on and away from the body and the position of the body indicate homicide.
The colonel's body was staged. Death was by homicide.
Download pdf: BURNETT&SABOW |
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