company name Site of entrance wound and direction of bullet path in firearm fatalities as indicators of homicide versus suicide Waraporn panngoen Forensic Science Faculty of Science Slipakorn University

company name Abstract  Retrospective study, 288 firearm deaths  suicides (213), homicides (54), accidents (14) and undetermined cases (7)  Females : 41% homicide, 1.4% suicide  Mean ages: homicide 37 yrs, suicide 50 yrs  Location:  suicides occurred vicinity of the residence,  Homicides occurred elsewhere

company name Abstract  Medical records of previous psychiatric illness or Suicide note : majority in suicide  The most frequent weapon used: Shotguns  57% in homicide, 3% in suicide  Shot at close range : 1/3 of homicide  Alcohol present : one-third of both

company name Abstract  Entrance wound  38% of homicidal gunshot same as anatomical regions typical of suicide ( rt. Temple), but direction of bullet path often differed from suicides (direction back-to-front)  This study suggests  estimation of the direction of the internal bullet path should be conducted in firearm fatalities, may assist in the determination of the manner of death.

company name Introduction  The location of the entrance of a gunshot wound as a marker of suicide has been stressed.  Signs of a close range shot including characteristics of the entrance wound.  A number of circumstantial factors,related to suicides in general.

company name  This study has focused on the usefulness of the internal bullet path as an indicator of homicide versus suicide.  In Sweden, suicides by firearms outnumber homicides almost by ten to one. Introduction(cont.)

company name Material and methods  The files of all firearm deaths investigated at the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Linkoping, Sweden  All firearm homicides in Stockholm district  Deaths due to explosives were excluded.  A form, cover the most relevant circumstantial  Factors and autopsy findings.

company name Material and methods (cont.)  Statistical methods - Analyses using Statistics/W Shapiro- Wilks’ W test. was tested Normal distribution. - Tukey honest significant difference (hsd) test was used for comparisons of means. - Fisher exact test was employed for 2 x 2 tables only.A p-value less than.05 was considered significant.

company name Fig.The anatomical sketch used for depiction of the entrance site and the direction of internal bullet path. A separate sketch was used for each wound Results Demographics and circumstances ..

company name Results(cont.) Fig.2. The preselected ‘typical suicidal areas’ The position and size of these areas were determined visually,as depicted,and thus no strict limits,such as within 7.5 cm from outer auditory meatus,were used.

company name Fig.3. The annual number of all firearm death investigated at the Institute of Forensic Medicine,Linkoping, Swedwn ,distributed on manner of death Results(cont.) Females: 41% homicide, 1.4% suicide

company name Fig.4. Age distribution all suicides (pale bar) and homicides (dashed bar). Mean ages: homicide 37 yrs, suicide 50 yrs homicide(3) under the age of 10 were killed by a parent or caretaker

company name Fig.5. (a) Types of weapons used in the suicides.(b) Types of weapons used in the homicides. Results(cont.).

company name  Autopsy findings - 57% of the homicide victims sustained more than one gunshot,3% in suicide - Alcohol present : one-third of both Results(cont.)

company name Results(cont.) Table 2 Number of gunshot wound/victim, distributed on manner of death Number of woundHomicideSuicideAccidentsUndertainTotal > Not: Number of gunshot wound/victim, distributed on manner

company name Results(cont.) Table 3 Homicide of gunshot wounds, distributed on gender and shooting range( in the remainder of the 112 homicidal wounds, the distance could not be determined by certainty) Wound typeMaleFemaleTotal Close range Distant wound Total513990

company name Fig.6. (a) Anatomical distribution of entrance site in the suicides. Each wound is only marked once (on the most appropriate sub-figure).(b) Anatomical distribution of entrance site in the homicides. Each wound is only marked once (on the most appropriate sub-figure)

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Discussion  Firearm suicides in Linkijping 198 l-1990, only 3 of 213 of the victims were female.  Difference between the situation in Sweden and the pattern in the United States.  Shotguns were the most frequent weapon used.

company name Discussion  This study was that the internal bullet path for a particular entrance site could differ between homicidal and suicidal bullets.  The gender was the main reason for suspicion along with the confusion about how she got hold of the weapon.

company name Conclusions  This study suspicion of homicide should be aroused when the firearm victim is female.  Autopsy findings could also assist in the interpretation of the case.  This study further suggests that the direction of bullet path should be carefully investigated and taken into account.  It is also concluded that more relevant information is related to the entrance site.

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