Death by complete decapitation of motorcyclist wearing full face helmet: case report

We describe a case of complete decapitation following a motorcycle accident in which the victim was wearing a full face helmet. A young man lost control of his motorcycle and was thrown about 20 m, hitting his head against the barrier separating a tramline from the road. The resulting trauma caused his decapitation, the only fatal wound ascertained by the various forensic investigations. The authors present this rare case and compare it against the other two cases reported in the literature, providing some observations on the ways in which this injury can come about. The absence of abrasions or signs that the wound edges came into contact with a metal structure, the presence of signs of impact on the side of the helmet and the finding of a transversal fracture at the base of the skull point to the violent action of a side-to-side opposite force, due to the resistance provided by the lower edge of the protective helmet.     

A shot through the window

At issue in this case was whether an unusual window defect seen in two of the crime scene photographs was due to a bullet and if so, if that same bullet fatally wounded the victim. The window appeared to have been cracked prior to the apparent shot through it. A .22 bullet recovered from autopsy, when examined only by light microscopy, failed to show associated glass fragments. A previously cracked test window was shot a number of times with .22 caliber bullets near the cracks in an effort to simulate the window defect seen in the crime scene photographs. Several of the defects produced by the test window shots appeared similar to the crime scene window defect. The .22 bullet taken from the victim and several of the test bullets (collected by a cotton box) were examined by scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The test bullets showed glass particles on and embedded in their surfaces. Particles of similar size and composition were found embedded in the surface of the bullet from the victim. The bullet likely struck the window prior to hitting the victim. It was apparent by the morphology of some of the mushroomed test .22 bullets that they hit the window crack. These bullets showed that the glass on one side of a crack often fails before the other side during the strike. Aggregations of powdered glass on many of the mushroomed surfaces of the .22 bullets suggest that as the bullet mushrooms during impact on the window surface, the glass in contact with the bullet powderizes and coats the mushroomed surface of the bullet with a layer of fine glass particles.     

Discovery of externally unremarkable case of homicide of an infant

The court-ordered autopsy of an infant who had died 26 days after delivery unexpectedly revealed a fatal head injury. As external inspection of the body had not shown any traces of violence sudden infant death had at first been assumed. At autopsy a linear fracture of the skull and a subdural haematoma was found. Subsequent investigations showed that the father had thrown the baby into the air while playing with it, that he had failed to catch it and that it had fallen downwards heavily hitting the wooden armrest of a couch with the parietal region. As an example of a manslaughter without any external signs of trauma the case illustrates the importance of forensic autopsies in all cases of unexpected death.     

Understanding Victim Support as Crime Prevention Work: The Construction of Young Victims and Villains in the Dominant Crime Victim Discourse in Sweden

Starting from the observation that a new victim category has emerged in the form of the ‘young crime victim’, this article explores the notion of support to young crime victims as crime prevention work, considering it as an important constituent of the dominant crime victim discourse among support professionals. In the context of the support work, the (young) ‘victim’ and the (young) ‘villain’ provide mutually necessary counterparts constructed in relation to each other. Corresponding to this division, two approaches in criminal and crime prevention policy and practice are then analysed using Garland's notions of ‘the criminology of the self’ and ‘the criminology of the other’. The first of these strategies is generally associated with rehabilitative measures (with the resulting normalization of the crime, its victims, and villains), while in the second punitive measures remain the norm (with the crime, its victims, and villains becoming ‘Otherized’). Yet, as shown within the context of rehabilitation organized as support to young crime victims, both of these (at first glance mutually contradictory) discourses are drawn upon and operationalized by the professional support staff constructing images of young victims and villains in their daily work. Help-seeking youths resistant to identifying as victims remain represented as (possible future) villains.     

撞击角度和速度已知条件下的球形弹丸飞行弹道轨迹算法

针对刑侦工作中弹打玻璃类案件的侦破难点,研究一种用于计算球形弹丸抛射击打玻璃案件中弹丸飞行轨迹的算法。本文以弹丸撞击角度和撞击速度为基础参数,在阐明前置基础数据的前提下,将弹打玻璃类案件中的玻璃窗分为垂直于地面及倾斜于地面两类,采用三角函数计算和参数替换的方法,通过对弹丸撞击瞬间的弹道参数设定、弹孔图像在玻璃平面内的二维图像参数设定、相关角度的描述、计算抛物线轨迹与弹道轨迹朝向等一系列步骤,最终,研究出上述两类玻璃窗的弹道轨迹计算方法。研究表明,弹丸弹道飞行轨迹算法可以还原弹丸飞行的轨迹抛物线,作为现场弹道轨迹重建系统的核心算法使用,为开发弹打玻璃类案件的现场弹道轨迹重建系统提供了关键技术。     

An autopsy case of heart rupture from a scooter accident with 3 riders

A 15-year-old male died of cardiac rupture due to blunt chest trauma from a traffic accident involving a low-speed scooter carrying 3 people and a head-on collision with a tree. The victim was sitting on the footrest of the scooter. It was concluded that the victim was compressed between the handlebar of the scooter and the other 2 passengers, causing cardiac ruptures via bidirectional compression and intravascular hydrostatic pressure. The victim may have served as a cushion for the other 2 passengers, who were not thrown from the scooter and sustained only minor injuries.     

A biomechanical reconstruction of a wound caused by a glass shard--a case report

During the course of a criminal trial, an investigating pathologist is commonly asked how much force was required to produce an injury. This subjective opinion is based on the pathologist's previous experience of dealing with wounds inflicted with similar weapons. However, in the case of stab wounds inflicted by broken glass, it is unlikely that two glass fragments would be physically similar. In the case studied, two theories were examined: that a wound resulted from a thrown glass fragment or that it had been caused as a stab injury by the glass held in the bare hand. The investigation involved quantifying the energy required for human tissue penetration, comparison of sharpness, a biomechanical analysis of throwing actions and testing of the hypothesis that if the glass shard were used as a stabbing implement it would result in a cut to the hand.The investigation utilised a scientific methodology that reduced the need for speculative (though informed) opinion from the pathologist by producing quantitative results.     

Fatalities associated with home-made pipe bombs in Northern Ireland

Pipe bombs are crudely constructed improvized explosive devices which are easily made at home. They are increasingly used by terrorists and others, and may inflict serious injuries and cause death. Four fatalities have occurred in association with their use in Northern Ireland between 1998 and 2002. In 2 cases, death was due to penetrating shrapnel injuries to the chest causing laceration of the great vessels, and a third fatality occurred due to a bomb fragment penetrating the cranial cavity. A pipe bomb exploded close to the back of the head of a fourth victim and this was associated with a severe brain injury. The pathologist was able to determine the position of the victim in relation to the explosion by interpreting the pattern of injuries. It seems likely that 2 of the victims had been involved in the construction, transport, or use of the devices. A third victim was entirely innocent and had been in the process of removing a pipe bomb, which had been thrown through the window of her home, when it exploded. The fourth victim was a member of the security forces who had been struck by a bomb fragment, in the region of the right eye, during a period of sectarian unrest.     

玻璃雨飞溅高度及分布的实验研究

目的研究平板玻璃打碎后玻璃雨的飞溅高度及空间分布,从而为玻璃物证提取和现场分析提供依据。方法应用自制的实验装置,模拟嫌疑人手持硬物击碎窗户玻璃,收集窗户下地面上和打击者处飞溅的玻璃微粒,对颗粒大小、散布区域进行统计分析,并与通过动力学计算得出的分布进行比较。结果在距离窗户0.5m处,玻璃颗粒的飞溅高度可高于玻璃上相应来源点的高度;较小颗粒有较大的飞溅范围。结论玻璃雨颗粒大小分布和空间分布规律对于嫌疑人身上、头部玻璃物证的提取以及案件的现场分析有十分重要的意义。     

Police Responses to Sexual Assault Complaints: The Role of Perpetrator/Complainant Intoxication

This study explored the impact of victim and perpetrator alcohol consumption on police officers' evaluations of an alleged sexual assault and their reported likelihood of charging the perpetrator. Two hundred and twelve police officers were presented with a vignette depicting an acquaintance rape in which the beverage consumption (beer, cola) of both the victim and perpetrator was systematically varied. Results indicated that the officers' perceptions of the complainant's intoxication level, as well as the gender of the officer, influenced officers' evaluations of the alleged sexual assault. The more intoxicated the complainant was perceived to be, the more negatively she was viewed. Female police officers evaluated the victim more favorably than male officers. The only factors related to the officers' likelihood of charging the perpetrator, however, involved their assessment of the complainant's credibility and their perception of the likelihood that the perpetrator would be found guilty in a court of law.     

Negotiating a Victim Identity: Young Men as Victims of Violence

This article is based on an interview study of how 10 young male crime victims talk about violent events and actors involved. It focuses on how the young men present their identities as ‘young men’ who have been victims of violent crimes. In their narrations the men struggle with a cultural understanding that ‘masculinity’ is associated with strength and power, while ‘victim’ is associated with weakness and impotence. During the interviews the young men actualize several balancing acts in their presentation of themselves as men and victims in a delicate manner by use of specific word choice, manner of speaking, laughter, etc. The young men are negotiating a victim identity; they portray themselves by careful positioning as both victims and strong, active young men. By this discursive balancing of identities the young men present themselves as manly at the same time as they present themselves as victims. In collaboration with the interviewer the participants negotiate how they want to be known: as ‘victim-worthy’ young men, with associations to a ‘hegemonic manliness’.     

Unusual hanging deaths

Four unrelated hanging deaths involving young white males, all in enlisted status in the United States military, are presented. Taken in a military context, one scene served as a suicide note equivalent with the unmistakable message of extreme defiance toward military regulations. In two cases, the elaborate attire of the decedents could have lead to the misclassification of the manner of death if investigative information had not been considered. Extensive background investigation and review of medical records in the fourth case disclosed that the victim had an eight- to ten-year history of compressing his neck to cause unconsciousness. He left an extensive suicide note in which he concluded that "hanging would be good." Each case has certain unique features, as a group, the cases all demonstrate a continuum from obvious suicide to cases where the manner of death is, at first, equivocal.     

Youths who sexually harm: A multivariate model of behaviour

Abstract

This study investigates the variations in behaviour displayed by young people who sexually harm, as previous research has shown that they are not a homogeneous sample. Three conceptually distinct sets of behaviour were hypothesized, relating to various modes of interaction between the young people with harmful sexual behaviour (HSB) and their victim, victim as object, victim as person and victim as vehicle. Thirty-three behaviours were drawn from an extensive review of the files of 300 youths who had sexually harmed. The pattern of co-occurrence of the presence or absence of these behaviours was revealed by a multidimensional scaling procedure, Smallest Space Analysis (SSA). The results provide empirical support for three distinct behavioural themes; 258 (86%) of the youths could be assigned to one dominant mode of interaction (victim as object, victim as person or victim as vehicle). The findings have implications for the ways in which practitioners differentiate between young people with HSB.     

Behavior of expelled glass fragments during projectile penetration and perforation of glass

Bullets striking common forms of flat glass with an orthogonal intercept angle result in a cloud of ejected glass fragments that are in concert with the exiting bullet's flight path. This is not the case with strikes at angles other than orthogonal. In these situations, the expelled glass fragments follow a very different course from that of the exiting projectile. This is both counterintuitive and a potential source of serious error in the evaluation and reconstruction of a shooting victim's position and orientation at the moment the victim was struck by a bullet that has passed through a nearby source of glass such as a vehicle side window or a window in a building. The flight path of the ejected glass fragments is, however, predictable and is dictated by the orientation of the plane of the glass opposite the projectile's impact site.In all cases, these expelled glass particles have considerable velocity and can produce pseudostippling of the skin in individuals located downrange of bullet-struck glass and near the projectile's exit site. The distribution and location of such pseudostippling and its relationship to the associated bullet hole in glass have important reconstructive value. A proper and reliable reconstruction of the victim's position in such cases will require the integration of scene information with the autopsy findings.     

玻璃刺创形态学特点的初步研究

目的研究玻璃刺创的形态学特点。方法分别用3个厚度为0．31cm带尖状突起的啤酒瓶残端及3块厚度为0．29cm有尖的普通窗玻璃碎片按设定的不同方向刺击带皮猪肉组织,重复此过程3次,形成198例创口,观察、编号、拍照、测量各创口。结果198例创口的整体形态可分为5种类型,即“工”型、“”型、“”型、“上”型与“一”型,各型在不同刺击方向的分布上存在差异,其中前4种为主要类型,共约占总数的93％,其共同点为在损伤的中部出现了一段与损伤整体走向垂直的创口,啤酒瓶残端所致垂直创口的长度为0．31±0．Olcm（x±s）,窗玻璃碎片所致垂直创口的长度为0．29±0．Olcm（x±s）。结论损伤中部有与损伤整体走向垂直的短创口是玻璃刺创中易出现的一种形态学特点,垂直创的长度与致伤玻璃的厚度具有一致性。     

Unusual suicide by mechanical neck compression

A 36-year-old man was found dead with his neck being jammed between the hydraulic tail lift and the side wall of a truck. Based on the investigations, the technical facilities of the tail lift, the results of the postmortem examination and the autopsy it could be demonstrated that the victim, who suffered drom depression, had intentionally brought himself into this position and committed suicide by compression of the neck. The pathomorphological findings and the technical reconstruction of this unusual death are presented.     

An unusual, deep lingual hemorrhage as a consequence of ligature strangulation

During the course of the daily practice of forensic pathology, little or no attention is generally devoted to the tongue (if it is even removed at all during the autopsy examination) except in a handful of relatively well-defined situations. In some other instances, such as injuries involving the neck and laryngopharyngeal organs, the tongue may be removed, but examined in only a cursory manner, since the serious pathology which caused or contributed to death is most often located in adjacent structures. While the postmortem examination was being carried out on a victim of ligature strangulation who exhibited relatively sparse external and laryngeal findings of significance, a unique and apparently heretofore undescribed patterned hemorrhage was discovered within the deep musculature of the tongue, having an appearance and contour identical to that of the curved edge of the subjacent hyoid bone. In difficult cases where strangulation is suspected as well as other potentially medicolegal problems with trauma involving the neck organs, a detailed inspection of the tongue through an easily accomplished dissection technique may provide invaluable information as to the mechanism of injury.     

UNDERSTANDING THE INFLUENCE OF VICTIM GENDER IN DEATH PENALTY CASES: THE IMPORTANCE OF VICTIM RACE,SEX‐RELATED VICTIMIZATION,AND JURY DECISION MAKING*

Using data from the Baldus, Woodworth, and Pulaski (1990) study of Georgia's death penalty system, we examine the influence of victim gender in death penalty cases. Furthermore, to improve our understanding of the meaning of victim gender, we consider 1) the joint effects of victim gender and victim race, 2) victimization characteristics that might explain victim gender effects, and 3) the impact of victim gender at different decision‐making stages in the death penalty case process. We find that both victim gender and race are associated with death sentencing outcomes and that an examination of the joint effects of victim gender and race reveals considerable differences in the likelihood of receiving a death sentence between the most disparate victim race–gender groups. In particular, it seems that black male victim cases are set apart from all others in terms of leniency afforded to defendants. We also show that the effect of victim gender is explained largely by gender differences in the sexual nature of some homicides. An examination of prosecutorial and jury decision making reveals that although victim gender has little impact on prosecutorial decisions, it has a meaningful impact on jury decisions.     

Identification of Human Remains by DNA Analysis of the Gastrointestinal Contents of Fly Larvae

Dipterous fly larvae (maggots) are frequently collected from a corpse during a criminal investigation. Previous studies showed that DNA analysis of the gastrointestinal contents of maggots might be used to reveal the identity of a victim. However, this approach has not been used to date in legal investigations, and thus its practical usefulness is unknown. A badly burned body was discovered with its face and neck colonized by fly larvae. Given the condition of the body, identification was not possible. Short tandem repeat (STR) typing was performed using the gastrointestinal contents of maggots collected from the victim and was compared to STR profiles obtained from the alleged father. The probability of paternity was 99.685%. Thus, this comparative DNA test enabled the conclusive identification of the remains. This is the first reported case of analysis of human DNA isolated from the gastrointestinal tract of maggots used to identify a victim in a criminal case.     

Procedure in identifying fingernail imprint in human skin survives appellate review

A case of first impression involving the identification of the person whose fingernail left an imprint on the neck of a child murder victim has survived appeal to the Pennsylvania Superior Court. The appeals court, in an opinion which includes a number of incongruous features, approved the trial court's admission of scientific testimony matching an accused's fingernail to the impression left in the child's neck, apparently during his being manually strangled.