A distant-range, suicidal shotgun wound of the back

The case being reported is one of a shotgun fatality with a thoracic back wound. A 23-year-old man was shot from a distance with trajectories going from back to front and on a nearly horizontal level. These findings observed in the autopsy could represent homicide, but scene investigation and police records were interpreted and it became clear that the case was suicide. Thus, this case shows that the determination of the manner of death requires a careful forensic investigation including autopsy findings, scene investigation, and reconstruction of the events.     

A Fatal Leopard Attack

Abstract: A rare case of a big cat fatal attack is presented. A male leopard that had escaped from its unlocked cage attacked a 26‐year‐old male zoo worker. The man sustained penetrating injuries to the neck with consequent external bleeding. The man died while being transported to the hospital as a result of the injuries sustained. The wounds discovered on the victim’s body corresponded with the known methods of leopard attacks and with findings on the carcasses of animals killed by leopards in the wild. The conclusion of the medicolegal investigation was that the underlying cause of death was a bite wound to the neck which lacerated the left internal jugular vein, the two main branches of the left external carotid artery, and the cervical spine. The cause of death was massive external bleeding. Special attention is paid to the general pattern of injuries sustained from big cat attacks.     

An Autopsy Case in Which Self‐Bloodletting Via a Cervical Blood Access Led to a Fatal Outcome*

Abstract: A 48‐year‐old woman was found dead on a chair in her living room. She had received dialysis every day because of chronic renal failure for the past 15 years. On a table beside her, there was a mirror and 10‐mL syringe on a napkin. A stopper was out of place in a portion of a three‐way blood access tube established in the right cervical region, and blood coagulation was noted in the lumen. There was a bloodstained measuring cup on the floor. Autopsy findings included a large number of shunt traces in the bilateral infraclavicular fossae and upper limbs, as well as the cervical blood access terminal reaching the right atrium via the internal jugular vein to superior vena cava. Various organs showed anemia. Neither a fatal lesion nor injury was noted in the main organs. Therefore, this patient may have committed suicide by self‐bloodletting via a cervical blood access.