Thoracic stab wound caused by a grilling scewer with defomration of the tool

Injuries by meat- or barbecue-skewers are rarely relevant as cause of death. Besides accidental injuries they are used as coincidental tools in capital crimes. Skewers are non-typical stabbing tools of pointed-squared structure, which need considerable force to penetrate the skin. The authors report on a 42-year-old man's fatal thorax stab injury, which he sustained during a barbecue and which stretched from the left mamilla into the back right shoulder tissue. Death was caused by exanguination following stabbing through the superior vena cava. At issue was the question what amount of force was necessary to inflict the wound. Based on the deformation of the stabbing tool, as a result of a material-technical expertise, compressive load application in longitudinal direction and a stabbing force of between 120 to 665 N were to be assumed. Furthermore, in addition to the features of a non-typical tool, the autopsy findings allowed to conclude a powerful stabbing.