Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Forensics Quiz

The man found supine on Thompson Creak Trail with a bullet wound died from internal bleeding. Because the bullet traveled at a 45 degree downward angle in the frontal plane, the bullet had to have ricocheted off the now fractured 8th rib on the right side, exiting 5 cm above the belly button in the umbilical region. The bullet punctured the stomach and/or the liver, causing the internal bleedingBy puncturing the liver, much blood would have been lost due to the fact that the liver holds the hepatic portal vein which collects all of the blood that comes from the spleen, stomach, pancreas, gallbladder, and intestines. 

-The bullet could have traveled straight through the body from the entrance wound to the exit wound. However, we can rule this out because of the cracked rib and the fact that the bullet traveled with a 45 degree downward angle.

-We can also rule out the possibility of the man having been beaten, resulting in the cracked rib, because there was no bruising found on the body.

-The possibility of suicide can also be ruled out because there is no way that the man would have been able to to angle his arm in a 45 degree downward position. Plus, why would a man committing suicide choose to shoot himself in the left lateral are 1 inch above the third rib?

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