title: [An unusual homicide case with subsequent suicide].
abstract: In the medicolegal literature reports on homicides followed by suicide, especially in elderly people, are rare. In the present case, the victim, a 79-year-old woman, showed a rather unusual injury pattern: 3 gunshots to the head (with only 2 entrance wounds and 3 intracranial projectiles) and 2 stabs from a knife. The tools used for inflicting the stab wounds (a hunting knife and a double-edged dagger) were left in the victim's body after the offense. The 89-year-old husband hanged himself with an aerial cable after killing his wife. The police investigations and the autopsy findings suggested a combined homicide-suicide. The motive for the offense could be a so-called delusion of poverty associated with symptoms of depression.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Rechtsmedizin, Universität Mainz.
authors.forename: Nikola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bungardt
authors.forename: Sylvester
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ogbuihi
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Gross
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rittner
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001344:Autopsy / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006708:Homicide / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D019838:Neck Injuries / Q000473:pathology*; D018454:Spouses; D013405:Suicide / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D013898:Thoracic Injuries / Q000473:pathology*; D014948:Wounds, Gunshot / Q000473:pathology*; D014951:Wounds, Stab / Q000473:pathology*