title: The incidence, pathology of trauma and victim profiles of homicidal deaths in Pretoria, South Africa (2007-2008).
abstract: This study aimed to establish the incidence of homicide, associated pathology of trauma and victim profiles in cases admitted to or managed as homicidal deaths at the Pretoria Medico-Legal Laboratory (PMLL) over the period of 2007-2008. A total of 1088 cases were reviewed. Homicides accounted for 22.7% of all cases admitted to the PMLL. The majority of homicide victims were male individuals (87.0%). The most common cause of death was gunshot wounds (42.6%), followed by blunt force trauma (25.1%). Homicides are most likely to occur at the victim's place of residence (28.5%) and only 37.4% of victims survive long enough to receive hospital care. The results of this study seem to concur with international findings for the most part, with a few interesting deviations. Highlighting at-risk groups, as well as dangerous locations and incident times, creates the potential to decrease the occurrence of unnecessary deaths by generating an awareness of the trends.
authors.affiliation: Department of Forensic Medicine, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa. jeaniusofthelamp@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Jeannie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cocks
authors.forename: Gert
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Saayman
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D019548:Crime Victims / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D005554:Forensic Medicine; D006708:Homicide / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D044469:Racial Groups / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D017678:Sex Distribution; D013019:South Africa / Q000453:epidemiology; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000401:mortality; D055815:Young Adult