title: An unusual case of "dyadic-death" with a single gunshot.
abstract: The terms "dyadic death" or "murder-suicide" refer to an incident where an individual commits homicide and then takes his or her own life. These events are generally committed by men within the family network, using firearms or sharp force instruments, and make up a relatively small proportion of homicides overall. Herein, we present the application of post-mortem multislice computed tomography (CT) and micro-CT analysis to an unusual case of dyadic death, where a 38-year-old man fired a single gunshot to his own right temple, killing himself and his 50-year-old wife, lying on the bed beside him. The integration of radiological, autoptic and histological data allowed us to reconstruct the trajectory of the gunshot, the most probable dynamics of the event, and to classify the incident as a "suicide-homicide", because the female victim died a few minutes later than her husband and murderer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiological, Thoracic and Vascular Sciences, Institute of Legal Medicine, Via Falloppio, 50, 35121 Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Viero
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine-DIMED, Radiology Section, Via Giustiniani, 2, 35121 Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Giraudo
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiological, Thoracic and Vascular Sciences, Institute of Legal Medicine, Via Falloppio, 50, 35121 Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cecchetto
authors.affiliation: Institute of Radiology, Via Falloppio, 50, 35121 Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Muscovich
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiological, Thoracic and Vascular Sciences, Institute of Legal Medicine, Via Falloppio, 50, 35121 Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: Donata
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Favretto
authors.affiliation: Medico Legal Expert of the State Police Office, "Questura di Padova", Piazzetta G. Palatucci, 5, 35123 Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Puglisi
authors.affiliation: Unit of Forensic Medicine, Department of Public Health and Community, University of Verona, Policlinico G.B. Rossi, Piazzale L.A. Scuro, 10, 37134 Verona, Italy.
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fais
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiological, Thoracic and Vascular Sciences, Institute of Legal Medicine, Via Falloppio, 50, 35121 Padova, Italy. Electronic address: guido.viel@unipd.it.
authors.forename: Guido
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Viel
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D020197:Head Injuries, Penetrating / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D006708:Homicide; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D061330:Multidetector Computed Tomography; D013405:Suicide; D014948:Wounds, Gunshot / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D055114:X-Ray Microtomography
keywords: Computed tomography; Forensic pathology; Gunshot; Homicide; Micro-CT; Suicide