title: An unusual exit wound as a result of a shotgun suicide to the head.
abstract: The location of a gunshot entrance wound as well as the wound path trajectory are the main findings that help to determine the position from which a weapon was fired and thus distinguish firearm suicides from homicides and accidents. We present a case of a 28-year old man, who was found dead in his car. Because of an unusual position of the firearm, which was clamped into the steering wheel, and an unclear entrance/exit wound, an autopsy was performed. The deceased showed typical signs of a contact shotgun wound to the head with an entrance wound in the right temporal region and an exit wound in the midface. With the help of gunpowder attachments and a muzzle imprint at the entrance site, a wound channel from the right lower posterior part of the temporal region to the left anterior part of the mid-facial region could be reconstructed. The stellate wound in the midface was assessed as an atypical exit wound. The cause of death was a contact shotgun shot to the right temple with a consequent central regulatory failure due to extensive brain injury. The manner of death was concluded to be a suicide.
authors.affiliation: Department of Forensic Medicine, Landspítali University Hospital, v/Barónstig 101, Reykjavik, Iceland. Electronic address: sebastian@lsh.is.
authors.forename: S N
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Kunz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D044709:Forensic Ballistics; D020197:Head Injuries, Penetrating / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013405:Suicide; D014948:Wounds, Gunshot / Q000473:pathology*
keywords: Firearm fatality; Forensic science; Reconstruction; Shotgun; Suicide