Scuba diver with a knife in his chest: homicide or suicide?
(65/490)
A scuba diver was found dead at the bottom of an undersea cave at 54.1 m water depth, with a knife protruding from his chest. Autopsy confirmed death due to both drowning and a penetrating knife wound. The incident was first considered a homicide and two suspects were arrested. Careful forensic analysis of the profile of the diver's last dive stored in the dive computer, dimensions of the undersea cave, as well as other forensic findings, showed that the case was a suicide, which the diver most probably committed while running out of air, in an attempt to avoid the agony of drowning. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on a suicide during diving. (+info)
Impact of handgun types on gun assault outcomes: a comparison of gun assaults involving semiautomatic pistols and revolvers.
(66/490)
OBJECTIVE: To examine whether gun assaults committed with semiautomatic pistols are more injurious and lethal than those committed with revolvers. SETTING: Jersey City, New Jersey from 1992 through 1996. METHODS: Using police records on fatal and non-fatal handgun assaults, t tests and chi(2) tests were employed to determine if attacks with pistols result in more shots fired than those with revolvers, leading to more gunshot victims and more severely wounded victims. RESULTS: More shots were fired in attacks with pistols (average = 3.2 to 3.7) than in attacks with revolvers (average = 2.3 to 2.6). Although pistol use was unrelated to the probability that an incident resulted in any injury or death, it was associated with a 15% increase in the number of wounded victims in those cases in which people were shot (1.15 per pistol case, 1.0 per revolver case), implying that the total number of gunshot victims may have been 9.4% lower had pistols not been used in any attacks. Pistol use was not related to the number of wounds per gunshot victim. CONCLUSIONS: The findings provide limited evidence that recent growth in the production and use of pistols has contributed to higher levels of gunshot victimizations. However, available data did not permit an assessment of whether the associations between gun types and assault outcomes are mediated by characteristics of incidents and actors. (+info)
The skull and cervical spine radiographs of Tutankhamen: a critical appraisal.
(67/490)
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Tutankhamen, the last pharaoh of the XVIIIth dynasty, died unexpectedly at approximately age 18 years. A cause of death has never been established, but theories that the young king was murdered by a blow to the head have been proposed based on skull radiographs obtained by a team from the University of Liverpool in 1968. We recently had the opportunity to evaluate the skull and cervical spine radiographs of Tutankhamen. The purpose of this study was to report our critical appraisal of the radiographs of Tutankhamen regarding the findings alleged to indicate traumatic death. METHODS: Copies of lateral, anteroposterior, and submental vertex skull radiographs of Tutankhamen were reviewed with special attention to the claims of a depressed skull fracture, intracranial bone fragments, and calcified membrane of a posterior fossa subdural hematoma. A phantom skull was radiographed to reproduce the appearance of the floor of the posterior fossa in the lateral projection. RESULTS: The skull radiographs of Tutankhamen show only postmortem artifacts that are explainable by an understanding of the methods of mummy preservation used at the time of his death. Some findings also relate to trauma inflicted by an autopsy performed in 1925. The alleged calcified membrane of a posterior fossa subdural hematoma is easily reproduced with a skull phantom. CONCLUSION: Our critical review of the skull and cervical spine radiographs of Tutankhamen does not support proposed theories of a traumatic or homicidal death. (+info)
Postmortem toxicology of carbamazepine.
(68/490)
The study focuses on a series of 16 fatal cases in which carbamazepine and its two major metabolites (10,11-epoxide and 10,11-dihydroxycarbamazepine) were detected in body fluids and tissues collected at autopsy. The drug may be implicated in a number of deaths; however, most of these are multiple-drug intoxications with a particular contribution of ethanol. The investigations concerning toxicological findings are a source of toxicological postmortem data and show the differences in metabolism rate as depending on the concentration level of carbamazepine and xenobiotics found in the autopsy specimen during the postmortem investigation of a body. (+info)
Risk factors for femicide in abusive relationships: results from a multisite case control study.
(69/490)
OBJECTIVES: This 11-city study sought to identify risk factors for femicide in abusive relationships. METHODS: Proxies of 220 intimate partner femicide victims identified from police or medical examiner records were interviewed, along with 343 abused control women. RESULTS: Preincident risk factors associated in multivariate analyses with increased risk of intimate partner femicide included perpetrator's access to a gun and previous threat with a weapon, perpetrator's stepchild in the home, and estrangement, especially from a controlling partner. Never living together and prior domestic violence arrest were associated with lowered risks. Significant incident factors included the victim having left for another partner and the perpetrator's use of a gun. Other significant bivariate-level risks included stalking, forced sex, and abuse during pregnancy. CONCLUSIONS: There are identifiable risk factors for intimate partner femicides. (+info)
Underreporting of justifiable homicides committed by police officers in the United States, 1976-1998.
(70/490)
OBJECTIVES: This study assessed the consistency of estimates of the number of justifiable homicides committed by US police officers and identified sources of underreporting. METHODS: The number of justifiable homicides committed by police officers between 1976 and 1998 was estimated from supplementary homicide report (SHR) and National Vital Statistics System (NVSS) mortality data. RESULTS: Nationally, the SHR estimate was 29% larger than the NVSS estimate. However, in most states this pattern was reversed, with more deaths reported in the NVSS. CONCLUSIONS: Both systems underreport, but for different reasons. The NVSS misclassifies cases as homicides, rather than justifiable homicides committed by police officers, because certifiers fail to mention police involvement. The SHR misses cases because some jurisdictions fail to file reports or omit justifiable homicides committed by police officers. (+info)
Mortality risk associated with leaving home: recognizing the relevance of the built environment.
(71/490)
OBJECTIVES: I analyzed traffic fatalities and homicides related to leaving home for routine activities, and considered connections between these fatalities and the built environment. METHODS: I analyzed city, county, state, and federal data for traffic fatalities and homicides by strangers for 15 metropolitan areas, and classified deaths as occurring in the central city, in inner suburbs, or in outer suburbs (exurbs). RESULTS: Traffic fatality rates were highest in exurban areas. Combined traffic fatality and homicide-by-stranger rates were higher in some or all outer counties than in central cities or inner suburbs in all of the metropolitan areas studied. CONCLUSIONS: Traffic fatalities are largely unrecognized as a danger to be factored into residential location decisions. Land use controls that deter sprawl along narrow exurban roads can reduce the mortality risks associated with leaving home. (+info)
Effect of 11 September 2001 on suicide and homicide in England and Wales.
(72/490)
BACKGROUND: The tragic events of 11 September 2001 and televised scenes of the terrorists' homicidal and suicidal acts could have had an impact on the behaviour of some people, who harbour suicidal ideation or homicidal tendencies. AIMS: To assess the effect of 11 September 2001 on the rate of suicide and homicide in England and Wales. METHOD: Analysis of the number of suicides (ICD-9 codes: E950-E959), undetermined injury deaths (E980-E989) and homicides (E960-E969) in England and Wales in the 12 weeks before and after 11 September 2001 and during a similar period in the previous two years. RESULTS: The number of suicides reported in the month of September 2001 was significantly lower than other months in the same year and any September of the previous 22 years in England and Wales. A suicide reduction in men, regardless of age, occurred in the week starting Tuesday 11 September 2001. A reduction in female suicide occurred during the four weeks following the attack. There was no evidence of a similar effect on homicide. CONCLUSIONS: The tragic events of 11 September 2001 appear to have had a brief but significant inverse effect on suicide.The finding of this study supports Durkheim's theory that periods of external threat create group integration within society and lower the suicide rate through the impact on social cohesion. (+info)