Meatpie's Atlas of Forensic Medicine [Part 1]

Suicide by Small Model Cannon​

Germany. A 39-year-old metalworker was found dead in his workroom. He had manipulated a model cannon with jackscrews on his workbench. Nearby, banger fuses, remains of black gunpowder, a wooden stick used for stuffing, and a lighter were found. The man had already owned this cannon for years. Chronic problems of alcoholism and a current difficult personal relationship were identified as motives for his unexpected suicide.

A small, self-built model cannon with a caliber of approximately 10 mm and a barrel length of 18 cm was used. It had been stuffed with powder taken from fireworks, a ball from a ball-bearing, and a stopper. A banger fuse served as slow-match ignition.

Autopsy disclosed a rounded, punched-out entry wound approximately in the middle of the forehead with a diameter of 10mm within skin and bone, which was caliber-sized and accompanied by multiple star-shaped tears of the skin. Throughout the surrounding area of skin, bone, and brain, massive blast and powder damage (mainly black zone) were detected. A sagittal coursing shot channel was found leading through the left frontal, the parietal, and occipital lobe with an exit wound in the occipital area slightly left of the midline. The bullet induced a burst of the skull. There were blast and powder traces found on the right hand. The blood alcohol concentration was determined at 2.19‰, the urine alcohol concentration was 2.55‰. The cause of death was an immediate collapse of the life-sustaining central nervous functions due to severe pronounced brain damage caused by a shot from the model cannon through the skull.

Model cannons are usually considered to be harmless toys; therefore no legal regulations are required. Nevertheless, suicidal intentions or playful experimentation can turn this toy into a lethal weapon. Cases of lethal injuries attributable to model cannons are extremely rare

Rare Decapitation in a Suicidal Hanging Death​

South Korea. A 71-year-old man weighing 75 kg (165 lbs) jumped from the bridge of 6 m (19.7 ft) in height from the ground using a 4.5 m (14.7 ft) and 0.9 cm (0.35") thick nylon rope with a running noose. The lower end of the rope was hanged 2.5 m (8.2 ft) from the ground. The decapitated body was found on the ground in a pool of blood. The head was 1 m (3.3 ft) apart from the body. The neck had a sharply demarcated circumferential band-like ligature mark with twisted diagonal lacerated margins. The man had a history of depression and left a suicide note.

From the police investigation and death scene investigation, the case was determined as a suicidal hanging although an autopsy was not performed. Decapitation is a complication of extreme rarity in the event of a suicidal hanging and is always related to a drop of several meters with a poorly extensible line used as the hanging ligature. Suicide in South Korea is the 10th highest in the world according to the World Health Organization, as well as the second-highest suicide rate in the OECD after Lithuania. In 2012, suicide was the fourth-highest cause of death among South Koreans.

Suicidal shotgun wound of the head with personal defence ammunition​

Mother and Son Found Dead in Toilet


Death scene of the mother and her son. She is lying on her right side beside the toilet seat with her son on top of her after he presumably fell directly forward. They lay one upon another, namely, the upper half of his body pressed against mother's lower body (Photo 1). The back of his underwear is pulled up to his right-shoulder, suggesting that the mother tried to pull on his undershirt in order to free herself.

One day in September a woman (age 77) and her second son (age 46) were found dead in a toilet of their apartment. She was found lying on her right side beside the toilet seat and her son, who had presumably been sitting straight and fell forward, was found lying on top of her. The upper half of his body pressed against his mother's lower body (Picture 1). The back of his underwear was pulled up to his right-shoulder, suggesting that the mother pulled up his undershirt. When her first son visited and knocked on their door 6 days before their bodies were discovered, there was no reply and the front door was locked. Newspapers from previous days remained in their mailbox. The mother suffered from depression and was hemi-paralyzed. Although the son took care of his mother, he also had a mental disorder. Seven days before their bodies were found, they had gone to the hospital together.

Characteristic features of injuries due to shark attacks​

Shark attacks on humans might not occur as often as is believed and the characteristic features of shark injuries on corpses have not been extensively reviewed. The analysis of these injuries might reveal the motivation behind the attacks and/or the shark species involved in the attack. Gouge marks on the bones are evidence of a shark attack, even if the corpse is decomposed. Severance of the body part at the joints without a fracture was found to be a characteristic feature of shark injuries.

Amputation due to fishing net



Occupational injury is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the working environment. Each year, a large number of people are affected by traumatic occupational injuries in various parts of the world. Transport, construction, agriculture, forestry, mining and fishing are the major culprits in this regard and the effects may range from disease, disability and even death. Hazards from all occupational fields are widely known and reported with an exception of fishing and mining industries, mainly because of localized area distribution and unavailability of bodies. Fishing practiced as an occupation as well as sport has the highest participation rate of any recreational or sporting activity around the world. Commercial fisherman work is one of the world’s harshest environments facing isolated seas, cyclones and cold water. Most of the equipment designed to catch and hold resisting fish are usually sharp and pointed. Thus, fishing related injuries can be either environmental or equipment related. Environment related hazards are mainly due to bad weather, drowning, hypothermia, aquatic animals attack and being thrown overboard. Equipment related injuries can be due to fishing hooks, harpoons, fishing net and boat propellers. Here, we present a case report of amputation and fatal trauma due to fishing net in a fisherman in the coastal city – Mangalore, India.

Case report:

A fisherman aged 44 years went fishing in a boat with other colleagues. In the process of fishing, the deceased got entangled in a fishing net and sustained severe injuries. His left lower limb was completely severed from the body. He died at 1.15 p.m. on the way to hospital. Postmortem examination was done on the same day. 2.1. External examination A moderately built and moderately nourished adult male measuring 173 cm in length and weighing 73 kg. Rigor mortis was present all over the body. Postmortem lividity could not be detected. A greasy material was present over the abdomen, back, upper and lower limbs.

Cause of death:

Hemorrhage due to severance of the blood vessels.

An unusual suicide by self‑waterboarding



The victim was a 22-year-old male student, who was found dead and naked in the bathtub.

His head was covered by a soaked canvas bag, and his hands were tied with two nylon ropes and a padlock.

The water jet of the showerhead was specifically directed at the victim’s head, so that the canvas bag could be soaked with water.

The cause of death was defined as the combination of asphyxiation by drowning with the direct suffocation provoked by the soaked canvas bag in the context of the waterboarding practice.

External examination indicated that the body was in good state of preservation (weight 70 kg, length 180 cm), with rigor mortis presented both at the neck, upper, and the lower limbs (the corpse was refrigerated). Intense post-mortem lividity was present on the back and fixed; furthermore, there were no conjunctival petechial hemorrhages.

A current mark was not documented on the body. At autopsy, the body did neither show blunt force injuries nor defensive wounds. In particular, the upper limbs did not show any injuries. The hyoid bone and both the laryngeal superior cornua were undamaged. A pinkish frothy fluid was observed in the trachea and the main bronchi, but no foam was present in his mouth or his nostrils.

Toxic substances and natural diseases were not documented.

Badly charred remains of woman found in car.

A traffic accident resulting in fatal foot degloving injury of young soldier​

Tthree soldiers had an accident while they were travelling in a military vehicle during a reconnaissance mission. After the accident, the vehicle started to roll over several times., and the soldier who was sitting on the front passenger seat was thrown away from the vehicle and died several minutes later. At the autopsy a complete detachment of the skin of left leg and foot was observed, showing the typical features of degloving injuries. According to our reconstruction, three different forces were applied simultaneously to the body, resulting in a severe degloving injury to the leg and the foot. These methods presented here were applicable for the cause of death diagnosis in medico-legal autopsy

Meatpie said:

A traffic accident resulting in fatal foot degloving injury of young soldier​

Tthree soldiers had an accident while they were travelling in a military vehicle during a reconnaissance mission. After the accident, the vehicle started to roll over several times., and the soldier who was sitting on the front passenger seat was thrown away from the vehicle and died several minutes later. At the autopsy a complete detachment of the skin of left leg and foot was observed, showing the typical features of degloving injuries. According to our reconstruction, three different forces were applied simultaneously to the body, resulting in a severe degloving injury to the leg and the foot. These methods presented here were applicable for the cause of death diagnosis in medico-legal autopsy

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Helium Suicide​

Young man was found dead on the floor in his undies by his grandmother in Poland.

On the man's head, there was a tightly closed plastic bag attached to his neck with adhesive tape. A plastic tube protruded from under the bag, and the other end was connected to a cylinder filled with helium which was placed on the decedent's bed. The cylinder did not have a pressure-reducing valve.

After the autopsy the established cause of death of the man was a pressure injury (barotrauma) associated with the use of a cylinder with helium without a reducer, resulting in damage to the pulmonary interstitium with subsequent bleeding and pneumothorax and suffocation associated with the absence of oxygen.

Meatpie said:

Unusual suicide with self-bondage and continuous supply of butane gas



The body was found in a sitting position on a mattress with adhesive tape and airtight closed plastic bag on the head to which a shower hose was attached the other end of which was connected to a butane gas cartridge.

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Love unique asphyxiation methods

Meatpie said:

Mother and Son Found Dead in Toilet


Death scene of the mother and her son. She is lying on her right side beside the toilet seat with her son on top of her after he presumably fell directly forward. They lay one upon another, namely, the upper half of his body pressed against mother's lower body (Photo 1). The back of his underwear is pulled up to his right-shoulder, suggesting that the mother tried to pull on his undershirt in order to free herself.

One day in September a woman (age 77) and her second son (age 46) were found dead in a toilet of their apartment. She was found lying on her right side beside the toilet seat and her son, who had presumably been sitting straight and fell forward, was found lying on top of her. The upper half of his body pressed against his mother's lower body (Picture 1). The back of his underwear was pulled up to his right-shoulder, suggesting that the mother pulled up his undershirt. When her first son visited and knocked on their door 6 days before their bodies were discovered, there was no reply and the front door was locked. Newspapers from previous days remained in their mailbox. The mother suffered from depression and was hemi-paralyzed. Although the son took care of his mother, he also had a mental disorder. Seven days before their bodies were found, they had gone to the hospital together.

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If I had been first on the scene, I would be naked in seconds pulling that underwear off to eat his dead shit hole