Multiple Gunshot Wounds of the Head: An Anthropological View
Rhine, JS
Curator, Maxwell Museum of Anthropology, University of New Mexico. Albuquerque, NM.

Curran, BK
Graduate student, Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NlVl.


Abstract
A decomposed body was judged at the scene to have two gunshot wounds of the thorax and three of the head. Confirmed at autopsy, the condition of the remains precluded conclusions about the precise nature of the defects. Preparation and reconstruction of the skull disclosed seven large cranial defects and a series of fractures. This preparation allowed the application of well-known principles of gunshot wound analysis. Although the analysis of specific gunshot wound defects is well covered in the literature, there are few examples of the application of gunshot wound principles to complex wound cases. Three entrances and three exits were identified. A seventh defect resulted from bullet passage. Finally, the wounds were sequenced.

Keywords:
beveling, caliber, criminalistics, entry wound, exit wound, forensic anthropology, forensic science, gunshot wounds, homicide, physical anthropology, projectile, skeleton, skull, trajectory, wound ballistics, wound sequence

Paper ID: JFS355901236

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