When it comes to death, especially the sudden unexplained ones where the circumstances surrounding the demise are unclear, there is a certain procedure that is followed. For instance, a forensic pathologist is mandated with the task of determining the cause of death because they are highly qualified and competent to perform an autopsy (Harris et al., 2020). While that is happening, a thorough investigation of how the individual died, the surrounding environment, and the history of the deceased, are thoroughly scrutinized to determine the sole cause of their death. The following are six situations where such an investigation applies. Such a trauma requires the use of a gun, whereby the muzzle is placed on the back of the victim's head before firing, and this means that they cannot do it on themselves. For this reason, the manner death is a homicide. The blunt force trauma can be categorized as a hard contact wound that results from the gas from the muzzle of the gun, which causes a lifting on the skin of the skull around the area. Some of the other evidence would include soot, powder particles, as well as primer residue (Harris et al., 2020). What is more, one can find bloodstain splatter as a result of the firing. Elevated carboxyhemoglobin in the blood indicates that the victim was still alive and breathing during the time of the fire. Another indicator of this could be soot found in the airway. Increased carbon dioxide fills the red blood cells with poisonous gas, resulting in asphyxia, which is a condition where the victim is deprived of oxygen, leading to their suffocation, unconsciousness, and eventually death (White Sr, 2020). The physical evidence in this situation would be a split skin and exposure of the victim's internal organs. Additionally, the victim is often found in a fecal position that indicates this is an accident. A fractured hybrid bone is caused by strangulation, whereby the victim will show other accompanying signs such as hemorrhaging in the eyes as well as wound marks around the neck (Harris et al., 2020). The marks indicate the victim's efforts in trying to break free from the perpetrator's tool of attack. If the strangulation happened in the victim's house, some of the physical evidence could include a messy room, which indicates the struggle between them and the killer, as well as any tool that may be left on the scene, suppose the intruder left in haste. The manner of death in this situation indicates that this was a homicide. According to Girard (2017), first-time alcohol users from just 0.25% of alcohol in their system. In this situation, death can only be looked at from the perspective of a first time user, whereby it can be concluded that it was an accident. This is because the victim has no idea what they were exposing themselves to. Consequently, the victim's body was not familiar with alcohol. While this is the case, the only evidence can be the bottle of alcohol which, may be found around the victim's body, but it is the toxicity report that will conclude that this was an accidental death (Girard, 2017). A distance of 3 feet is impossible for an individual to reach and shoot themselves, which makes this situation's death a homicide. Some of the evidence around the victim could be tattooing around the bullet hole, which would indicate that the bullet was shot from a short distance (Harris et al., 2020). Additionally, the victim would have a contact would on the back of the head at the point where they hit the ground after being shot on the chest. In that area, there would be some evidence in the form of bullet casings as well as bloodstain spatter and patterns. A chronic user of cocaine exhibits several physical characteristics, irrespective of their age or gender. For instance, they have an extended rim of white powder around their nostrils that comes from constant snorting of the drug as well as a long pinky fingernail for scooping it (White Sr, 2020). Furthermore, cocaine users have singled hair as well as eroded teeth and several burns on their fingers and lips. On most occasions, the deceased dies in a bathtub, where the surrounding scene includes running water, wet towels, and ice. The running water indicates the deceased collapsed and died in the middle of the activity. Such an environment compels that the individual died of natural causes, which could have resulted from a cocaine overdose. Nevertheless, toxicology is conducted to affirm that indeed the deceased died of natural causes due to complications of the drug (Girard, 2017). Conclusively, the above situations present the different categories under which the cause of death can be categorized, which includes accidental, homicide, suicide, or undetermined. In all the situations, the surroundings and circumstances that the individual died in play a crucial role in determining the cause and category of death. Therefore, it is important to thoroughly examine the deceased's physical environment as it gives clues on what could have transpired during the last moments of their lives. Doing so helps establish the right cause and take the necessary legal action, particularly it is a homicide. An important point to note is that photographs are necessary as they aid in the investigation, particularly in suicides where it has to be determined whether it is suicide from an accident or homicide. In the same way, a toxicology report must accompany any death that is suspected to be drug-related.
References
Girard, J. E. (2017). Criminalistics . Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Harris, H. A., Lee, H. C., & White Sr, R. M. (2020). Introduction to Forensic Science and Criminalistics. Forensic Science Review , 32 (1), 12-13.
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White Sr, R. M. (2020). Introduction to Forensic Science and Criminalistics. Forensic Science Review , 32 (1), 12-14.
