A case for Sherlock Holmes: forensic investigation of a gunshot wound to the head dating from Victorian London
✍ Scribed by J. Bailey; P. D. Mitchell
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 2007
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 183 KB
- Volume
- 17
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 1047-482X
- DOI
- 10.1002/oa.863
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
Abstract
This is an investigation of a fatal gunshot wound that occurred over a century ago, in Victorian England. Records dating from 1900 show that it was regarded as suicide by officials of the time. Forensic, palaeopathological, and historical techniques are applied in order to determine whether the manner of death was suicide, murder, or accident. Comparison of the projectile trajectory with modern forensic series suggests that this case is statistically more likely to have been a murder than a suicide. This raises the possibility that a killer successfully staged events to appear as if a suicide had taken place. A summary is given of the important points to consider when interpreting gunshot trauma to the head in skeletal remains. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.