There were drops of blood on the tops of the boots. The charge went into the neck and ended in the right upper chest area. The main wound was just below the chin on the left side. The assailant said he shot at this man from about 10' away as the decedent was rising out of his sofa and coming after him with a knife. This man and his best friend were arguing over his daughter. Metal fragments from the slug were located in the muscle and tissue of the back. There were a few small exit wounds on the left back. The main charge from the second shot entered the left side of the chest, creating this huge defect. There is gunpowder on the inferior aspect (to the right). This is her right arm where the second shot began. This gives an indication of her defensive posturing at the time of the shot. See next photo.įragments of bone from her knee were imbedded in her face (arrow). See next photo.įragments of bone caused damage to the right upper arm. There is a slight amount of gunpowder on the inferior aspect of the wound. The woman was shot first in the right knee. Scene close-up revealing powder on the shirt and abundant blood. This is the scene of a woman shot twice by her estranged husband She was killed with shotgun slugs and not pellets. This one is approximately the same size as the external wound. The external entrance wound in this case was half the size of the defect in the chest plate, as seen here. No pellets were remaining in the body however, this finding proved the person was killed with a shotgun.Ī relatively small external wound can be accompanied by a larger defect in the body. The gray marks on this bone are lead markings from shotgun pellet impacts. The wound on the left side of the neck is the exit wound. The neck blast was from a closer distance. The lower one in the abdomen reveals a pellet direction up to the decedent's left. Many of the ragged defects were not caused by pellets. The wound does not appear like a typical shotgun wound. Adjacent to the corner of the mouth is an abrasion from the wad. The spread of pellets indicates a considerable distance however, the distance is affected by the choke of the weapon. The central defect may be small as the weapon is moved further away from the body when fired. This "cookie cutter" type wound shows a few separate pellet injuries forming as the distance increases. The decedent was essentially executed during a robbery. Loose contact shotgun wound to the back of the head and neck. Once again, the distance may be determined with accuracy only if the same ammunition and weapon are test-fired. In this case, the pellets are beginning to spread. Pellet spread may be used to aid in distance determination when there is no more gunpowder. Most of the decedent's face was blown out. This loose contact suicide wound to the neck is larger than expected because the neck was bent over the barrel. Loose contact shotgun wound and a larger, more ragged exit wound. The wound edges are abraded and there is a thin linear abrasion on the upper right from the muzzle. All of the gunpowder is inside the wound. Tight contact shotgun wound of the chest. However, it is still important to test-fire the same gun and ammunition that was used in the shooting to determine an accurate comparison with the distance in question.Ī shotgun blast can be very destructive. In addition to the presence or absence of gunpowder, the presence or absence of pellet spread aids in the distance determination. The range (distance) of fire can usually be more easily determined in shotguns than in handguns or rifles. Shotguns usually fire pellets however, slugs can also be used as ammunition. Wad or plastic shot container is important because they may be specific for certain types of ammunition. Some ammunition have plastic shot containers that hold the pellets and also act as the wad.
Since shotguns have no lands-and-grooves, their projectiles cannot be positively matched to those found at the scene or inside a body.Ī shotgun cartridge contains pellets, gunpowder, and a wad that separates the pellets from the gunpowder. These markings allow examiners to test-fire weapons and compare test-fired bullets to those discovered in bodies. Lands-and-grooves cause specific identifying features (rifling) on projectiles as they pass along the barrel. Unlike handguns and rifles which have lands-and-grooves cut on the inside of their barrels, shotguns have a smooth bore.
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