Citation

Navarro JA, Cortés E, Sanz CL, Pellicer MA. J. Forensic Sci. 1991; 36(2): 602-606.

Affiliation

Department of Legal Medicine and Toxicology, University of Zaragoza, Spain.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1991, American Society for Testing and Materials, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

2066735

Abstract

This case is about the finding of a body of an unidentified male of approximately 70 years of age who was hit by a train. During the carrying out of the corresponding autopsy and after the radiological tests for posterior odontological identification, a foreign body of a cylindrical-cone shape, identical to that of a bullet, was found lodged between the first and second cervical vertebrae. During dissection of the neck, a bullet was found. When the ballistic test was carried out, it was ascertained that the bullet was from a cartridge of 7.92 by 57-mm Mauser caliber, manufactured in Spain in 1936. This ammunition corresponds to that used during the Civil War in Spain (1936-1939). After the identification of the body, it was proved that the bullet was the result of a war wound. However, the victim had been unaware of the existence of the bullet, which had remained in his body for 50 years.

Language: en