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Citation |
Byard RW, Veldhoen D, Kobus H, Heath K. J. Forensic Sci. 2010; 55(5): 1375-1377. |
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Affiliation |
Discipline of Pathology, The University of Adelaide, Frome Rd, Adelaide, SA, 5005, Australia. |
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Copyright |
(Copyright © 2010, American Society for Testing and Materials, Publisher John Wiley and Sons) |
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DOI |
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PMID |
20456587 |
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Abstract |
Homicide where a perpetrator is found dead adjacent to the victim usually represents murder-suicide. Two incidents are reported to demonstrate characteristic features in one, and alternative features in the other, that indicate differences in the manner of death. (i) A 37-year-old mother was found dead in a burnt out house with her two young sons in an adjacent bedroom. Deaths were due to incineration and inhalation of products of combustion. (ii) A 39-year-old woman was found stabbed to death in a burnt out house with her 39-year-old de facto partner deceased from the combined effects of incineration and inhalation of products of combustion. The first incident represented a typical murder-suicide, however, in the second incident, the perpetrator had tried to escape through a window and had then sought refuge in a bathroom under a running shower. Murder-accident rather than murder-suicide may therefore be a more accurate designation for such cases. Language: en |