The Dead T-shirt Contest, Part Deux . . . Injury Analysis

Name: _______________________________________________     Date: ___________     Period: ___ Return to The Crime Lab
Introduction    Materials    Procedure    Data/Results    Conclusion

Introduction:

    After determining the location of an injury it is important to determine the type of injury involved, and then to determine which injury, if there are several, was the fatal injury.  Once again, that relies upon knowledge as to the location of the internal organs affected by the injuries in question.  Using the same materials we used in the Dead T-Shirt Contest, part I, today's lab involves the same four dead bodies, each from a separate crime.
    The four t-shirts have been marked with various types of wounds.  The victim's names have not been changed (Hey, they're fictional!) are as follows:

Throughout the course of the activity, you need to name the type of injury, and determine which of the injuries was the fatal injury.

Materials:

1. Four Extra Large T-shirts with diagrams of up to 6 injuries

2. Worksheet for describing the location of the injuries

3. Worksheet with diagrams on which to draw the location of the injuries

Procedure:  NOTE: There is plenty of opportunity for lively discussion during this activity!

1. Each pair of students will take a T-shirt and the taller student will put it on over her/his clothes
        Note: The positions are based on the student being tall, so the taller student needs to wear the shirt,

2. Using the worksheet, the students will, once again, diagram the injury and use numbers to indicate which injury is which.

3. Next, each student must name each injury by type (e.g.,  abrasion, avulsion, bite mark, closed fracture, entry wound, exit wound, incision, laceration, ligature, open fracture, puncture, stab wound), , and also whether it was an antemortem, perimortem, or postmortem injury:

• Antemortem: Occurred before death.

• Perimortem: Occurred at the time of death.

• Postmortem: Occurred after death.

NOTE Regarding the Colors Used:
            Black = Gun Shot Wound   or   = Injury without bruising
            Red =  Blood   or  = Scraped Skin (thus closer to the underlying blood vessels)
            Purple = Bruise (which can only for when the heart is beating)

4. Circle the number that corresponds to the fatal injury

5. In the space below the numbers, explain,the cause, mechanism, and manner of death:

• Cause of Death: The primary, or immediate cause of death.  One example, a gun shot wound (GSW) to the ______ (be sure to name the organ or organs involved here).  Use the Anatomy books as a reference!

• Mechanism of Death: The actual changes to the body that are caused by the injury (e.g., exsanguination, or bleeding to death).  Once again, be sure to name the organ or organs involved.  You are expected to use the actual terms here (e.g., asphyxiation, instead of suffocation).

• Manner of Death: There are only four possibilities, but due to the nature of the evidence, we may need to include the 5th one below:

1. Natural causes

2. Accidental

3. Suicide

4. Homicide

5. Undetermined
       NOTE: If you choose this option (and you may have no choice), you must explain why it is undetermined.

    6.   Construct the following, based entirely on the evidence available on the body:

• Death Scenario: Lastly, you need to describe, based on the injuries alone, what you think happened at each death scene.  Be sure, in your description, to indicate the order in which the injuries occurred (Note: this may or may not be possible, depending on the nature of the injury).

• Alternate Death Scenario: There may be one or two details that make a different death scenario possible.  In this section, focus on the differences, rather than rewriting the portions that are similar.  This may be due to the fact that the time (i.e., ante-, peri-, or postmortem) of some injuries may not be easily determined.

   7.   Given that more than one death scenario may be possible, and it is rare to have nothing but a body to examine (i.e., in many, if not most, cases the body is found at the scene of the crime), explain what type of evidence might resolve the discrepancy between the two scenarios.  This would help to focus the search by the Medicolegal Death Investigator at the scene, as it will probably be important to determine the nature of that evidence before removing the body from the scene!
                     NOTE: Complete Steps 1-7 for one shirt before you go on to another shirt!
   8.   Repeat steps 1-7 with each of the other 3 shirts.

Data/Results:

John Doe

1.                                                                                     2. 3.                                                                                     4. 5.                                                                                     6.
Cause of Death:
Mechanism of Death:
Manner of Death:
Death Scenario:
Alternate Death Scenario:
Possible Evidence (e.g., from the Crime Scene) that would resolve the Conflicting Scenarios:

Jane Doe

1.                                                                                     2. 3.                                                                                     4. 5.                                                                                     6.
Cause of Death:
Mechanism of Death:
Manner of Death:
Death Scenario:
Alternate Death Scenario:
Possible Evidence (e.g., from the Crime Scene) that would resolve the Conflicting Scenarios:

Jane Q. Citizen

1.                                                                                     2. 3.                                                                                     4. 5.                                                                                     6.
Cause of Death:
Mechanism of Death:
Manner of Death:
Death Scenario:
Alternate Death Scenario:
Possible Evidence (e.g., from the Crime Scene) that would resolve the Conflicting Scenarios:

John Q. Public

1.                                                                                     2. 3.                                                                                     4. 5.                                                                                     6.
Cause of Death:
Mechanism of Death:
Manner of Death:
Death Scenario:
Alternate Death Scenario:
Possible Evidence (e.g., from the Crime Scene) that would resolve the Conflicting Scenarios:

Conclusion (1/2 Page minimum):  Write this on the back of the page.

   Describe any ease or difficulty you had in determining the following:

• Which of the injuries was fatal

• Whether the injury was antemortem, perimortem, or postmortem

• The death scenario, especially in terms of alternate possibilities