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01-05-2018 | Case Report

Time since death in a case of simultaneous demise due to a single gunshot: an issue concerning the use of Henssge’s nomogram

Authors: Simone Cappelletti, Edoardo Bottoni, Paola Antonella Fiore, Marco Straccamore, Claus Henssge, Costantino Ciallella

Published in: International Journal of Legal Medicine | Issue 3/2018

Abstract

We report a case of a double homicide in which the victims, a man and his daughter, were simultaneously killed by a single gunshot. The temperature-based nomogram method for estimation of the time since death was used to ascertain the reliability of the method in a case of simultaneous demise, where the exact time of death was obtained from the analysis of security cameras.

In the case presented, the victims differed for a great number of parameters (e.g., atmospheric conditions, thermal insulation of lower trunk, and, above all, body weight), except for the time of death, that was simultaneous. The correct application of the method permitted us to conclude that the estimated time since death was fully consistent with the circumstantial data obtained by the analysis of security cameras.

No previous papers reporting the use of the nomogram method in a case of ascertained simultaneously death exists in literature; issues concerning the use of the nomogram method have been presented as well.

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Title: Time since death in a case of simultaneous demise due to a single gunshot: an issue concerning the use of Henssge’s nomogram
Authors: Simone Cappelletti
Edoardo Bottoni
Paola Antonella Fiore
Marco Straccamore
Claus Henssge
Costantino Ciallella
Publication date: 01-05-2018
Publisher: Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Published in: International Journal of Legal Medicine / Issue 3/2018
Print ISSN: 0937-9827
Electronic ISSN: 1437-1596
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-017-1707-2

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Time since death in a case of simultaneous demise due to a single gunshot: an issue concerning the use of Henssge’s nomogram

Abstract

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Abstract

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