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.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1375-1377 |
Number of pages | 3 |
Journal | Journal of Forensic Sciences |
Volume | 55 |
Issue number | 5 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Sep 2010 |
Keywords
- accident
- arson
- dyadic
- forensic science
- gasoline
- homicide
- murder-suicide