NCJ Number
218471
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 52 Issue: 3 Dated: May 2007 Pages: 532-537
Date Published
May 2007
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This study tested whether trauma effects associated with gunshot wounds to the chest (bony thorax) were useful in determining the direction from which the bullet was fired.
Abstract
The study found that it was possible to determine the direction a bullet traveled through a given rib (ribs occupy a significant portion of the bony thorax); however, analysis of bullet effects on the bony thorax alone could not specify with certainty the number or sequence of gunshot wounds without supporting ballistic and/or soft tissue evidence. This study corroborates Ubelaker's observations that gunshot wounds in the chest can leave evidence on the bones that indicates the direction of fire. Several wound effects on ribs that are useful in evaluations for direction of fire are depressed fractures, bone fragments displaced in the direction of the bullet's path, and beveling. The best way to determine which of these characteristics is present at the wound is to examine the involved bone under a microscope. Analysis of a larger sample of scapulae, clavicles, vertebrae, and sterna may reveal significant details that were not addressed in this study. Fifty-three documented cases with gunshot wounds to the chest were selected for analysis from the evidentiary archives at the Regional Forensic Center in Memphis, TN. The criteria for inclusion were cases with handgun or rifle wounds to the thoracic region. 1 table, 11 figures, and 19 references