FORENSIC EVALUATION OF SELF-INFLICTED SUICIDES WITH MULTIPLE GUNSHOT WOUNDS
Authors: Mishalov Volodymyr , Mykhaylenko Oleksandr , Zozulya Vitalii , Kaplinskiy Volodymyr , Varfolomeiev Yevhenii 
Published: July 2024

Suicide is a common cause of premature death and a serious social problem. The use of firearms for suicide is quite common. The infliction of multiple self-inflicted wounds, including a fatal one, is rare among suicides, but it is possible and requires careful investigation.
Aim To provide a forensic assessment of the possibility of suicide by multiple gunshot wounds.
Methods. Archival material from the Kyiv City Clinical Bureau of Forensic Medicine and the Zhytomyr Regional Bureau of Forensic Medicine (2 "medical examination reports") was used. The objects of the study were: gunshot wounds on the head (wounds, wound channels), elastic bullets up to 9 mm cartridges and 9 mm bullets for pistol "Makarov", shot products, pistol "Makarov-MP 79" converted to shoot elastic bullets. Their characteristics were examined visually and under the stereo microscope. The detection of shot soot layers on skin flaps and gunsmith's grease was carried out in infrared and ultraviolet rays. The study of the elemental composition of shot products in objects of biological and non-biological origin was carried out using the X-ray fluorescence spectrometer "M4 TORNADO". Standard methods of variational statistics were used in the study.
Results. The forensic examination of the entry and exit wounds and wounds on the head of the corpses of persons who died as a result of self-inflicted gunshot wounds, as well as of the bullets and weapons that caused bodily injuries, confirmed the possibility of committing suicide by firing double shots from pistols to shoot bullets of the so-called "non-lethal type": elastic bullets up to 9 mm cartridges and 9 mm bullets for pistol "Makarov". It was established that in case No 1 the first injury was non-fatal and the second was fatal, accompanied by damage to the skull and brain. In case No. 2, the first wound was fatal and the second was non-fatal, as it damaged only the soft tissues of the head without damaging the bones of the skull and brain. The wounds were caused by automatic shots due to the poor technical condition of the weapon, i.e. partial damage and wear of the trigger mechanism and the pistol sear. This was facilitated by a one-time partial self-destruction of the weapon, followed by the wedging of the next cartridge with an elastic bullet in the lower part of the barrel.
Conclusion. Thus, the cases of double head injuries caused by shots from firearms (pistols) for shooting bullets of the so-called "non-lethal type" (elastic bullets up to 9 mm cartridges and 9 mm bullets for pistol "Makarov") serve as evidence of suicide. In case No. 1, one of the wounds was not fatal, as the wound channel began with an entrance hole in the lower half of the right temporal region, continued on the right through the right mastoid process and the soft tissues of the neck, and ended in the middle with an exit wound in the back of the neck. This wound was the first inflicted. The second wound was final and fatal, as there was damage to the skull and brain, as evidenced by the wound channel which passed through the right temporal cyst, the brain and its membranes, the left occipital bone, and ended with the exit wound in the left occipital region. It was the second in order of entry. In case 2, the first wound was fatal, resulting in damage to the bones of the skull and brain and the presence of an elastic ball in the substance of the brain. The second wound was non-fatal and tangential, injuring only the soft tissues of the head without damaging the bones of the skull and brain. It occurred as a result of automatic (independent) shots due to the poor technical condition of the weapon, namely partial damage and wear of the trigger mechanism and the pistol sear. This was facilitated by a one-time partial self-destruction of the weapon, followed by the wedging of the next cartridge with an elastic bullet in the lower part of the barrel.