EVIDENCE FROM THE SITUATION OF THE WOUND.
It has been generally noted that suicidal wounds are for the most part confined to the front or lateral parts of the body; gunshot wounds of this character being found usually in the region of the heart, the face, and the temples. The presence of an injury to these parts is not necessarily indicative of suicide, but the existence of such injuries in other parts of the body is at least negative evidence of homicidal attempt. Moreover, Orfila has observed that it is not so much the situation as the direction of the wound which gives evidence for or against the presumption of suicide. The question has been raised whether it were possible to have a gunshot wound without external evidence. There has been recorded more than one case where a bullet entering through the open mouth has penetrated the brain without passing through the vertex of the skull and has killed instantly without leaving any external mark.
It is very necessary to establish, if possible, the direction of such a wound, and this may be coupled with a knowledge of the right-handedness or the left-handedness of the person who inflicted it, or may shed light in this way upon some personal peculiarity which may lead to the detection of the guilty person. Thus it is said of Sir Astley Cooper that in one instance he remarked that a certain wound could not have been inflicted except by a left-handed person, and that his observation led to the detection of the murderer. It has been stated that for the detection of the weapon or instrument used it should be placed first in one hand of the deceased and then in the other, while the other extremities are so manipulated that it may be clearly determined whether suicidal attempt were possible or no. There is ordinarily little difficulty experienced in distinguishing suicidal from accidental wounds. In the former case extraneous signs and circumstances point more clearly to the intent of the deceased than do, perhaps, the peculiarities of the wound itself. This is to be settled mainly by the evidence of those who find the body; in other words, by circumstantial evidence.
In suicides ordinarily one wound only is met with. At any rate, probably one only that has destroyed life. Consequently the presence of several wounds, each of which was necessarily fatal, constitutes almost conclusive evidence of murder, the strength of the same depending upon the necessary fatality of more than one of these. Thus it is hardly conceivable that a suicide should shoot himself through the heart and through the brain; the coexistence of two such wounds would be almost conclusive of homicide. The existence of multiple wounds is a rather strong presumption of insanity or drunkenness of the person who inflicted them. Men who kill when under the influence of liquor not infrequently inflict injuries enough to be several times fatal.
The coexistence of wounds made by cutting weapons, as well as firearms, is not unknown. These are occasionally suicidal, ordinarily they betoken murderous attempt. If suicidal the deceased will ordinarily be found to have been a lunatic.
But evidence is to be obtained also from signs and circumstances separable from the wound itself. Thus the position of the body may be such as to invalidate the theory of accident or suicide. The position of the weapon, too, is something to be noted with great care. Whether, for instance, this be firmly held within the hand of the corpse, or whether it had been simply placed there after his death; whether it be found where it would seem to have been most naturally dropped after its discharge, or found somewhere where it could scarcely have been placed or thrown by the deceased; whether it be found at such a point that it is clearly evident from other signs it could not have been dropped by the deceased, since death must have been caused too quickly for him to have traversed the intervening space.