SUICIDE OR HOMICIDE? The second case involved a husband and wife going through a divorce because the husband wanted to marry another person. The husband picked up his wife at the airport, at which point she got behind the wheel and her husband was the passenger. The wife drove a few miles down the highway. Witnesses then reported erratic driving, the truck crossing three lanes of traffic and crashing into the grass shoulder on the opposite side of the hignway. A Glock pistol was recovered on the floorboard of the truck. Based on the blood spatter pattern on the driver’s side headliner, it was evident the wife was driving when a shot was fired to the right side of her head. At the postmortem examination, the medical examiner reported no sooting, stippling, burned tissue, or muzzle imprint on the wound (typical in contact or near-contact wounds). Neither the medical examiner nor the forensic lab performed any blood spatter analysis with the weapon. Since the medical examiner found no evidence of sooting, stippling, muzzle contact, or blood spatter on her hands, it was concluded the husband must have fired the fatal bullet from the passenger side of the truck. The defense obtained the weapon and the same ammunition used in the incident. A scenario was established to mimic the shooting with blood, human head hair and the weapon. Multiple shots were fired from the weapon at various distances to determine: • the amount of blood spatter generated from various distances • the amount of powder particles (stippling) adhering to the target When a weapon is fired at close range and no interfering objects are between the head and muzzle, one would anticipate sufficient energy/pressure to generate blood back spatter. This “back spatter” is typically noted on the shooter’s hand. See Toxicolory p. 50 49 Trial Lawyer | Winter 2025
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