Multiple suicidal gunshot wounds. Case reports and mini-review of literature.

Abstract

To determine the manner of death (MOD) and, there-fore, to classify the event as natural, suicidal, homicidal, or accidental is an essential and routine task in forensic medicine. The evaluation of MOD presents numerous difficulties due to unusual anamnestic and circumstantial data, in addition to autopsy findings and postmortem findings. A mini review of the literature on the topic was performed. Here we report two cases of uncommon self-inflicted multiple GWs (SMGWs) to the head and thorax, suspected of killing. The presence of more than one gunshot wound is suggestive of homi-cide, especially when they involve the head. A review of the literature on the topic was performed on PubMed's database, showing, although considered infrequent, cases documenting SMGWs are not rare. In the cases reported, the initial suspicion of involvement of third persons was excluded through the examination of the death scene, post-mortem (CT and autopsy) findings and clinical-circumstantial data. The analysis derived from the review of the related literature allowed us to highlight the presence of common findings which should be considered in the evaluation of such cases.