[hermantheshocker]

Some of the stuff I work on doesn't make the cut so I thought about gathering them up in a single post. So basically it's images I have little or no info about or I've decided that they don't get their own thread, for example, because of low image/content quality, lack of backstory or additional info/knowledge, possibly uninteresting, only one image but not very special. I still do the usual image work including upscaling and color correction as needed, as I prefer to have my content high quality and educational.

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Case 1


Fig1.1 Close-range wound from a 12-gauge shotgun.

A shotgun is a smooth-bore, shoulder-fired firearm and is typically used to fire multiple pellets, rather than a single slug. In shotgun entrance wounds, the characteristics of the wound vary based on the distance between the muzzle and the skin. For example, from contact to 12 inches, the edge of the wound shows an abrasion ring. As the distance increases, powder tattooing appears. This photo shows that powder tattooing is considerably less dense than it is in pistol wounds.

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Case 2


Fig2.1 This individual placed a 12-gauge shotgun against his right temple and pulled the trigger.

This individual placed a 12-gauge shotgun against his right temple and pulled the trigger. As can be noted, there are scorch marks around the entry wound near the right ear. Shotgun wounds to the head, especially those involving large-gauge shotguns generally result in enormous damage to the head.

Head injuries from shotguns are typically quite devastating, often with extensive soft tissue destruction, skull fractures, and pulpifaction of the brain. Occasionally, the brain is largely expelled from the cranial vault and may be found near the body.

The head is the most common location for a suicidal gunshot wound (74%), followed by the chest (20%) and then the abdomen (6%). In head wounds, the most common location was intraoral (50%), followed by under the chin (19%); side of head, including parietal and temporal wounds (15%); and the face, including the forehead (13%).

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Case 3


Fig3.1 Suicidal hanging.

This suicide victim has been in this hanging position for approximately three weeks. The body is in an advanced stage of decomposition; the mosslike substance on the body is dried body fluids. The victim has used a ligature-type device wrapped around a beam in the attic to suspend his body. No further info.

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Case 4


Fig4.1 Man with a sexual fetish keeps his victim's penis, tongue, armpit, and ears.

Pontiac, Michigan. In a police interview, a man admitted to having gay tendencies at the age of seven. His first gay experience was in a state hospital at age 14 when another patient forced him to have anal sex with him. He stated that it scared him, but he liked it. He stated that he had been committed to the hospital over his fantasies about killing his neighbor and had begun tape recording his fantasies.

He spent three years at the state hospital. During his stay, he reported that he constantly had these “killing fantasies.” The subject and a male lover of approximately 10 years had a long history of domestic violence. The subject stated that they decided to meet each other at a motel to carry out their long-planned murder/suicide. The subject told the police that he wanted to kill his lover for all the years of bitching about his drinking.

He admitted that he tried to strangle him in the past, but couldn’t go through with it. They both consumed a few bottles of wine and had taken some drugs. The subject suddenly stabbed his lover and left the knife in the victim’s stomach. The subject then stated that he began to think of the fantasies he had in the past of cutting up his lover and taking body parts. He would often masturbate to these fantasies and think about playing with the body parts. He started by sawing off the victim’s penis and testicles and taking them to the bathroom where he washed them. He kept the penis but flushed the testicles because he didn’t like the way they looked.

He then sliced off the victim’s ears and put one down his throat, but then changed his mind. He wanted it back, so he cut off the victim’s head and took the ear out through the neck. The subject pulled out the victim’s intestines and sucked and played with them. He also sucked on the severed penis in an attempt to “make it hard.” The subject took the victim’s penis, ears, tongue, and armpit. First, he washed them, then he masturbated with them before pocketing them. When he was arrested, he still had the body parts in his pocket.

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Case 5


Fig5.1 Bulging eyes, lips and face with protrusion of the tongue on these decomposing individuals.


Fig5.2


Fig5.3

Note the bulging eyes, lips and face with protrusion of the tongue on these decomposing individuals, all related to the decomposition process. No further info about the cases.

Decomposition, or putrefaction, is a combination of two processes: autolysis and bacterial action. Autolysis is the breakdown of cells and organs through an aseptic chemical process caused by intracellular enzymes. Because it is a chemical process, it is accelerated by heat, slowed by cold, and stopped by freezing. Bacterial action results in the conversion of soft tissues in the body to liquids and gases. The chemicals produced as a result of putrefaction are cadaverine and putrescine, hydrogen sulfide and other sulfides, which generate a horrible smell.

Putrefaction begins immediately upon death and usually becomes noticeable within 24 hours. As soon as death occurs, the bacteria or microorganisms within the intestinal tract escape from the bowel into the other tissues of the body. As they grow, they begin to produce gases and other properties that distort and discolor the tissues of the body.
The discoloration is a dark greenish combination of colors and is generally pronounced within 36 hours. As a result, the body begins to swell from the putrefactive gases, emitting an extremely repugnant odor.

The rate of decomposition depends on the temperature, ground conditions, amount of clothing, size of the body, etc. For example, a body in a warm climate will not only encourage insect attack from the outside, but will also increase the interior bacteria development and subsequent tissue attack from within. As the tissues inside are destroyed and enzymes released, the gases formed emit a foul and sickening smell.

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Case 6


Fig6.1 Maggots on a decomposing body.

Maggots are the larval form of flies. Flies lay their eggs in small and sometimes large bulky clusters on accessible unsubmerged areas, crevices, and cavities of the body, preferring moist areas such as the eyes, nostrils, scalp, lips, ear canals, and open wounds. Individually, these are tiny, round to ovoid, tan-white structures that resemble seeds or grains of rice.

Egg laying occurs within 1–2 hours of death. The mobile larvae will be noted by approximately 24 hours, depending on the species. If undisturbed on land, within 2–3 weeks, they will pupate, forming a hardened brown outer covering remaining on or around the body or burrowed within the surrounding soil.

Maggots will enter anatomic openings, wounds, and body cavities and feed off of the body tissues and organs. Maggots feeding on the skin may leave multiple, small, round (2–4 mm in diameter) holes, leaving a lace-like or web-like pattern on the skin that may be misinterpreted as antemortem blunt, sharp, or other penetrating injuries. With time and if left undisturbed, masses of maggots will completely consume the flesh and expose the bones (skeletonization). Their activities constitute a type of anthropophagy.

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Case 7


Fig7.1 Skeletonization of the head.

Skeletonization is the total or partial loss of soft tissue (complete or incomplete skeletonization, respectively) with resultant exposure of bones. Incomplete skeletonization may proceed to complete skeletonization but this does not necessarily take place since only discrete portions of the body may be exposed to the proper environmental conditions.

The length of the postmortem interval needed for skeletonization of a body or parts of it is highly variable and mainly depends on the ambient temperature, insect colonization of the body, and scavenger activity. Under warm to hot environmental conditions, and increasingly under the influence of moisture, aerobic bacterial activity from the outside is accelerated with resultant advanced manifestation of odor of the body, attracting insects and scavengers to the body. Skeletonization and mummification often occur together in different or identical parts of the body.

Usually all skin, soft tissue, and muscles are lost before a skeleton becomes disarticulated. Disarticulation of bones in skeletonized bodies is more often seen to take place from the head downward and from central to peripheral than in the reverse way.

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Case 8


Fig.1 Variation of access to the face from an extended bimastoid resection.


Fig.2 access to the skull and face in a case of suspected rhinoplasty surgery malpractice.

The head must be slightly raised with appropriate supports. There is no one correct device; each autopsy surgeon prefers his or her own method. A No. 22 blade on a long scalpel holder should be used to incise the whole scalp from the outside. Before the incision is made, a generous sample of hair should be cut from the vertex and preserved, should toxicological testing prove necessary at a later date (an empty red-top tube or even a glassine envelope can serve as a container). Once deposited in hair, drugs do not degrade, and can be detected and even quantified years or decades later.

Begin the incision on the right side of the head, as low as possible just behind the earlobe, but without going below it. Then extend the incision to the same point at the opposite side of the head. This is the so-called bimastoid resection. When the incision is made in this fashion, it facilitates overturning the scalp. A big enough strip of tissue behind the auricle must be saved to allow for suturing the scalp back in place. After enough of the scalp has been incised to allow the prosector to grasp the two edges with the hands, the front and back halves of the scalp are overturned, anteriorly and posteriorly, respectively.

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Part 1 --- Part 2 --- Part 3 --- Part 4 --- Part 5 --- Part 6 --- Part 7 --- Part 8 --- Part 9 --- Part 10 --- Part 11 --- Part 12 --- Part 13 --- Part 14 --- Part 15 --- Part 16 --- Part 17 --- Part 18 --- Part 19 --- Part 20 --- Part 21 --- Part 22 --- Part 23 --- Part 24 --- Part 25


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This post is for educational purposes only and is nonprofit. Under Section 107 of the US Copyright Act of 1976; Allowance is made for "Fair Use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. OP is not a medical expert. No copyright infringement intended. This post does not encourage or glorify violence/harassment. Images might have been upscaled and enhanced. Text might have been shortened and simplified/reorganized for online view.

[Soggyjhon]

Case 3 - Almost looks like one of Oleg Vdovenko’s 3D artworks.

Case 5: Are the images connected or are they separate?

Herman with another banger! Keep it up

[Eldeanio100]

It doesn’t look like an armpit, I thought it was a moustache.

[CreepyDeathShrine]

Thank you Herman, (or if I could call you Ham?)

That hanging body is darn near beautiful.
That first skeletonization is like artwork as well.
Love the last shot, the sneaky skeleton is playing peekaboo.

[v1r]

Dang case 3 is nightmare fuel. Thank you again for a very informative post Herman, i love these.

[ride]

Case 4 - Armpit?!? It takes all kinds, I guess.

[REVZZYBAN]

More horror from Herman, Thanks

[Karma]

Ummmmm………sick. Love it. Thanks Herman.

[Pyramid_Head]

Why would he want the armpit?

[LadyCPlum]

Originally Posted by Eldeanio100 ↗

It doesn’t look like an armpit, I thought it was a moustache.

I thought I saw a nipple in that shot