[Faline]

On January 22, 1991, the wife of a Marine Corps officer found her husband lying dead in the backyard of their home on the Marine Corps Air Station at El Toro, CA. He was lying on his right side, dressed in a white terrycloth bathrobe, which covered his tee shirt and pajama bottom. The victim’s Ithaca double barrel 12 gauge shotgun was in front of him with the stock under his legs and feet. A lawn chair was on top of him.




Two small blood stains measuring less than five inches in diameter were observed by the crime scene investigators in the grass about 8 to 10 inches in front of the victim’s mouth. The only other blood on the ground was under the victim’s right shoulder with an origin visible from the victim’s right ear, nose and mouth. No blood was present on the ground below or above these three areas. The base physician arrived at the scene within 30 minutes after the body was discovered. He examined the victim and pronounced him dead, as well including in his official report an estimation blood loss (EBL) at 50cc.

The Naval Investigative Service conducted the death scene investigation and determined the victim had sustained an intraoral shotgun wound but no exit wound. The decedent’s body was sent to the Orange County Sheriff/Coroner’s Office (California) for a post mortem examination. There was extensive photographic documentation of both the death scene and autopsy. In addition, skull x-rays were taken by the medical examiner.

The death certificate, dated January 23, 1991, stated death was “immediate.” This was defined on the certificate as “the interval between onset and death.” The “onset” was defined as the “Gunshot Wound, head.” The “Manner of Death” was recorded as “suicide.”

(a) X-ray of the victim’s skull from the right side showing a depressed right occipital fracture; arrow points to the depressed fracture of the occipital region of the skull behind the right ear. The small bright objects are shotgun pellets. (b) The back of the head prior to cleaning; the dark red pattern on the back of the head is blood. The blood came mainly from the mouth and nose and flowed to the back of the head during transport of the body for autopsy at the Orange County Sheriff/ Coroner’s Office. The swollen area on the back of the head and neck is outlined by blood; the posterior of the right pinna not covered by blood shows ecchymosis typical of “Battle’s sign” (see text). (c) Autopsy image with the victim’s reflected scalp revealing part of the hematoma that had formed over the depressed skull fracture:


Skull Fracture: A 2.5 cm diameter, depressed (approximately 2 cm) occipital skull fracture was demonstrated on autopsy x-rays (Fig. 3a). A photograph taken prior to the autopsy (Fig. 3b) demonstrates massive swelling of the right posterior head and neck. A hematoma was discovered immediately under that swollen area (Fig. 3c) and immediately over the depressed skull fracture. All the shotgun pellets were located within the confines of the skull. There were no bone fragments or shotgun pellets within the hematoma. The x-ray (Fig. 3a) shows the fractured bone protruding inwardly not outwardly as would occur if the fracture was the result of the intraoral shotgun wound.

(a) Ecchymosis of the right pinna and a small area anterior to the pinna; (b) the left ear has normal coloration. (c) Face of the victim showing ecchymosis of the eyes or “raccoon eyes” typical of basilar skull fracture. Extensive swelling on the right side of the face is also apparent:


Basilar Skull Fracture: There is evidence the victim also sustained basilar skull (bones at the skull base) fracture in addition to the depressed occipital skull fracture of the cranial vault. A clinical indicator of the presence of a basilar skull fracture is a purplish discoloration of the skin (ecchymosis) of the external ear and the skin over the mastoid (Fig. 3b) as well as portions of the anterior aspect of the right pinna (Fig. 4a); compare with the normal coloration of the left pinna, Fig. 4b. This is characteristic of a basilar skull fracture of the temporal pyramids at the skull base and is known as Battle’s sign. Figure 4c shows another classic clinical sign of a basilar skull fracture, ecchymosis around the eyes, known as raccoon eyes. This fracture is more anterior and involves the sphenoid bone. Both of these signs are the result of sustained bleeding from basilar skull fractures. Since the tissues at the skull base are firmly adherent, the perfusion pressure must be high enough for the blood to dissect between the bone and its covering tissue to produce these visible subcutaneous hematomas. The presence of these signs indicates the basilar fractures occurred while the victim maintained a significant systolic blood pressure. If the victim’s death was instantaneous, these classic signs of basilar skull fractures could not have developed.

Respiratory System: The autopsy report states the victim not only had blood in his large breathing passages, but the blood filled his alveoli, producing hemorrhagic frothy fluid. This was discovered when the lung tissue was sectioned at autopsy. The right lung weighed 970 grams and the left lung 440 grams. The average normal male adult lung weights are 450g (R) and 375g (L). Therefore, there was an excess of approximately 545g in the right lung. The autopsy report concluded the extra weight was blood. The specific gravity of blood is 1.058, indicating there was slightly more than 500 ml of aspirated blood in the right lung. The left lung weighed 440 grams indicating there was very little aspirated blood in the left lung. The excess lung weight could not be a result of terminal neurogenic pulmonary edema, because the excess weight would be evenly distributed to both lungs. Consequently, the victim had to have been lying on his right side when he aspirated the blood into his right lung. Central neurogenic hyperventilation is a characteristic respiratory pattern seen in severe brain stem injuries where the victim is near death. After a severe brainstem injury where a laceration of the pharynx was present, the ensuing hyperventilation would explain the presence of one-half liter of blood in the right lung.

Evidence of the victim biting his lips, likely in decorticate/decerebrate rigidity before the shotgun blast; (a) Frontal view, 1: linear abrasions at the angles of the mouth resulted from the stretch of facial tissues at moment of intraoral shotgun discharge. 2: The linear bruising and abrasions coincide with the upper middle and lateral incisors. (b) A more inferior aspect image that better shows the swelling of the lower lip, and bruising/laceration of the upper lip by the lower front teeth:


Autopsy images of the tongue; (a) dorsal tongue; (b) ventral tongue; arrows point to bruising and lacerations made by the victim’s teeth:


Oral Mucous Membranes and Tongue: The autopsy photos document lacerations of both the upper and lower lips (Fig. 5) corresponding to teeth injuries, as well lacerations of the anterior [ventral] surface of the tongue and mid tongue area (Fig. 6). These lacerations correspond mostly to the upper and lower incisors and are frequently seen after convulsive epileptic seizures. The vertical tears at both sides of the mouth are caused by rapidly expanding gas within the mouth from the shotgun blast.

Severe brainstem injuries resulting in coma can cause muscular reflex spasms termed decerebrate and decorticate postures. The violent convulsive spasms typical of decerebrate and decorticate postures are usually accompanied by uncontrolled biting of the lips and tongue that cause lacerations like those seen in this case. Furthermore, they are frequently associated with profound hyperventilation, which leads to aspiration of blood. Death is soon to follow.

Blood Loss: Intraoral gunshot wounds are the most mutilating wounds that can be sustained. When there is no exit wound, mutilation is even more severe due to rapidly expanding gases within the confines of the skull. This results in evisceration and pulpification of the brain. Consequently, one would expect an extremely bloody death scene with the scenario of a self-inflicted intraoral shotgun wound. However, the naval medical officer who was called to the scene estimated the blood loss was approximately 50 cc, hardly more than the volume of a shot glass. Moreover, in the suicide scenario, the victim was alleged to have been seated in a patio chair while holding the shotgun barrel in his mouth with his left hand, and with the butt of the gun placed on the ground next to his right foot. This would place the victim’s mouth over his torso and thighs. Yet there were no bloodstains, except for several small drops, on the front of the victim.

Positioning of Victim at Crime Scene: When the victim was discovered in the backyard of his base housing, he was lying on his right side with his lower extremities symmetrically extended, one on top of the other and his arms symmetrically flexed in front of his mouth (Fig. 1). His bathrobe neatly covered his body. All in all, the appearance was rather tidy, as if the victim was asleep on his right side. If the decedent had shot himself while sitting in the patio chair, destroying his entire brainstem, the muscles of his body would instantly become flaccid and he would have collapsed or have been projected like a rag doll. He would have been found with a disheveled bathrobe with his extremities in disarray.

[reaper1880]

awesome post sad ending for a brother marine

[Vanderson00]

Barley any blood. Strange..nice pictures, thank you =)

[Viking64]

I am glad they loaded their camera with color film before they got to the morgue.

[1Monster666]

opps he fell on a loaded gun.. must be the guns fault

[Pyramid_Head]

Great post with great detail!

[Wolf]

Decent of him to do it outside, easier to clean up.

[NEVERBACKZ]

[lagunasun]

yes, viking 64,my what a keen eye you have. color film was readily available in 1991. Though it was the period of stonehenge, we had microwaves too! (and microwavable popcorn)

[**butterflylove**]

maybe he was just practicing his sniper shots......on himself??