Chapter 14
Homicide
2
HOMICIDE AND THE LAW
• The types of deaths that confront the police can be
divided into four major categories:
–
–
–
–
Homicide
Natural causes
Suicide
Accidental causes
• The goal of classifying
a death in one of these
categories is to assign
responsibility in both a
moral sense and a legal
sense.
Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
3
HOMICIDE AND THE LAW
• Homicide
– The intentional or negligent killing of one human
being by another.
• Justifiable homicide
– The killing of another in self defense or defense of
others when danger of death or serious bodily
harm exits.
Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
4
HOMICIDE AND THE LAW
• Excusable homicide
– The killing of a human being without intention and
where there is no gross negligence.
• Criminal homicide (felonious homicide)
– The wrongful killing of a human being without
justification or excuse in the law. Typically, there are
two degrees of the offense:
• Murder
• Manslaughter
Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
5
HOMICIDE AND THE LAW
• Murder
– The unlawful killing of a human being by another
with malice aforethought.
• Felony murder
– The killing of a person during the commission or
attempted commission of a felony other than
murder (e.g., during a robbery).
• Most state statutes provide for varying degrees
of murder, such as first-degree and seconddegree murder, or “murder one” and “murder
two.”
Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
6
HOMICIDE AND THE LAW
• Manslaughter
– The unlawful killing of another without malice.
– It may be:
• voluntary, upon sudden heat of passion
• involuntary, in the commission of an unlawful act
• negligent, occurring as a result of an action that could
have been avoided
Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
7
HOMICIDE AND THE LAW
• Voluntary manslaughter is intentionally killing
another in the sudden heat of passion caused
by words or actions that provide a provocation.
• Involuntary manslaughter is accidentally killing
another as a result of an act of extreme and
culpable negligence.
Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
8
Murder and Corpus Delicti
• Corpus delicti is the actual body in a murder
case, but corpus delicti also can be used to
mean any material evidence of a crime or
objective proof in a criminal case.
Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
9
Murder and Corpus Delicti
• One does not always need to produce the body
to obtain a conviction of murder.
• It is possible to prove the corpus delicti of a
murder case by presenting presumptive
(circumstantial) evidence that suggests the
defendant’s guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
• The murder trial of John Webster
Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
10
Modes of Death
• Accidental Deaths
– May include a backyard pool drowning, an
accidental fall down a flight of stairs, an unintended
drug overdose, a hunting accident, and so forth.
• Natural Causes
– Heart attacks, strokes, various diseases, and even
simply old age.
Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
11
Modes of Death
• Suicides
– Shooting, poisoning, hanging, drug overdose,
carbon monoxide, and wrist cutting are all
commonly employed by individuals seeking to kill
themselves.
• Criminal Homicides (Murders)
– Murder involves an individual intentionally killing
another through any of an assortment of methods.
Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
12
MOTIVES FOR HOMICIDE
• If an underlying motive for the homicide can be
determined, a suspect may be identified.
• Motive gives the investigation a kind of focus
and helps the investigator better understand
why a homicide has occurred.
Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
13
Unplanned or Spontaneous Murders
• Use of drugs or alcohol, resulting in a fight that turns
lethal
• Reaching for a handgun or rifle during the heat of an
argument
• Dispute between a boyfriend and girlfriend
• Dispute between friends over a boyfriend or girlfriend
• Disagreement over money or a business transaction
• Heat of passion when a spouse discovers his or her
partner is cheating with another
• Unintentional killing during the commission of another
crime, such as robbery or burglary
Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
14
Unplanned or Spontaneous Murders
• Spontaneous murders lack planning and
premeditation and are highly related to
opportunity.
• Jealousy or emotionally charged disputes are
typically at the root of spontaneous murders.
• Spontaneous murders have a high clearance
rate because witnesses and evidence are
frequently available to the investigator.
Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
15
Murder for Financial Gain
• Often occur between individuals who have a
professional or contractual relationship or are
linked as beneficiaries of a will or insurance
policy.
• Unlike spontaneous homicides, murders for
financial gain are carefully planned and
generally meticulously carried out.
Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
16
Sexually Motivated Murders
• May be planned and intentional or may occur
spontaneously as a secondary aspect of a rape
or another sex crime.
• Another type of sexually motivated murder is
killing a spouse to make way for another mate.
• This is more likely when a large estate is under
the control of the murdered spouse or when a
divorce might result in the loss of large amounts
of money or property.
Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
17
Murder for Revenge
• “Did the deceased have any enemies?”
• Drug dealers
Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
18
Elimination Murders
• Elimination murders are committed to remove
some obstacle to a desired goal.
• Checking on the background of the victim may
provide clues to the reason for the murder.
• In some cases, the victim may have been
eliminated because he or she was an informant
or potential informant for police authorities.
Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
19
Motiveless Murders
• There are at least two forms of what might be
called motiveless murders. These include:
– stranger-to-stranger murders
– mistaken identity murders
• Hate crimes
• Mistaken identity murders are not especially
common
Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
20
THE HOMICIDE INVESTIGATION
• The responding officer’s first priority is to give
emergency aid to the victim, if he or she is still alive, or
to determine that a death has occurred.
• There are a number of ways to determine whether a
person is dead:
– Appearance
• In death, the face becomes pale or ashen and waxy, the
lower jaw drops a bit, and the mouth may sag open.
• The eyes become soft to the touch, and the eyelids may
be open slightly but will show no sign of movement or
reflex action when touched.
Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
21
Determining whether a Person is
Dead
• Pupillary reaction: The pupils of a living person’s eyes
contract when a bright light, such as a flashlight beam,
is shined into the eyes.
• Pulse: A check for a pulse may be made on the wrist,
inside the upper arm at the elbow, or under the chin at
the neck.
• Visible breathing: Note the movement of the chest or
abdominal area; a mirror placed just below the nostrils
may also detect breath (as a fogging of the mirror).
Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
22
Determining whether a Person is
Dead
• Nose
– Listen or place hand at nostrils to hear or feel breathing.
• Muscle resistance or muscle reflex
– Muscle resistance and reflex are present in the body to some
degree until death.
– Note whether limbs can be moved without resistance.
• Cyanosis
– In death, the lips become cyanotic, or bluish, as do the nail
beds.
Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
23
Procedures in the Preliminary
Investigation
• Record the time they were notified of the death
complaint.
• Record the identification information about the
complainant. Include the date and the location from
which the complainant called.
• En route to the scene (depending on the elapsed time
between the call and the alleged death) be alert for
possible fleeing suspects, people with fresh wounds,
torn or bloody clothing, or any sort of furtive or evasive
actions.
• Record the time of arrival at the scene and the exact
location.
Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
24
Procedures in the Preliminary
Investigation
• Determine whether the victim is dead or severely
injured. Request medical assistance if necessary.
• Use caution when approaching the victim to avoid
disrupting or destroying possible evidence and to
protect your safety in case the victim is armed.
• Determine and verify the identities of those
present at the scene and anyone who left before
the officers’ arrival.
• See full list on page 297
Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
25
Arrival of Investigators and Medical
Examiner
• The lead investigator will coordinate and direct all
investigative assignments.
• As in any other criminal investigation, the homicide
scene must be secured and protected, photographed
and sketched, and all evidence must be carefully
gathered, identified, preserved, and forwarded to the
lab.
• In addition to securing and preserving physical
evidence, investigators should identify and interview
possible witnesses and suspects, as well as relatives
and friends of the deceased.
Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
26
Arrival of Investigators and Medical
Examiner
• All violent or suspicious deaths require the
coroner or medical examiner to determine the
time and precise cause of death.
• The determination of criminal responsibility in a
death has evolved into a highly specialized field
of medical science called forensic pathology.
• Forensic pathology
– A specialized field of medicine that studies and
interprets changes in body tissue and fluids in
relation to criminal investigation.
Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
27
Identifying the Victim
• Fingerprints
– Fingerprint identification is the most efficient way to identify
the body of a murder victim.
– However, this technique is effective only if the victim’s prints
are on file and if prints can be obtained from the corpse.
• Skeletal Studies
– May provide a basis for identification.
– This is especially true if the body has any skeletal
peculiarities, such as old fractures, metal plates or pins, or
evidence of certain bone diseases.
– Also, bones may provide clues about the victim’s age, gender,
and ethnicity.
Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
28
Identifying the Victim
• Visual Inspection
– The victim may be recognized by someone who
knows him or her.
– Visual identification combined with another
method, such as fingerprint matching, is a favored
method for reliable identification.
• Personal Effects
– Drivers license, jewelry, identification cards, or
letters in pockets, a wallet, or a purse.
Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
29
Identifying the Victim
• Tattoos and Scars
– Alone, these markings provide only tentative or
somewhat unreliable identification, but in
conjunction with other, more reliable forms of
identification, skin markings can lead to a positive
identification.
• Odontology (Dental Evidence)
– Teeth, fillings, inlays, bridges, crowns, and so forth is
valuable because teeth are among the most durable
parts of the human body.
Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
30
Identifying the Victim
• Clothing
– Cleaner’s marks, labels, initials, and similar
information.
– Articles of clothing in themselves are seldom unique
enough to provide a reliable basis for identification.
• Photographs
– Photos of the victim are sometimes published in
local papers or shown on local news programs.
Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
31
Estimating the Time of Death
• It is important to establish the time of death as
precisely as possible.
• Typically, both the investigator and the medical
examiner are responsible for estimating the
time of death.
• Only when a murder has witnesses can
investigators pinpoint the time of death with
absolute precision.
Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
32
Rigor Mortis
• Rigor mortis
– A contracting of muscles of a body after death that
disappears over time.
– Warm temperatures accelerate its appearance and
disappearance, and cold slows it down.
– Usually begins two to four hours after death and affects
the entire body in approximately six to twelve hours.
– Will frequently disappear in twenty-four to thirty-six
hours.
– It disappears in about the same sequence as it appears.
– The early stages of rigor mortis can be noted in the jaw.
Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
33
Rigor Mortis
• Cadaveric spasm
– A rigidity of certain muscles that usually occurs
when the victim is holding something at the time of
death and the hand closes tightly around the object.
– Sometimes a sign of suicide.
Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
34
Livor Mortis (Postmortem Lividity)
• Livor mortis
– A dark discoloration of the body where blood has
pooled or drained to the lowest level
– Also called postmortem lividity.
– It is caused by blood draining to the parts of the
body nearest the ground when the heart stops
beating and circulating the blood.
– It is especially useful to consider when determining
if a body may have been moved after death.
Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
35
Livor Mortis (Postmortem Lividity)
• Lividity usually begins within one hour after
death, congeals after three or four hours, and
reaches a maximum in ten to twelve hours.
Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
36
Body Temperature
• After death, the body tends to lose heat at
about 1 to 1.5 degrees per hour until it reaches
room temperature.
• Factors influencing the time required to cool the
body include the difference in temperature
between the body and the medium in which it is
found.
Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
37
Body Decomposition
• Decomposition is the breaking down of a human body
due to the effects of temperature, animal and insect
attack, and general putrefaction through the softening
and liquefaction of tissue and the conversion of soft
tissues to liquids and gases.
• The actual rate at which the human body decomposes
depends on a number of factors:
–
–
–
–
air temperature
levels of moisture
the body’s own bacteria and enzyme levels
assaults by animals or insects
Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
38
Body Decomposition
• The human body has a greater specific gravity
than water, and a corpse may sink initially when
placed in water.
• However, within three days to a week
(depending on water temperature) the body will
surface because of the formation of gases.
• Adipocere
– A whitish-gray, soapy or waxy substance that forms
on the surface of a body left for weeks in a damp
location.
Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
39
Carrion Insects
• Forensic entomologist
– A person who specializes in the study of insects in
relation to determining the location, time, and
cause of death of a human victim.
Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
40
Estimating the Time of Death
Other Indicators
• Contents of the stomach
• Watches and other timepieces
Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
41
Developing a Suspect
• Suggested investigative procedures for
developing a case against a suspect who is in
custody:
– Administer a polygraph examination if the suspect is
willing and signs a waiver of legal rights.
– Have the suspect reenact the crime, and make a
videotape of this reenactment.
– Take photographs of the suspect.
Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
42
Developing a Suspect
• Collect fingernail clippings and hair samples from the
suspect.
• Examine the suspect for wounds, bite marks, or
scratches.
• Take fingerprints of the suspect, and check them
against available files.
• Check all telephone calls made by the suspect during
the recent past, and verify the identities of people
called.
• Verify all statements made by the suspect to either
corroborate or disprove information given by witnesses
or other sources.
Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
43
TYPES OF DEATHS INVESTIGATED
AND WEAPONS USED
Natural Death
• In natural deaths, the coroner or the medical
examiner’s office is primarily interested in
establishing a cause to:
 Rule out unnatural causes
 Determine whether the death was an accident, a
suicide, or a homicide
 Eliminate dangerous conditions
 Determine liability
Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
44
TYPES OF DEATHS INVESTIGATED
AND WEAPONS USED
Suicide
• Many deaths by suicide have all the outward
appearances of murder to an untrained eye.
• As a rule, however, self-inflicted injuries have
certain fairly predictable physical features.
• Notes:
– If a note is found, investigators should be careful not
to handle it and should learn whether other
members of the family or witnesses have already
handled it.
Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
45
Procedures in Suicide Investigations
• Examine the victim. If doubt exists about the victim’s
being dead, call for an ambulance and administer first
aid while awaiting the ambulance.
• If the victim is obviously dead, observe the scene
carefully for indications of a struggle, the locations of
objects in the room, the positions of chairs, the
contents of ashtrays, and any weapons, pills,
prescription bottles, glasses, suicide notes, and so on.
• Notify headquarters of findings at the scene and
request the coroner.
• Be alert for efforts to make the victim’s death appear
accidental.
Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
46
Procedures in Suicide Investigations
• Ask about the medical history, ailments, medications taken,
and prescriptions (type, when filled, amount remaining,
etc.).
• Examine any containers of prescription drugs and the
accompanying labels.
– A prescription drug label should have the name of the drug and
the name of the physician who issued the prescription.
– Generally, the name of the pharmacy is also on the label.
– The label should also indicate the date the prescription was filled,
the number of tablets or capsules originally in the container, and
the recommended dosage.
Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
47
Procedures in Suicide Investigations
• Note the location of the medication and any indication
of overdose or recent use.
– Also note any containers (glasses or cups) or loose tablets or
capsules near the body.
• Check with relatives, friends, and neighbors.
– Before committing suicide, a person may make suicidal
statements, give away personal items, or engage in certain
other behaviors.
• Check for suicide notes (usually found quite close to
the body).
– With handwritten notes, compare the handwriting on the
note with known samples of the victim’s writing.
• Preserve the note.
Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
48
Poisoning
• Poisoning is among the oldest methods of
murder.
• Many poisoning attempts are thwarted because
the assailant uses too much poison.
– As a result, the victim vomits up most of the toxin
before it can cause lethal damage.
• Toxicological screening
– An examination of body tissue or fluids for poisons
or other toxins.
Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
49
Stabbing and Cutting Wounds
• Stabbing and cutting wounds differ in depth,
shape, and size.
• Incisions are made quickly by the sharp edge of
an instrument, so bruises are usually not
present.
• As a general rule, incisions are deepest at the
point where the cutting edge of the instrument
first cut the skin.
• Thus, the direction of the wound can be
determined by examining the cut from its
deepest to shallowest points.
Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
50
Stabbing and Cutting Wounds
Cutting wounds produced by a singleedge blade
Lacerations on head
from tire iron
Defense stab wound
on inside of arm
Penetrating stab wound caused by a
sharp object
Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
51
Stabbing and Cutting Wounds
Defense wounds
– Injuries on the hand or forearms of a victim who has
attempted to fend off an attack.
– Investigators should carefully examine the hands,
arms, and shoulders of victims to identify possible
defense wounds.
– Bruises on the knuckles of a victim should also be
noted because they may indicate that the victim
struck his or her assailant.
Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
52
Gunshot Wounds
• Investigators should note both the entry and
exit wounds of a gunshot.
– Wipe ring (smudging)
• A gray ring around a gunshot wound resulting from the
deposit of gunpowder by a gun blast at close range.
– Tattooing
• The burned skin around a gunshot wound resulting from
a gun blast (muzzle flash) when fired at close range.
Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
53
Gunshot Wounds
Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
54
Gunshot Wounds
• When a gun is fired while being held against the skin of
the victim, a contact wound results.
– Contact wound
• A wound created when a gun is fired while being held against
the skin of the victim.
• Typically found in self-inflicted wounds and in some executiontype murders.
– The difference between entry and exit wounds is observable.
Exit wounds are:
• generally larger than entry wounds
• are likely to bleed more profusely than entry wounds
• are often irregularly shaped
Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
55
Asphyxia
• Asphyxiation
– Death due to a lack of oxygen and an excess of carbon
dioxide in the blood.
– Body discoloration
• Usually quite pronounced and is characteristically blue.
– In cases of asphyxiation from strangulation, one frequently
finds hemorrhaging in the eyes (broken blood vessels in the
white portion, which appear as red blotches, known as
petechiae.
Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
56
Asphyxia
• Strangulation
– External pressure closes the airway or compresses the main
arteries in the neck
– Oxygen is withheld from the lungs
– Blood supply to the brain is drastically curtailed
– Death occurs
• Hanging
– Most hangings are suicides, but some are accidental.
– Victims are found in sitting, standing, and lying positions.
– Belts, towels, bandages, wire, fabric strips, rope, and
assorted other tying materials are used.
Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
57
Characteristic Bruise Patterns in
Homicide and Suicide Strangulation
Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
58
Asphyxia
• Hanging
– Hanging does not require that the body drop or
swing freely, because only pressure is required to
cause death.
– In hangings, ligature marks typically start below the
chin and travel up diagonally toward the ears or the
top of the head.
Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
59
Asphyxia
• Smothering
– A fairly uncommon mode of murder.
– People under the influence of drugs and alcohol, invalids, the
aged, and infants are much more likely to be victims of
accidental smotherings.
– In each of these cases, the victim is likely to turn face down
onto a pillow or to become tangled in blankets and, owing to
an intoxicated or weakened condition, accidentally smother
to death.
• Infanticide
Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
60
Asphyxia
• Choking
– Choking involves a foreign substance or object
blocking the throat and airway and generally is
accidental.
Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
61
Asphyxia
• Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
– Death from carbon monoxide may be an accident, a
suicide, or occasionally a homicide.
– Perhaps the most frequent source of carbon
monoxide poisoning is the exhaust of a car.
• Volatile Intoxicant Sniffing
– Volatile intoxicants include all substances that when
inhaled produce altered states of consciousness.
– “Huffing”
Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
62
Asphyxia
• Drug Overdoses
– The respiratory center of the central nervous system
is depressed by certain drugs.
– Muscle paralysis, including paralysis of the muscles
of respiration.
• Autoerotic Asphyxiation
– Seeking sexual gratification by near asphyxia.
– A rope or other ligature around the neck reduces
the flow of air and oxygen to the brain, and at the
same time, the individual may masturbate.
Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
63
Asphyxia
Autoerotic Asphyxiation
• Typically, the body of the victim is found nude or with
genitalia exposed.
• In some cases, men are found dressed in women’s underwear
or clothing.
• There is often evidence of masturbation.
• There may be sexually stimulating paraphernalia, such as
vibrators, sexual aids, or pornographic photos or magazines.
• Protective measures may have been taken, such as placing
padding between the ligature and the neck to prevent
marking.
• Mirrors, intended to allow the victim to observe the ritual,
may be found near the body.
Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
64
Asphyxia
Drowning
• Death by drowning results when any liquid
enters the breathing passages and prevents the
access of air to the lungs.
• A person can drown when only the mouth and
nose are under the surface.
• Most drownings are accidents.
Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
65
Vehicular Manslaughter
• Vehicular manslaughter may involve:
– one or more cars
– a collision with a pedestrian, or the death of one or
more passengers
– may result from gross negligent behavior
– reckless driving
– driving while under the influence of alcohol or other
mind-altering substances
Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
66
Vehicular Manslaughter
• See investigative procedures on page 296.
Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
67
Suspicious Circumstances
• The criminal codes of many states provide for
various circumstances in which a physician,
funeral director, or other person shall notify the
coroner’s office of a death that may have
occurred under suspicious circumstances.
• May order the Autopsy.
Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.