How to Interpret Autopsy Reports in Shooting Deaths

Interpreting an autopsy report can be difficult. A forensic pathologist does not just identify the cause of death, he establishes all the facts with any potential bearing on criminal or civil proceedings. Reading an autopsy report for a shooting death may seem like an insurmountable task. However, deciphering autopsy reports is less complicated if you are familiar with terminology, diagrams and methods employed by forensic pathologists.

Things You'll Need

• Autopsy Report
• Computer
• Internet Access

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Instructions

Instructions

• 1

  Obtain a copy of the autopsy report. In some states, the county medical examiner will have those documents. In others, autopsies are handled by the state medical examiner. In most states, this confidential report is only made available to immediate family members of the deceased, their personal physician or an investigating officer, if a crime was involved. Occasionally, journalists are allowed to access this information with the permission of the immediate family or through special court proceedings.

• 2

  Get familiar with the report's terminology. Use a highlighter to mark unfamiliar terms. Look up these words and phrases at the library or by using an on-line medical dictionary. Some words, phrases and findings will be the same in any autopsy report. They will be related to such facts as the deceased's condition and health at the time of death, as well as their decomposition level. Other terminology, such as "trajectory," the bullet's flight from muzzle to target, or "stippling" particles of burned powder emitted from a gun, are found exclusively in shooting death reports.

• 3

  Become familiar with the diagrams used in an autopsy report. The Armed Forces Institute of Pathology website offers links to diagrams a medical examiner might use to denote findings. Examiners make notes and mark on these diagrams to help them determine the facts of the case.
  In shooting death cases; forensic pathologists make determinations as to where the bullet entered the body and if and where it exited. Often, bullet trajectory studies and computerized simulations are employed to correlate the two wounds.
  The report should record the location, size and shape of the entry and exit wounds to indicate the type of weapon and ammunition used.
  It should also show calculations and measurements recording the distance and angle from which the gun was fired. This helps investigators determine if the shooting was a homicide, suicide or accident, and can indicate other details, such as the height and placement of the shooter.

• 4

  If necessary, call the office of the medical examiner where the report originated and ask for the pathologist who performed the autopsy. Ask detailed questions until the report's findings are clear.