Citation

Ampanozi G, Ruder TD, Preiss U, Aschenbroich K, Germerott T, Filograna L, Thali MJ. Leg. Med. (Elsevier) 2010; 12(5): 238-241.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, Japanese Society of Legal Medicine, Publisher Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.legalmed.2010.04.004

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Hatchet blows to the human skull often cause fatal injuries. We present a case of homicide by hatchet blow that underwent CT, MRI, and autopsy examination. Skull fragmentation, fracture lines, and brain injuries were demonstrated prior to autopsy. Many of the hatchet-specific characteristics (flaking, crushing, shattering, and fracture lines) described in literature were observed in the post-mortem imaging of this case.