Crossbow injuries: A case report

Smyk, Daniel S.

doi:10.1016/j.jflm.2008.12.022

Cited by 18 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…It highlighted a number of cases where bow and arrows and crossbows were used to cause death, including a case of suicide by crossbow, among others. [12][13][14] This study indicated a number of different shapes of arrowheads, including "bullet", "blunt", "judo", and "broadhead". Each of these had varying sizes and cross-sectional surface areas.…”

Section: Projectiles Damagementioning

confidence: 82%

Forensic textile damage analysis: recent advances

Williams¹

2018

RRFMS

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Textiles damage analysis is an invaluable tool in forensic investigations and can be used to help resolve cases of stabbings, shootings, and sexual assaults. It also has the potential to resolve arson attacks and "acid attacks". Here, the literature is explored in order to review research relating to blunt force damage, stab and slash cuts, the phenomenon of falsification of evidence in sexual assaults, projectiles damage, and the effect of decomposition upon textiles damage, among others. It is clear that there is a paucity of research in the area, but where the research has been carried out, it has been informative and impactful. However, there are areas that need further work, including a better understanding of normal wear and tear, and the potential for chemicals to cause textiles damage. One area that is in a significant need of further work is the development of a robust interpretational framework.

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Section: Projectiles Damagementioning

confidence: 82%

Forensic textile damage analysis: recent advances

Williams¹

2018

RRFMS

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“…High leverage is used to pull the bowstring and therefore the arrow can be shot with great force, making crossbows highly lethal 1,7,14,15 . Because arrows can be shot across long distances simply by pulling the trigger, the crossbow became widely prevalent in Europe and were frequently used in hunting and fighting from the 10th to the 15th centuries 8 . After the invention of guns, crossbows were used only for competition or hunting and not as weapons 8 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Autopsy Case of a Penetrating Wound to the Left Cerebral Hemisphere Caused by an Accidental Shooting With a Crossbow

Kondo¹,

Takahashi²,

Kuse³

et al. 2018

Am J Forensic Med Pathol

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A crossbow is a bow that shoots an arrow when a gun-like trigger is pulled. Deaths caused by accidental crossbow shootings are extremely rare. Here we describe an autopsy case of a penetrating wound to the left cerebral hemisphere caused by an accidental shooting with a crossbow. A man in his early 60s who lived with his wife and had used crossbows for 20 years as his hobby was found one early morning in the shed of his house, collapsed and bleeding from the head and neck. He was taken to a hospital and died after approximately 3 days of conservative treatment. At autopsy, a penetrating wound between the upper part of the left anterior neck and the left frontoparietal region was evident. Traumatic intracerebral hematoma was observed in the left frontal lobe, and severe traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage was present throughout the brain. Cerebral contusion and hematoma without any organization were noted around the penetration. The cause of death was determined to be cerebral contusion and intracerebral hematoma due to the penetrating wound by the crossbow arrow. He was probably trying to load an arrow into the crossbow by placing it on the floor, pointing upward, and made a mistake in its operation that resulted in the shooting of the arrow. This case is unique because it was a rare accidental death caused by a crossbow arrow, and a detailed histopathological examination was performed.

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“…Crossbow injuries are caused mainly by direct passage of the bolt (11). The extent of the injuries primarily depends on the depth of the bolt’s penetration.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…KEYWORDS: forensic science, crossbow, suicide, wound pattern, penetrating aortic injury, ability to act Arrow injuries were quite common in the past. Nowadays suicidal (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11), accidental (12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19) as well as homicidal (3,5,11,(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25) crossbow injuries represent extremely rare fatal events worldwide, despite the availability of crossbows in many countries. In this paper, we present an unusual case of a suicide where the victim sustained arrow-caused trauma to the trunk after having shot himself with a crossbow.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Fatal Suicidal Crossbow Injury—The Ability to Act

Zátopková

Hejna

2011

Journal of Forensic Sciences

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We report a case of a 58-year-old man who committed suicide using a modern crossbow. The victim shot himself in the chest with a conical field-tip arrow from close proximity. We first presumed that this was a case of homicide committed with a firearm. We were, however, subsequently proved wrong. The reasons for the primary statement were as follows: the external morphology of the entrance wound being typical of a firearm discharged from long distance; the perforation found on the victim's clothing; the absence of the firearm at the place of death; the absence of the arrow in the wound. All of these reasons forced us initially to conclude that the case was one of homicide. In the reported case, the man, after having been shot with an arrow, was further able to act, even though the abdominal aorta and liver were seriously injured. While the arrow was in the wound, the injuries may not have led to massive bleeding because of incomplete tamponade of the defects by the arrow shaft. Pulling the arrow out of the victim's wound track initiated massive bleeding. Despite all these injuries, the man was capable of pulling the bow string again and reloading the crossbow with the arrow used in the first attempt. This case demonstrates that forensic investigations into crossbow injuries can be very difficult, especially when the bolt has been removed from the body.

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Crossbow injuries: A case report

Cited by 18 publications

References 11 publications

Forensic textile damage analysis: recent advances

Forensic textile damage analysis: recent advances

Autopsy Case of a Penetrating Wound to the Left Cerebral Hemisphere Caused by an Accidental Shooting With a Crossbow

Fatal Suicidal Crossbow Injury—The Ability to Act

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