Homicide or suicide? A probabilistic approach for the evaluation of the manner of death in sharp force fatalities.
autopsy
courtroom testimony
estimating uncertainty
forensic pathology
homicide
likelihood ratio
sharp force fatalities
suicide
weight of evidence
Journal
Journal of forensic sciences
ISSN: 1556-4029
Titre abrégé: J Forensic Sci
Pays: United States
ID NLM: 0375370
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
25 Oct 2023
25 Oct 2023
Historique:
revised:
12
10
2023
received:
22
07
2023
accepted:
13
10
2023
medline:
25
10
2023
pubmed:
25
10
2023
entrez:
25
10
2023
Statut:
aheadofprint
Résumé
The role of forensic science can be defined as providing relevant opinions to assist investigators and courts of law in answering questions. The Likelihood Ratio (LR) provides a quantitative and logical approach to communicating the strength of expert evidence. We reviewed existing forensic literature on sharp force fatalities, focusing on studies reporting the manner of death and the frequency of some characteristics that are traditionally assessed. Four studies were included, resulting in a database of 173 suicides and 354 homicides. The LR of each of the characteristic under both hypotheses (suicide and homicide) was obtained. Subsequently, the LR was computed in six fatalities with known manner of death, three suicides and three homicides, by multiplying the corresponding LR of each individual characteristic. LR ranged from 115 to 140,250 in suicidal cases and from 9 to 2728 in homicidal cases. Compared to other fields of forensic science where LR is used extensively, the values obtained in our cases of sharp force fatalities is low. However, in forensic pathology there is evidence that is outside the expert's opinion, and it is for the trier of fact, such as the judge or jury, to draw conclusions. Nevertheless, the LR serves as a tool for interpreting and weighing evidence while maintaining the distinct roles of the trier of fact and the expert. To comprehensively apply the LR in the field of sharp force deaths, it will be necessary to standardize the methodology of investigation and data collection in descriptive studies.
Identifiants
pubmed: 37877199
doi: 10.1111/1556-4029.15413
doi:
Types de publication
Journal Article
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Informations de copyright
© 2023 The Authors. Journal of Forensic Sciences published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Academy of Forensic Sciences.
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