In an autopsy, how does the examiner, for example, deduce that the victim has been slain x-amount of times with a weapon?

Question

Sometimes, when I’m watching true crime, they will say something like “the victim was struck 33 times with a hammer,” or “41 times with an axe,” etc. If it’s all in the same place, how do they maintain an accurate count? Wouldn’t it all be mush? How can they be exact?

In: 0

Answer 1

Unless the victim was unconscious at the time of the attack, stabbing, shooting, or beating them in the exact same place over and over again is quite difficult.

This is because most people will resist physical attacks by running away or holding up their arms to defend themselves and they’ll probably also wiggle around a lot in pain.

So, in most cases, when crime shows talk about, say, a victim being stabbed multiple times, they’re talking about multiple wounds.

Answer 2

Unless the victim was unconscious at the time of the attack, stabbing, shooting, or beating them in the exact same place over and over again is quite difficult.

This is because most people will resist physical attacks by running away or holding up their arms to defend themselves and they’ll probably also wiggle around a lot in pain.

So, in most cases, when crime shows talk about, say, a victim being stabbed multiple times, they’re talking about multiple wounds.