[Experimental throws with a knife to clarify a case of domestic violence]. / Messerwurf--Experimentelle Untersuchungen in einem Fall von "häuslicher Gewalt".

ABSTRACT

For an expert opinion, the course of events in a conflict resulting in a 3 cm deep and 1.8 cm wide stab wound on the neck of a woman was to be reconstructed. Based on the statements of witnesses, there were three possible scenarios 1. The knife was thrown from a distance of about one meter. 2. The knife had accidentally slipped from the hand. 3. The knife was deliberately used for a stab to the neck of the victim. The experimental setup comprised the knife presumably causing the injury and four comparable knives. The victim was represented by a pig carcass. The results of the test throws are presented and the sequence of movements is assessed as to the most probable course of events. Four male and three female subjects performed test throws which were documented by video recordings and measurements of the penetration depth. Six of the seven subjects were able to generate stab wounds by throwing the knives, whereas a knife accidentally slipping from the hand never caused a stab wound in the tests.