Herman the Shocker
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Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. Firefighters had responded to a house fire and in the process of extinguishing…
Russia. This woman has fatal stab-cut and incised wounds on the neck from her roommate. Stab-cut and incised…
This decedent was found in a car. Given the degree of decomposition, a protected sequestered source of DNA…
In the late 1980s, young women were being stalked along Route 40 in Delaware by a man who…
The Netherlands. A view of victim on floor prior to removal and a view of void area on…
Decomposition, or putrefaction, is a combination of two processes: autolysis and bacterial action. Autolysis is the breakdown of…
This individual died in his bedroom during a house fire, no further info. Nearly 4000 Americans die each…
The August 2024 issue is out With a monthly subscription the Shocker brings you unfiltered views of…
Although putrefaction is a mainly anaerobic bacterial reduction process, decomposition is dominated by aerobic microbiological processes that may…
This woman died from a gunshot wound to her face. Severe facial destruction is shown. Lacerations on the…
Spain. Cross section of the body from a train suicide. No further info. Fig.1 Cross section of the…
Spain. This individual fell from height and suffered multiple fatal fractures in the extremities; as well as skull…
Muzzle stamp abrasion with blow back lacerations. A muzzle imprint is a mark left on a person or…
Putrefaction is the most absolute sign of death. Externally, the first sign of putrefaction (decomposition) is a greenish…
A fatal case of burns by flash fire which caused the death of a 41-year-old woman when she…
Postmortem scavenging is common among wild and domestic rodents; they are well known to alter or destroy the…
This individual has been run over by a train causing extensive disintegration of the body. Railway injuries are…
January 28, 2018 - Magelang, Indonesia. A relative of an elderly couple was checking in on them but…
The photograph demonstrates a classic sweeping incised wound created by an individual standing behind the decedent. It should…
The police were called to a possible suicide. The only witness to the event stated that the deceased…
Patterned abrasion on neck associated with autoerotic hanging with belt, no further info. Autoerotic death refers to the…
In contact gunshot wounds with bony tissue underlying the injury, the injuries are typically called a stellate wound,…
Spain. This individual died after getting crushed by a building under construction. No further info. Fig.1 Worker crushed…
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Suicide victim found in mid- to late stages of putrefaction. The marbled green, red, and…
Postmortem venous marbling refers to the appearance of a marbled pattern on the skin caused by pooling of…
Krönlein shot indicates a prolapse of an intact brain hemisphere or, more rarely, of both brain hemispheres in…
A gunshot wound is an injury caused by a bullet or other projectile fired from a weapon, such…
Mummification occurs in hot, dry environments. The body dehydrates and bacterial proliferation may be minimal. The skin becomes…
Russia. A mentally ill woman killed her mentally ill mother in their shared apartment. The daughter used a…
This homeless man was found dead inside a concrete shelter. The body showed. evidence of postmortem animal scavenging.…
Los Angeles, US. This individual had been missing for a month when his body was found. No further…
The July 2024 issue is out With a monthly subscription the Shocker brings you unfiltered views of…
Although putrefaction is a mainly anaerobic bacterial reduction process, decomposition is dominated by aerobic microbiological processes that may…
Saponification is the process of the conversion of fatty tissue to adipocere. Saponification usually occurs in unoxygenated, alkaline,…
This individual has a fatal crushing injury to his head, no further info. A crushing brain injury causes…
Spain. This individual died after getting crushed by a building under construction. No further info. Fig.1 Worker crushed…
Patterned injury on the gluteal area of a victim who jumped from the 5th floor of a building,…
Tattooing results fom close range discharge, with gunpowder particles being impregnated into the skin. The dispersion pattern and…
Carbonized corpse prepared for dental identification. Postmortem identification represents one of the great branches of study and research…
Typical postmortem changes combined with mud and debris as well as sloughing of the skin of the hands…
Nassau County, New York. This photo depicts the position the body assumes as a result of intense heat…
September, 2020 - Jacareí, Brazil. An elderly man identified as Benedito Moreira was arrested on Tuesday, September 22,…
In contact gunshot wounds with bony tissue underlying the injury, the injuries are typically called a stellate wound,…
Victim of hemorrhaging peptic ulcer found on the floor in his bathroom. Note the brown color of the…
Switzerland. In October 2006, around 12 a.m., the Geneva Police Department police were informed that the body of…
Spain. Extensive destruction caused by an explosive device. No further info. Fig.1 Extensive destruction caused by an explosive…
Pontiac, Michigan. In a police interview, a man admitted to having gay tendencies at the age of seven.…
Skin slippage is a part of the decomposition process when the top layers of skin become disconnected from…
A recently deceased 48-year-old male was found supine, in a wooded area (Fig.1). There was a belt around…
When attempting to identify the remains of an unknown decomposed individual, it may be necessary to deflesh the…
Thermal charring (“fourth degree burns”). If an individual dies in a fire that continues to burn after death,…
Patterned lacerations from the claw end of a hammer. Claw hammers have the specific characteristic of having two…
Postmortem feeding from fish and crustaceans found on this body retrieved from the ocean. No further info. Bodies…
Multiple stab wounds into the back consistent with piquerism in a case of sexual homicide. Piquerism (from the…
The June 2024 issue is out With a monthly subscription the Shocker brings you unfiltered views of…
Russia - 2018. A 21-year-old Russian woman has been detained after confessing to dismembering the body of her…
Frontal aspect of a train after collision with a 63-year-old woman who remained standing between the rails in…
Spain. This middle-aged man committed suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning, he connected the exhaust to a tube that…
Contact wound of the left breast from a double barrel 0.12 gauge shotgun with a muzzle impression from…
Facial dissection. Facial fractures may not be visualized by radiologic imaging techniques. In this case it was important…
A garbage truck driver under the influence of drugs did not see his coworker behind him and reversed…
Circular saw cuts of the neck in a suicide, no further info. Accidental table saw injuries are common…
Cranial burst from a contact gunshot wound to the forehead. No further info. In the head, neck, and…
27-year-old man was playing with a .40 caliber handgun and accidentally shot himself in the head. No further…
Spain. Maxillary fractures caused by shotgun blast suicide with entrance via the oral cavity. No further info. In…
Various insects may take advantage of the nutritional factors a decomposing body has to offer whether through natural…
This individual fell from a height in rough terrain, and the body was cut in half from the…
This individual has greenish putrefaction skin discoloration and purging of putrefactive fluid from mouth and nostrils. During the…
This is the case of a 41-year-old male with a two-year history of depressed mood, for which he…
Associated with putrefaction is the production of gases. These gases, primarily located in the abdomen, cause the body…
Spain. Suicide by hanging with two turns of the ligature and detail of the two furrows and jugular…
The May 2024 issue is out With a monthly subscription the Shocker brings you unfiltered views of…
Germany - February 20, 2008. 32-year-old Matthias Schoormann, AKA Troll, had played guitar in a black metal band…
Powder tattooing is seen in this intermediate range gunshot wound. The actual entrance site is somewhat irregular, because…
USA. A 37-year-old woman was found dead on a sofa. Foam cone from nose and mouth. 100 ug/hr…
Australia. This middle aged adult male has blunt- and sharp-force trauma injuries to the head and neck after…
India. On a fateful day, a 27-year-old mechanic was fixing the compressor of a nonworking AC when there…
On May 2, 2009, at approximately 1:30 in the morning, attorneys Barbara Scharton and Daniel Lyons, were murdered…
This individual committed suicide using a shotgun, no further info. The head is the most common location for…
There are five stages of decomposition, namely fresh, bloated, active decay, advanced decay, and skeletal stage. These stages…
Spain. There was no info if this was a suicide or an accident. Nitrous oxide is an inflammable…
Spain. Homicide. Gagging is a form of asphyxia which results from forcing a gag such as rolled up…
Multiple irregularly distributed deep stab wounds to the head and back: homicide by a perpetrator suffering from paranoid…
The forces necessary to cause skeletal fracture is usually significantly greater but may be dependent on the condition…
Lenexa, Kansas, US. Police were dispatched to an apartment complex at the request of a resident, who advised…
Russia. This individual died at his home from thromboembolism, he was found a week later, during that time…
Marbling is a common finding usually found after at least 24 h since death occurred and is a…
Germany. A 40-year-old man who lived alone was found deceased in his apartment on the 13th floor of…
Contact gunshot wound from a shotgun slug. The entrance wound can be seen under the chin and the…
The April 2024 issue is out With a monthly subscription the Shocker brings you unfiltered views of…
A 41-year-old woman, from Lalitpur, Kathmandu, Nepal, who was decapitated by her husband in their bedroom. The victim…
This individual committed suicide with a gunshot under the chin using a rifle also resulting in a complete…
Italy. The victim was a 56-year-old woman whose body was found by the rescue team to be in…
An armed paramilitary group of about 30 men invaded the La Ceiba estate in sector Marimonda I, in…
USA. This apparent case of a sex slaying is actually a natural death due to a ruptured aneurysm.…
Contact gunshot wound with stellate blow back lacerations and singeing. In contact gunshot wounds with bony tissue underlying…
Suicide of a 53-year-old woman who inflicted cuts to both sides of her neck and to the flexor…
Explosive-induced trauma of the upper posterior part of the trunk with decapitation and gaping lacerations of the superior…
Decomposition of a corpse is a continual process that can take from weeks to years, depending on the…
Body in stages of black putrefaction. Black putrefaction is the stage where the exposed flesh blackens, and the…
