A multidisciplinary approach is mandatory to solve complex crimes: a case report

• Published in: Egyptian journal of forensic sciences 2019-03, Vol.9 (1), p.1-7, Article 11
• Main Authors: Ferrara, Michela, Sessa, Francesco, Rendine, Marcello, Spagnolo, Lorenzo, De Simone, Stefania, Riezzo, Irene, Ricci, Pietrantonio, Pascale, Natascha, Salerno, Monica, Bertozzi, Giuseppe, Maglietta, Francesca
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Case Report; Case reports; Crime scene reconstruction; Excessive force; Forensic canine unit; Forensic Medicine; Genetic analysis; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Murders & murder attempts; Pathology; Self defense; Touch DNA
• ISSN: 2090-5939; 2090-536X; 2090-5939
• DOI: 10.1186/s41935-019-0116-8

Background Self-defense is legitimate both in common law and in civil law systems. Nevertheless, there remains the age-old question for the prosecutor to identify the limit between the righteous self-defense and the self-defense with excessive force. In these cases, the gathering of all evidence by a forensic multidisciplinary team is essential to provide the necessary data for the prosecutor’s evaluation. Case presentation The case of a 55-year-old man who was killed in front of his neighbor’s house is described. The prosecutor alerted the forensic team, classifying the crime as a gunshot homicide. The neighbor immediately admitted his responsibility as self-defense. Moreover, the relatives of the victim told a different version of the story, assuring that the neighbor had killed him for futile motivations. For these reasons, the prosecutor established further investigations, such as autopsy, the K-9 unit exploration, and alerting the forensic biologist for analysis. Conclusions This case aims to highlight the teamwork of multidisciplinary forensic expertise to solve complex cases; moreover, combining ultra-specialist forensic activities, such as the K-9 unit, it is possible to collect all the evidence to submit to the prosecutor for the formulation of judgment.