**t-bonham@scc.net ** wasn’t trying to be harsh, that is just the way police investigations work. Family members are always regarded as the prime suspects until they are cleared. It is cold and hard, but it is the way life works.
Because statistics support this. It is usually someone in your immediate family or circle of friends. If it was murder you will know the person who did it.
So who do you think, if it is murder who do suspect? Girlfriend? Girl got a new man? Some other person in his circle? Because it almost never is just somebody who walked in off the street and decided it was a good day to murder a stranger.
Keep in mind that how these matters are handled differ by location, so it’s hard to get a definitive answer. For example, the role of the coroner varies widely.
Your police agency should have a way to appeal what you were told about getting the report. For example, a records bureau may say no but by reaching out to the investigative bureau you may be able to talk to the supervisor on this particular case and either get the report released or obtain a meeting with someone who can go over the investigation with you.
Best of luck.
Also, we forgot to say, “Welcome to the Straight Dope.”
The Winchester model 1300 “speed pump” will open the bolt and eject the shell upon firing. I had one. It wouldn’t always do so but the bolt would at least start to open so that the slide could be racked instantly. I can see where someone holding the gun in such an awkward position to shoot himself in the chest, that the slide would open and eject the spent shell.
Many people who die do not get autopsied. This is a youtube video of a talk at Defcon 23 about how easy it is to create fraudulent deaths and births, and around the 9 minute mark he talks about the things filled in on a death certificate.
There is a box for the doctor to mark whether an autopsy was performed or not.
He notes that if the doctor (death certificates must be filled out by a doctor) believes this may have been an “unnatural death”, it must be reviewed by a Medical Examiner or Coroner. Also any death in a hospital or prison.
Even if the case must be reviewed by a ME or Coroner, that doesn’t mean there needs to be an autopsy.
I am no expert, but the case the OP describes sounds like one where an autopsy is hardly needed: cause of death is pretty obvious: he was shot once, in the chest, at close range.
I doubt an autopsy would shed light on the question of whether the shot was self-inflicted. That should be determinable from examination of the wound, the weapon, measurement of his arms and such.
Simply put, you can register a birth certificate online if you are a doctor. You prove you are a doctor by giving your medical license number when you register at the website, There are online directories of doctors that list their license numbers. Voila!
If you don’t mind committing fraud, you can create birth certificates for kids who never existed.
If you want to discuss this further, we should make another thread tho.
I just held my hand in a loose fist in front of my chest. I was holding in my hand a tape measure. It’s 24" from the web of my right hand to my chest. I’m not particularly tall. And I don’t know the distance from the trigger to the muzzle for the shotgun in question. The cause of death is pretty obvious, but I’d suggest a paraffin test done on the victim’s hands to check for gunshot residue. Or would that not show up from firing a shotgun?
The ejected shell strikes me as a bit of a red flag, though.
What you need to find out to solve this mystery is if when the shotgun was found, was the action open, ie: was the forend (the part you pump) open or closed. The reason I say this is that when a pump action shotgun is fired the forend (pump) is released and it would be very plausible that if the gun was dropped on the butt after being fired the forend would cycle and eject the spent casing. However, the action would remain in the open position as it would take someone to push it forward again to close the action.
If the action was open, I would guess suicide. If the action was closed it could only be murder.