An autopsy case of a decomposed body with keyhole gunshot wound and secondary skull fractures

The decomposed body of a 53 or 57-year-old male was found with a gun in a locked car parked in a coin-operated parking lot. During autopsy, the entrance wound in the frontal bone showed a characteristic keyhole defect with internal and external beveling. There was no exit wound. The fragmented bullet traveled downward within the calvarium and struck the right orbital plate. Two independent linear fractures were observed away from the entrance. These were believed to be secondary fractures resulting neither from internal ricochet of the bullet nor from direct blunt force to the head. Although decomposition complicated the evaluation of the gunshot wound characteristics, microscopic examination confirmed large quantities of soot along the wound tract, supporting our conclusion that the range of fire was contact.