Sexual fatalities: behavioral reconstruction in equivocal cases

A few sexual fatalities show ambiguous or conflicting evidence of manner of death or, in cases involving partners, of the partner's intent. In such equivocal cases, postmortem behavioral analysis and reconstruction aid in understanding what happened and provide an explainable basis for expert judgment and opinion, even though some cases can never be resolved with certainty. Behavioral analysis and reconstruction are enhanced by experience with related cases that have been solved, detailed investigation of the death scene and other relevant settings, and interviews with survivors.