Not under the hammer: a revolver suicide

A man died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. The only inconsistent finding at the scene was that the single fired cartridge casing in the latched revolver cylinder was not under the hammer. This inconsistency is explained by the discovery that the revolver cylinder can be hand-indexed in reverse. The revelation that the casing does not have to be under the hammer may be a novel concept to many investigators.