Question

The gun found in Dr. Fisher’s hand is a Smith & Wesson .38 caliber revolver. It is registered to Dr. Fisher, who owns it legally. Its cylinder holds five rounds, but one of the chambers is empty.

The spent shell casing in the room is from a .38 caliber bullet.
Fisher’s hands do not show any gunpowder residue, and there is no residue around the gunshot wound.
Bullet fragments were found deep in the wall about three feet from the floor. They are too deformed to analyze for markings. They appear to be from a .38 caliber bullet.

1. Your partner believes the spent shell casing must have come from Dr. Fisher’s revolver because the caliber sizes match. Are they right? Why or why not? (Hint: how do revolvers work?)


2. What does the absence of gunpowder residue tell you about the shooting distance?

3. What does the location of the bullet fragments tell you about the incident?



4. You look more closely at the gun. You notice that the empty chamber in the revolver’s cylinder is opposite from the firing pin rather than next to it. What might this indicate?



5. Based on your answers above, write a paragraph explaining if you think this was a suicide or a homicide. Why? Describe in detail what you think happened.

Answer 1

No, my friend is incorrect it is not necessarily Dr. Fisher's revolver as there can be someone else with the same caliber involved in the incident. Revolvers don't drop shell casings right after firing, they would have to be manually removed, which indicates another gun would be responsible for that shell casing. Due to the lack of residue both in the hand as in the wound, the gun has not been fired in close distance, as that would leave traces. Dr. Fisher got shot and the bullet went through him shattering in the wall and leaving fragments there. Dr. Fisher could not have used that gun, as he would not have the chance to change the empty chamber's location, and that it's most likely that was not the gun used in the incident.

Answer 2

1. No, my partner is not right, it is not necessarily the Dr. Fisher's revolver as there can be another gun with the same caliber involved in the incident. Revolvers don't drop shell casings right after firing, they would have to be manually removed, which indicates another gun would be responsible for that shell casing.
2. Due to the lack of gunpowder residue both in the hand as in the wound, the gun has not been fired in close distance, as that would leave traces.
3. Dr. Fisher was shot and the bullet went through him, shattering in the wall and leaving fragments there.
4. That he could not have used that gun for suicide, as he would not have the chance to change the empty chamber's location after death, and that it's most likely that was not the gun used in the incident.
5. The most probable situation is homicide, suicide is not an option because of the gunpowder residues and empty chamber's location, it is unusual to fire a revolver and remove the capsule right after, which indicates the use of a pistol by another person. Someone else showed up and shot Dr. Fisher with a pistol and placed Dr. Fisher's revolver at his hand so it'll seem like it was a suicide.