Forensics Question

This is one thing that's bugged me for YEARS about faked suicides on tv and in movies, and I was curious if anyone knows how realistic it is: The killer always just drops the gun on or in the general vicinity of the hand of the victim, without trying to make it look like the victim actually had a hold on the gun (and certainly never placing the victims finger over the trigger.

Would a real suicide lose their grip in such a way?

I've opened this thread because I see no harm in it, but I think you'll probably get a quicker response in the Quickie Questions thread in Yack Fest.

With a real suicide, the gun does fall out of the hand. If they did it sitting down, leaning against something, the hands usually end up in the lap, and the gun is either laying in their lap or right next to their leg. It doesn't go far.

^ What he said. The human hand falls into an open, fingers-lightly-curled position when it's completely relaxed. Holding a gun requires continuous muscular effort. On death, barring very peculiar circumstances, the hands will relax and the gun will fall out.

& Is that so?

I thought that dead people clenched their hands on death or something. Wasn't there cases of dying people grabbing LEOs or other first response people and not letting them go? Or is that something else entirely?

edited 26th Dec '13 9:49:18 AM by QuestionMarc

Dying? Sure, you can clench while dying. But dead? You let go, barring very peculiar circumstances — poisoning with something that causes tetany (involuntary clenching of the muscles) for one.

Oh I see. Thanks.