2 Case report
2.1 Autopsy observations
A partially skeletonized body along with a skull was brought to the mortuary for postmortem examination by the investigating officer. A portion of the torso was shriveled while other areas showed adipocerous changes. Upper and lower extremities, and a portion of the upper thorax were partially skeletonized. Lower ends of the skeletonized right femur and left tibia had nibbled appearance suggestive of gnawing by predators, possibly rodents. Numerous live maggots were present on the lower limbs and a very few were crawling over the body (Fig. 1A). A singular circular soft tissue defect could not go unnoticed to anyone who saw the body. The defect measured 2.5 cm in diameter and was present over the front of the chest along the midline on its lower aspect, and through which the underlying sternum was visible (Fig. 1B). On closer examination, the edges of the defect appeared regular, and a few smaller circular defects of size varying between 1 and 2 mm were seen surrounding the larger defect. Other parts of the front of the chest and abdomen did not show any such defects. The skin surrounding the defects seemed similar to the skin over other parts of the torso (Fig. 1C). The appearance of the defect raised the speculations of a shotgun injury. The circular defect corresponded to the lower part of the sternum. No bony injuries were observed on the underlying sternum or ribs (Fig. 1D). Posterior wall of the chest and abdomen was intact and no pellets were recovered from the body. A few maggots were, however, seen crawling inside the body. A careful examination of the dried soft tissue attachments at the base of the skull that corresponded to the upper neck region revealed a grooved obliquely placed ligature mark measuring 24 × 1 cm. On internal examination at autopsy, all the internal organs were found to be disintegrated to such an extent, that it was by no means, feasible to comment on the presence/absence of any fatal injury or pathology.