The time of death was determined by the amount of livor mortis that was present throughout the body. Livor mortis is the settling of blood that can be seen as early as thirty minutes before death, and becomes more visible over time (Bevel 185). This indicates that Mary was home during the time Patrick was murdered. The examination of Patrick’s head concluded that he was hit in the head with a large object that resulted in minimal external bleeding, but massive internal bleeding. The entire skull was fractured and broken into small pieces. Contusions and lacerations were present throughout Patrick’s head. Contusions are the hemorrhage into the skin or tissues that tears blood vessels (Bevel 196). Lacerations are when the skin is torn when hit with sufficient force (Bevel 206). Surprisingly, there were no defense wounds found on the body. This means that Patrick was attacked by
The time of death was determined by the amount of livor mortis that was present throughout the body. Livor mortis is the settling of blood that can be seen as early as thirty minutes before death, and becomes more visible over time (Bevel 185). This indicates that Mary was home during the time Patrick was murdered. The examination of Patrick’s head concluded that he was hit in the head with a large object that resulted in minimal external bleeding, but massive internal bleeding. The entire skull was fractured and broken into small pieces. Contusions and lacerations were present throughout Patrick’s head. Contusions are the hemorrhage into the skin or tissues that tears blood vessels (Bevel 196). Lacerations are when the skin is torn when hit with sufficient force (Bevel 206). Surprisingly, there were no defense wounds found on the body. This means that Patrick was attacked by