I only recently learned that the Medical Examiner we use does not take and test swabs from a deceased person's hand in gunshot cases with head wounds inflicted at close range. If law enforcement suspect a suicide but can't prove that the victim pulled the trigger to the pistol and that the victim was holding the gun how do you rule out homicide??? How does a family ever let go of the hope/fear that their loved one was actually murdered vs.committed suicide????

Sometimes you have to put the whole picture together a piece at a time. Many loved ones at first deny that the deceased would ever kill himself/herself, that "it had to be murder."

The scene investigator, through good photos, videos, sketches, accurate notes, bloodstain pattern interpretation, should document the various positions: deceased person, weapon used, position of hands & arms as well as location/positioning of the killing wound. Can the wound have been inflicted by the person in the position he was found in? Would the "reflex action" at the time of death allow the weapon to fall where it was found? Is it impossible for a gun to fall or drop at this position and location or be clenched in this fashion if the killing bullet entered at a certain location on the person's body....

What was the deceased doing, according to the last person to see/talk to him or her? Were they depressed, despondent, angry, feeling hopeless, defeated, suffering from some illness? What financial trouble or hardships might have been building up? What happened in the last 24, 48, 72 hours of the deceased person's life and personal activities? A background investigation will reveal much about whether the person "had a reason" to take their own life.

Some investigators are able/qualified to use Trace Metal Detection Tests, though not infallible, they do provide another tool. Investigators can take their own swabs and send them to crime labs if the M.E. won't do certain tests.

Although there are some suicides that can not be explained, I believe that most law enforcement folks who have worked suicides will agree that the majority of those who take their own lives leave or exhibit reasons for doing so.

AP thanks for the help.Is the lab test from the swabs of the hands expensive and is it helpful if there is no apparent reason for a suicide??? Great info to pass on to our local law enforcement officers.

You can get TMDT kits from forensic suppliers (check the web)for less than $20 for a set of 8 or 10 bottles of reagent. With a black-light, your investigator can see for himself/herself whether the person has handled a gun or metal-type tool, then photograph the result. Shouldn't have to send swabs anywhere. Sorry about the insinuation that swabs had to be sent off, that's another test.