Tentative injuries to exposed skin in a homicide case

A 28-year-old man stabbed both his wife and his S-year-old son to death, be fore unsuccessfully attempting to commit suicide. The incident occurred aga inst a background of marital conflict. The child's body exhibited six tenta tive wounds to the skin in the area of the heart, with no corresponding def ects in the overlying clothing, a pattern normally seen only in suicide. Th eir presence can be explained by the fact that this can be considered an ex tended suicide, the father's motivation for the killing being comparable to that for true suicide. However, wounds of this nature can be produced in s uch cases only if the victim is severely limited in his ability to defend h imself, here due to the superior physical strength of the father. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.