Abstract：
Most firearm related homicides involve the deceased being forensically examined within a day or two, however, there are times when bodies have been examined and the fired components removed several days or weeks after death, when the body is in an active or advanced state of decomposition. In these cases, ballistic investigation has been found to be complicated due to the damage to the bullets, however the extent of this is not yet known. To date, there have been no studies investigating the effect of human decomposition and the subsequent analysis of bullets lodged in the body in an Australian context. Herein, seven fired copper jacketed bullets were manually inserted into three specific tissue types; lungs, abdomen and leg muscle (twenty-one bullets in total), of human donors in both cool and warm conditions at the Australian Facility for Taphonomic Experimental Research (AFTER). Bullets were removed every three days for a period of twenty-one days, and each bullet underwent manual microscopic examinations by firearms examiners across Australia. Results have indicated that the bullets corrode quickly in warm conditions, compared to bullets exposed to decomposition in cooler conditions. The results of this study will inform investigators and pathologists of the need to remove and examine fired bullets from decomposed bodies as soon as possible, especially in warm conditions to provide firearms examiners with the best opportunity to link fired bullets to a common source.
摘要：
大多数与枪支有关的凶杀案涉及死者在一两天内接受法医检查，然而,有时会在死后几天或几周内对尸体进行检查，并清除了发射的部件，当身体处于活跃或高级分解状态时。在这些情况下,由于子弹的损坏，弹道调查被发现很复杂，然而，这种程度尚不清楚。迄今为止,在澳大利亚的情况下，没有研究调查人体分解的影响以及随后对体内子弹的分析。在这里，将七个发射的铜夹套子弹手动插入三种特定的组织类型；肺，腹部和腿部肌肉（共21发子弹），在澳大利亚实验研究机构（AFTER）的凉爽和温暖条件下的人类供体。子弹每三天取出一次，为期21天，每颗子弹都由澳大利亚各地的枪支检查员进行手动显微镜检查。结果表明，子弹在温暖的条件下迅速腐蚀，与暴露在较冷条件下分解的子弹相比。这项研究的结果将告知调查人员和病理学家需要尽快从分解的尸体中取出和检查发射的子弹，特别是在温暖的条件下，为枪支审查员提供将发射的子弹与共同来源联系起来的最佳机会。
