Evaluation of the Interest of Crime Reconstruction by the Confrontation of Statements of the Accused with Forensic Findings

Abstract

This study tried to evaluate the interest of crime reconstitution in homicide cases, determining the frequency of
discrepancies between statements of the accused with forensic autopsy data.
This retrospective study involved all homicide cases autopsied in our forensic department from 1991 to 2003
(n=507). Eighty-two cases in which a crime reconstruction was requested by the investigating magistrate were
selected. In all cases, age and sex of the victim, main cause of death and the presence of associated non-lethal
lesions of violence were reported. The frequency and nature of discrepancies between the statements of the accused
during the crime reconstruction were also studied.
One or more discrepancies were found in 50% of the cases; when present, such discrepancies were of major
importance in almost 50% of cases (n=22).
Our study showed that it is not so rare that forensic findings are in contradiction with the statements of the
accused, confirming the potential interest of crime reconstruction