U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

Blood and Tissue Spatter Associated with Chainsaw Dismemberment

NCJ Number
229270
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 54 Issue: 6 Dated: November 2009 Pages: 1310-1314
Author(s)
Brad Randall, M.D.
Date Published
November 2009
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This paper describes the blood and tissue spatter pattern and tool marks on bone and skin from dismembering a large pig carcass with a chainsaw.
Abstract
This experiment was conducted after investigators unexpectedly found relatively little blood/tissue spatter at the site where an adult woman's body was dismembered by an electric chainsaw. The experiment involved the dismemberment of two large pig carcasses with a small electric chainsaw in a controlled environment. The experiment found that a large carcass could be easily dismembered by a small electric chainsaw. When the chainsaw bar was held parallel to the ground, the majority of the blood and tissue was deposited directly beneath the saw and bar, with very little found elsewhere; however, if the discharge chute of the saw was not oriented directly at the ground, larger amounts of blood and tissue might be sprayed on lateral surfaces or deposited some distance from the chainsaw. The characteristic striations created on the surface of wood as it is cut by a chainsaw can also be found on body surfaces cut by a chainsaw. 13 figures and 5 references