NCJ Number
174709
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 43 Issue: 4 Dated: July 1998 Pages: 765-771
Date Published
1998
Length
7 pages
Annotation
Falling from a height, usually from a building, ordinarily occurs in suicide cases, in some accidents, and sometimes in homicide cases; the point of trajectory, the horizontal distance, and the impact point are closely related to initial velocity, angle, and height.
Abstract
Falling pattern was examined to determine the mental status of the jumper and the manner of death. Initial velocity was determined using horizontal movement and height. A serial study of athletes performing both the running jump and the standing jump via biomechanical methods was developed. The initial velocity of the running jump and the standing jump in normal athletes was 9.15 and 2.70 meters per second with initial jumping angles of 21 and 38 degrees, respectively. The maximum horizontal velocity of 9.15 meters per second was closely related to maximum strength of initial velocity, angle of engaged force, and height. Theoretical estimation of the initial velocity between 2.70 and 9.15 meters per second was correlated with the unique initial velocity and running jump to fall from a height that was closely related to the voluntary and attempted jump. Results indicate horizontal distance and height are legitimate measures to use in speculating on falling pattern and manner of death. 12 references, 2 tables, and 6 figures