110
greed
scene and at the post-mortem. Although they could not agree on the order in which the shots were fired, bo that it was possible for a person to shoot himself five times with the weapon in question, even assuming that the first shot was the fatal shot. To support this opinion, both produced medical authorities of multiple injuries (see Appendix 27). I accept the competence of Professor Gibson and Dr. Ong. However, to ensure that no possibility is left unexplored, and in view of the fact that Professor Gibson and Dr. Ong had testified at the Inquest which produced an open verdict, I decided to receive evidence from overseas experts. In this regard, I heard the evidence of Dr. H. R. M. Johnson, Consultant Forensic Pathologist, at St. Thomas' Hospital, Medical School, and Professor A. Keith Mant, Head of the Department of Forensic Medicine, Guy's Hospital, both of the University of London. In addition, through Mrs. Elsie Elliott, I received a copy of an Opinion from Professor Alan Usher, Head of the Department of Forensic Pathology, University of Sheffield. Their reports are at Appendices 28 to 31 respectively.
(II) Were the wounds self-inflicted?
110.
Dr. Johnson and Professor Mant, together, provided the answer in the following terms:-
(1) All five wounds were contact wounds, namely, with the muzzle of the gun pressed against the body at the
moment of discharge.
(2) All five wounds were situated in a site election, namely, a site chosen by a would-up suicide. The site of
election on the chest would be situated over or around the "heart area". In MacLennan's case, all but one of the five wounds, were situated in the "heart area".
(3) The wounds caused by Bullet Nos. 3 and 4 as numbered in Dr. Wong's post-mortem report, were so closely grouped that it was more likely for the deceased to have fired the gun holding it against his chest and repeatedly pressing the trigger rather than an assailant firing a gun from a distance.
(4) The overall circumstances in which the body was found, namely, the locked doors, the apparent suicide note, and the inaccessible windows (indicating that there would not have been a second person in the room) were consistent with self-infliction.
(III) Could MacLennan have shot himself five times?
111.
In their evidence, both Johnson and Mant laid particular stress on the effect of the bullet which pierced the aorta (Bullet No. 1, using Dr. Wong's notation), for that would have been the fatal shot. The question was how long a person so injured would be capable of volitional and purposeful movement thereafter. In other words, assuming that the first shot was the fatal shot, the question which both Johnson and Mant asked themselves was, whether or not MacLennan could have fired the further four shots, assuming all five were self-inflicted. Both agreed that this was possible from a medical point of view. Although the first shot might have been fatal, death would not be instantaneous, and a person would be capable of quite considerable physical and volitional activity after such an injury. Johnson was of the opinion that MacLennan could have lived as long as two minutes, and remained sufficiently conscious to fire the remaining four shots. Mant's opinion was that MacLennan could have remained conscious for 20-30 seconds, certainly long enough to fire the remaining four shots. To illustrate this point, Mant quoted, inter alia, two examples which he had drawn from the personal experience of two members of the professional staff at the Department of Forensic Medicine, Guy's Hospital:--
112.
(1) A person driving a lorry was ambushed and shot through the heart by an AK 47 rifle with a 122 grain bullet and muzzle velocity of 2 400 ft/sec (much more powerful than a .38 S & W, with a muzzle velocity of 730 ft/sec and a bullet weight of 145 grain. He carried on active driving for 10-20 seconds, progressing some 180 metres before veering off the road.31
(2) A man in his seventies was shot through the heart, and moved from one room to another, picking up a shot gun before collapsing on his return journey to the original room. In post-mortem, it was found that all chambers of his heart were completely destroyed. The man had moved about 30 ft.32
Both Mant and Johnson produced numerous authorities of multiple self-inflicted wounds to indicate that it was possible for MacLennan to have inflicted the five wounds on himself. These together with the authorities cited by Ong and Gibson are summarized at Appendix 27. The nearest example of multiple self-inflicted wounds from a .38 calibre gun, and therefore a case which closely resembled that of MacLennan's, came from the personal experience of Dr. A. J. Y. Chapman, Chief Medical Examiner of Oklahoma, U.S.A. In that case, a person shot himself four times with a .38 calibre pistol, with one of the bullets piercing the heart. One particularly noteworthy aspect of this case was that the deceased, when found, had a cigarette still in his mouth with the ash undisturbed.
31 See Statement of Dr. P. A. Lannas at Appendix 36.
32
See Statement of Dr. K. A. P. Lee at Appendix 37.
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.