Methods of Murder

In the year 2000, there were 15,517 murders and nonnegligent manslaughters in the United States. In numerous cases, it has been possible to determine the method by which these murders were carried out, but in other cases, the method was either less clear or went unreported. There are countless ways for an individual to kill another individual, but the major categories can be broken down as follows:

• Use of one's body as a weapon
• Cutting and sharp, pointed instruments
• Handguns
• Long guns
• Poisoning
• Striking instruments
• Asphyxiation by airborne chemicals or particles
• Asphyxiation by ligature
• Drowning by force
• Arson
• Injection of a lethal drug
• Bombing

Use of One's Body as a Weapon. Some killers use their hands to crush the victim's trachea and block oxygen to the mouth, nose, and brain, thereby resulting in death by strangulation. In some cases, the killer may wish the victim to suffer and cause the victim to come in and out of consciousness by applying differing amounts of pressure to the neck. In cases in which the killing is done in the heat of passion, the victim may die in a short period of time. A person's hands can also be used to physically beat the victim to death. The feet may also become deadly weapons, delivering blunt force trauma by repeated kicking. The human body becomes even more deadly when the killer has martial arts training and can kill with ease.

Cutting and Sharp, Pointed Instruments. These weapons usually take the form of knives, ice picks, machetes, or axes with which killers attempt to stab, cut, or impale their victims. Knives are the most common of these instruments and range from 3- to 4-inch blades, to hunting knives with larger-sized blades, to switchblades knives, illegal in most places, that are springloaded from the handle. In the inner city, switchblades are common among juveniles and are sometimes used in gangland slayings.

Handguns. Homicides are most often committed with guns, especially handguns. According to the FBI (2001), there were 15,517 murders and nonnegligent manslaughters in the year 2000. Of these, 6,686 murders were committed by handguns, or a little more than 435% of the total. Handguns basically come in two forms: the revolver and the semiautomatic pistol. Calibers on handguns (the size of the barrel) range from .22 caliber to .45 caliber. For instance, serial killer David Berkowitz was called the “44-Caliber Killer” because of the size the weapon he used to kill [Page 311]and wound his victims. Handguns range in size and caliber from a very small .22-caliber, one-shot derringer or .22-caliber semiautomatic pistol, to a large-caliber .357-magnum revolver or .45-caliber semiautomatic pistol. Automatic handguns are illegal, as are homemade “zip guns” sometimes found in inner-city urban areas.

Long Guns. These are rifles and shotguns. Rifles are either bolt action, lever action, pump action, or semiautomatic. They range in rifle bore size from .17 caliber to .50 caliber, with the .22 caliber and the .30–06 being the most commonly used. Shotguns range in size from the smaller .410 gauge to the larger .10 gauge. They are usually either break-open (single- or double-barreled) or pump action. The long gun is used much less often than the handgun. In the year 2000, the FBI identified only 864 homicides in which rifles or shotguns were used.

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