The elderly homicide victim was studied. A total of 129 homicide cases in which the decedent was aged 65 years or more were collected from the records of the Office of the Medical Examiner between the years 1979–83. The cases were then analysed as to age, race, sex, cause of death, results of toxicology, and scene circumstances. The protatypical victim was found to be a 65– to 85-year-old white male who died from either a gunshot wound or blunt trauma resulting from a robbery or burglarly at home. Suggestions are given on how to avoid such tragedies.
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