Post-mortem dismemberment using chainsaws

Experiments were carried out to quantify the size of the tissue spatter distribution from post-mortem dismemberment. Pig joints were used with the same diameters as human arms. Two chainsaws were used: a petrol chainsaw and an electric chainsaw. For both chainsaws and all joint sizes, the tissue spatter distribution showed three distinct regions: i) a line of tissue in front of the cut, ii) tissue particles either side of the line of tissue in front of the cut and iii) a line of tissue behind the cut. The size of the tissue spatter distribution differed between the two chainsaws. The tissue pattern distribution was longer for the petrol chainsaw. The size of the tissue spatter distribution did not depend on joint size for joints with a cross-sectional area greater than 300 cm2.