The Four Kinds of Death in Forensics

When considering a dead body, one of the primary things that any forensic scientist or medical examiner must determine is the exact cause of death. There are, of course, a nearly infinite number of ways a person could possibly die it is part of the professional examining the body to determine the specific cause of death along with the category the deceased falls into.

There are four basic categories that it is possible for a death to fall into, each category having a specific set of conditions required for the deceased to be placed into them. These four categories, as detailed below, are Natural, Accidental, Suicidal and Homicidal.

It's worth noting that there is a fifth "category" listed below. This category being Unknown/Unexplained, it will be discussed in more detail later.

Natural
For a death to be judged as being from "natural causes" a body must be determined to have died from a natural process. This is the largest category of deaths, as most people really do die natural deaths. Things like cancers, pneumonias, heart attacks, strokes and other viruses or diseases (including old age) fall into this category.

Accidental
For a death to be judged as being accidental the deceased must have been killed due to events that weren't foreseen, preplanned or intentioned. Things like car accidents, falls, accidental electrocutions and even pianos being dropped (accidentally) on a person's head.

Suicidal
For a death to be judged as being suicidal the deceased must have been killed by their own hand or actions, where the intentions were specifically to deceased's own life.

Homicidal
For a death to be judged as being homicidal the deceased must have been killed through the specific actions of another. Where the intentions were to hurt, harm or murder the deceased victim. Homicide is not necessarily murder however as Homicide is an observation by a Medical Examiner and not a courtroom.

Unknown/Unexplained
For a death to be judged as being unknown or unexplained the medical examiner must be unsure as to the appropriate cause of death or be unable to place the death preciely into one of the four primary categories.