The only known morgue photos of Julia Wallace, clearly showing the wounding, including the strike which opened up her skull.
In the opinion of a forensic doctor who is the lead forensic advisor for the CSI TV series, the gaping wound was actually caused last. The patterning of the injuries suggests to him that a regular iron bar or anything of that nature was not used. Something with a pattern like a threaded pipe (although he does not think this is from a threaded pipe, it was just an example) is the likely weapon, all blows being struck with the same weapon. The frontal blow being caused by numerous strikes to the same location until the skyll opened up.
McFall notes of these patterened wounds (parallel lines):
“The appearance was as if a terrific force with a large surface had driven in the scalp, bursting it in parallel lines, with the appearance of several incised wounds, but the edges of these wounds was not sharp.”
In attacks with blades a clean cut would be seen instead, which is one way in which forensic experts differentiate between incision and laceration wounds.
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