Quote Originally Posted by BigBear View Post
I hate to be morbid but I read this sentence and started laughing:

"The coroner will perform an autopsy to determine how many times the victim was shot, said Friel."

Does it really take a coroner to tell how many times a fellow was shot?

And:


"Friel said police don't know who the man was and are attempting to identify him."

No wallet? No insurance in the car? No cell phone? No fingerprints? etc. It's not that hard to identify people now a days. Think the reporter is trying to sensationalize this? I mean, not to be uncompassionate or insincere or (insert own vocabulary) but thousands (if not millions) of people die every day.

Anyways, suck that it had to happen at all. I remember when two guys could fight, one on one, draw blood (with fists) and then be friends afterwards... Now a days you have to worry about flying bricks, knives, brass knuckles, guns, friends jumping in, etc.
Yes, it takes a coroner and autopsy to determine how many times someone was shot. I've been to 4 autopsies on shooting victims (about a dozen autopsies total), and it can be a lot harder than you think. Going to court and guessing is a brutal and life changing experience. One autopsy I assisted on during a homicide investigation, the victim had 7 bullet holes in her. 3 rounds fired.

Same thing on identifying the victim. You can suspect a persons ID based on a lot of the stuff you pointed out, but that is not clear irrefutable proof of ID. Until you have that, you don't have a positive ID. Dental records, finger prints, and next of kin ID are the preferred methods.