Was it murder or accident?

Asser Hedegaard Thomsen is a forensic pathologist at the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Aarhus, where he has specialized for many years in determining causes of death and investigating victims of violence. This evening he talks about why forensic medicine's work is crucial when a person dies unnaturally.

Much of it comes down to determining whether someone has been beaten to death. It is not always difficult - twenty stab wounds on the back of a bound person leave little doubt. But what about a single stab wound to the chest, where the knife is still lodged? In principle, it could be any of the three unnatural causes of death: accident, suicide, or murder.