A Flash of Insight
Flash of insight from past case
Many years later, a Darwin barrister rang Les Bardwell, now a prominent forensic science consultant, concerning an unusual shooting. A person had been shot, but there were three shallow wounds surrounding the fatal entrance wound. The local pathologist who had performed the post-mortem examination believed that these three minor wounds had been caused by muzzle blast, indicating a near-range discharge.
The .22 calibre rifle that had caused the fatal shot was in the possession of the Court. Bardwell was therefore shown photographs of the wounds sustained by the victim. He felt that it was an essential element of the investigation to establish the distance between the muzzle of the rifle and the victim.
After mulling over the case for the better part of a day, Bardwell must have experienced a flash of insight, an ‘aha’ moment, because his mind recalled an investigation from over twenty years previously when Detective Ivan Clark from Toowoomba approached him regarding a ‘million-in-one shot.’ A bullet had lodged in a .22 calibre rifle barrel, then the next shot from the rifle produced two holes, seemingly from one projectile.
Was this another ‘million-in-one shot?’
To prove this theory Bardwell said that he would have to inspect the exhibit rifle for confirmation. He flew to Darwin and subjected the rifle to the same tests that he’d conducted in the previous case. Firstly, he ran his fingers up the full length of the barrel and discovered a similar tell-tale bulge in the barrel of the rifle. He was satisfied that there had been an obstruction in the barrel that had impeded the bullet at the time of discharge.
Bardwell submitted his theory that the obstruction in the barrel was most likely portions of the hard nest of an insect such as a mud wasp. Such obstruction would have been responsible for the shallow wounds surrounding the fatal bullet entrance wound.
Absence of powder marks surrounding the fatal bullet entrance further supported his theory. With over 53 years’ experience – 36 years in police forensic science and then another 18 years in private practise, this was the first time that Les Bardwell had encountered such a phenomenon involving a mud wasp nest. Luckily, his previous experience with the bullet lodged in the barrel of the rifle in 1971 had set him off in the right direction to solve this incident.
Shortly after this case, the ‘field forensic scientist,’ as he preferred to be called, retired for good.
This story was inspired by Les Bardwell’s story ‘Multiple Wound Mystery,’ from his anthology of works titled ‘No Stone Unturned.’ It was researched and rewritten by Museum Assistant Debra Austin using the best archival resources available.
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“FROM the VAULT – Million-in-one Shot – Part 2, A Flash of Insight” by the Queensland Police Service is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (BY) 2.5 Australia Licence. Permissions may be available beyond the scope of this licence. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/au/legalcode