The doctor pulled out a photo of Cameron Young’s naked body lying on the autopsy table. The Y incision ran from his shoulders to his pelvis and was closed by thick sutures that dimpled the pale skin. Doc Lockard slid the photo across the desk.

“I wish I could tell you the postmortem was routine. Unfortunately, it was anything but. Here’s what I’ve got for you. External exam showed extensive ligature damage to the victim’s neck consistent with a long drop hanging. His neck was broken at the fourth cervical vertebrae, which was subsequently displaced anteriorly, shearing the spinal cord. The victim fell eight and one-half feet from the second story balcony before the rope stopped his descent, producing approximately one thousand pounds of pressure on his neck. Another foot or two, and he might have been decapitated.”

Walt nodded slowly, examining the gruesome picture as if there was something to be gleaned from it. Finally, he slid the photo back to Dr. Lockard. “Sounds pretty clear cut to me, Doc.”

“On the surface. But it gets messy when we take a closer look at the neck anatomy. Do you know the difference between long drop and short drop hangings?”

“Long drops are what you just described. Vic drops from a certain height and the sudden deceleration from the noose breaks the neck. Like the hangings from the medieval times, and the crap they’re still pulling off in Iran. Death comes immediately. Short drops are when the vic slowly lowers himself into a hanging position and eventually dies from traditional strangulation.”

“Impressive, Detective. You’re correct on all counts. A couple other details that are pertinent: In short drop cases, the ligature trauma to the neck is less extensive. The noose slowly tightens and prevents oxygen from getting to the brain. Stay in that position long enough, and the brain stops telling the lungs to breathe. Or, if the noose is tight enough to constrict the trachea it prevents inhalation. Either way, the resultant cause of death is asphyxiation. In long drops, conversely, death comes from severing of the spinal cord. This is especially true if the position of the noose’s knot is under the chin, as it was in Mr. Young’s case. The sudden jolt of the rope running out of slack causes hyperextension of the neck and the consequent anterior displacement of the vertebrae. The problem I’m having with the postmortem in Mr. Young’s case is that he showed signs of both short and long drop hangings.”

The doctor slid another photo across the desk. This one was a close-up of Cameron Young’s neck.