Ten Ways To Write a Bloodless Death Scene: Jim Murray Guest Post

         I've found that LinkedIn is a wonderful place to meet other bloggers and authors.  Recently I met James Murray and was impressed by his new blog.  Jim's fiction deals with murder mysteries.  You can find his blog at James J. Murray.  Today I've invited Jim to share some of his sinister knowledge.   This is intended as information for writers--do not try these at home!


Ten Ways To Write a Bloodless Death Scene

Recently I was doing research for a new book.  The storyline called for one of the characters to be murdered.  Simple enough!  Shoot or stab the person, or use a dozen other ways to kill off the character.  But that didn’t fit with the storyline.  It was important that the killer not leave ANY blood at the crime scene, ESPECIALLY the victim’s.  Hmm?!  What method would I use to accomplish that?

I talked to a friend about my dilemma and the discussion led to some interesting suggestions about how to construct a bloodless murder scene, and the resulting research became even more fascinating.  To say I’ve become an expert at describing a bloodless murder scene might be going a bit too far, but I did learn a little valuable information that I’d like to share with my fellow writers of crime.

I say I learned “a little” because there are SO MANY ways to kill without shedding blood that it sort of overwhelmed me.  I began to think, “So many ways to kill and so little time to write about it!” 

At any rate, the following is a list of some of the more interesting and believable ways to accomplish the task.

                        The Temple Blow – The skull is thin there and the temple bone shatters easily.  More importantly, though, the middle meningeal artery is located there.  Rupture that and you cause a build-up of blood and brain compression.  That’s called an epidural hemorrhage.  Very effective and death will follow if the pressure from the blood is not relieved in a relatively short amount of time after the trauma.

               Cobra Venom Darts – Cobra venom is a powerful neurotoxin (causes general muscle paralysis and respiratory failure) and it contains an anticoagulant (causes blood not to clot and the victim can bleed to death).  It kills in as little as 60 minutes.  Imagine the cool chapter you could write if the victim realizes what’s happening but can’t do anything about it.  

                      The Russian Omelet – Cross the legs of your enemy and pin him to the ground chest down.  Then push the legs up toward his back and sit on them to fold and break the base of the spine.  It’s usually fatal.  I’m thinking the killer should be of “substantial” weight to make this a believable kill method.

                 An Airborne Toxin Release – There are any number of good choices, from a viral toxin to a lethal poison.  A simple Internet search fuels the imagination.

                      An Insulin Overdose – Insulin is the hormone that spits out of our pancreas whenever we eat sugary or starchy foods.  It transports the resulting blood glucose into our cells to be used as fuel.  Too much insulin primarily causes a low blood sugar level and this leads to a variety of symptoms (shaking, sweating, blurred vision, seizures and coma) before death.  Describe the symptoms properly and you’ve got a great murder scene, and some kinds of insulin don’t even require a prescription.

                        Carbon Monoxide (CO) Poisoning – It’s a simple way to kill, but not very imaginative.  Lock someone in garage with a car running and soon the carbon monoxide build-up will kill because it replaces the oxygen in blood.  (The oxygen we breathe binds to the hemoglobin in our blood to oxygenate our bodies, but carbon monoxide binds to hemoglobin instead and we essentially suffocate).  There are products, however, that kill in the same way as CO.  In a murder scene I wrote recently, I used an organic solvent that preferentially binds to hemoglobin instead of oxygen (like CO) in a murder scenario.  It proved to me once again that there’s no substitute for good research when writing creative, interesting scenes.
 

                  Ethylene Glycol – This is the main component of antifreeze.  It’s a colorless, odorless, sweet-tasting chemical that’s easy to add to most any food or drink.  It’s rapidly absorbed in our GI tracts and distributed throughout the body, creating a variety of wonderfully toxic effects.  The initial symptoms mimic a drunken state, but kidney failure is what usually causes death.  Interestingly, alcohol is the antidote of choice.  Maybe the KILLER should down the shot INSTEAD to celebrate a good kill!

                           Strangulation – A dramatic death for sure, but it’s been used A LOT.  It causes death in one of two ways: compression of the carotid arteries and/or the jugular veins, and deprives the brain of oxygen.  It can also fatally compress the larynx and/or trachea to prevent further air intake.

                         A Fatal Drug Dose – Any number of drugs (both legal and illegal) could be used, but the most rapid effects are gained if the drug is injected.  I recently blogged about what drug makes the perfect murder weapon and will talk more about that in future blogs.

                          The Adam’s Apple Crush – This is a hit to the larynx and a prime strike point to cause death if you connect dead center and with substantial force.  It makes a great kill scene for those Special Forces type characters.  The knuckle punch or a strategic kick closes the airway and denies the ability to draw in air.  Death from oxygen deprivation results.

       As mentioned, these are just a few of the more interesting murder methods to add to your crime research.  I’m sure you’ve come across others.  Want to share them with us?

Thoughts?  Comments?  We’d love to hear them.

Bio for James J. Murray:

With experience in both pharmaceutical manufacturing and clinical patient management, medications and their impact on a patient’s quality of life have been Jim’s expertise.  His secret passion of murder and mayhem, however, is a whole other matter.  His obsession with reading murder mysteries and thrillers left him longing to weave such tales of his own.  Drawing on past clinical expertise as a pharmacist and an infatuation with the lethal effects of drugs, Jim creates novels of Murder, Mayhem and Medicine that will have you looking over your shoulder and suspicious of anything in your medicine cabinet.   

           Be sure to stop by Jim's blog and see what it's all about.