Q: Recently my relative died an unnatural death. His body was recovered from a pond. Blood was there on the nose and the teeth were locked. There was no sign of external injury. The stomach was not bulged due to intake of water. The autopsy report is not very clear. Can I take it to be a case of accidental drowning, suicide or something else?

A:On the face value, this appears to be a case of drowning as there is no evidence of injury on the body. To decide whether it is case of accidental or suicidal drowning, circumstancess of case like mental state of person, any depression, marital dispute and circumstance of death have to be taken into consideration. Homicidal drowning is rare but seen mostly in children. Most drownings are accidental or suicidal. Since information provided is quite less, only this can be inferred.