(L.A.) Victor Rosales, 25, Died in a Hospital

Case Number: 2009-06796

Los Angeles County is reporting the death of a 25-year-old Caucasian male that occurred in a hospital.

The coroner’s office has identified the man as Victor Rosales.

Manner of Death: Homicide

Cause of Death: Gunshot Wound Of Chest

RIP VICTOR ROSALES (May 7, 1984 – October 6, 2009)

Vadims Poukens was the medical examiner who performed the autopsy on Rosales.  A .22–caliber bullet was recovered from his body.  Poukens opined that Rosales died from a gunshot wound to the chest.  According to Poukens, when a gun is discharged, particles coming off the muzzle may strike the skin and leave small marks, called “stippling.”  A person would have to be close to the discharging firearm—around 2 feet—to show stippling.  Poukens observed stippling on Rosales’s right hand, in the wrist area.  He observed no other signs of injuries, such as defensive wounds to the hands.