According to the Spitz, Werner U. (Ed). (2006). Spitz and Fisher’s Medicolegal Investigation of Death: Guidelines for the Application of Pathology to Crime Investigations, 4th edition. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas Publisher text, there are five legally defined manners of death. They are Natural, Accident, Homicide, Suicide, and Undetermined. After careful examination of all the evidence at hand, the forensic pathologist acting as a medical examiner or coroner will assign a cause of death as one of these five manners.
According to Harris County (TX) Medical Examiner's Office, Classification of Manner of Death(2011)
http://policestar.com/kimery/manner_of_death.htmNatural death is due solely or nearly totally to disease and/or the aging process. For example, if the autopsy reveals a natural disease process such as leukemia or cancer, then the death would be considered natural.
Accidental death is when there is little or no evidence that the injury occurred with intent to harm or cause death. In essence, the fatal outcome was unintentional. Some examples of Accidental deaths are accidental overdose, falls, and motor vehicle accidents.
Homicide occurs when death results from an injury or poisoning or from a volitional act committed by another person to cause fear, harm, or death. Intent to cause death is a common element but is not required for classification as homicide. Homicide is when a person is killed by one or more persons. This is different than murder. Murder is the unlawful taking of a human life by another especially with premeditated malice. For example, if a police officer kills someone in the line of duty, it is considered a homicide, but not necessarily a murder. All murders are homicides, but not all homicides are murders.
Suicide- results from an injury or poisoning as a result of an intentional, self-inflected act committed to do self-harm or cause death of one's self. Some examples of suicide are drug overdose, gunshot, and hanging.
Undetermined- used when the information pointing to one manner of death is no more compelling than one or more other competing manners of death when all available information is considered. This is usually an interim classification that indicates a level of uncertainty about the circumstances surrounding the death.
This classification is usually changed once the results of the autopsy are received. Undetermined is intended for cases in which it is impossible to establish, with reasonable medical certainty, the circumstances of death after a thorough investigation.
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