SIOUX CITY — As he examined the bullet wound near the top of Danielle Dolan’s head, the medical examiner found no burning, bruising or scraping typically found in self-inflicted gunshot wounds.

Dr. Jonathan Thompson, a deputy Iowa state medical examiner, said suicide victims almost always hold the gun against their body, causing bruising from the muzzle and burns from the flash and powder exiting the gun.

None of that was found on Dolan’s body, leading him to rule the gun was fired from an indeterminate distance of 1 centimeter or more from her head, something he said was “incredibly, incredibly rare” in suicide cases.

The entry wound near the top of the back left side of her head also was atypical. Most people who shoot themselves hold the gun to their temple, inside their mouth, under

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