In this post we will try to simplify the injuries Amy sustained. The purpose is to help fellow investigators with no medical knowledge understand what may have happened to Amy using simple terms.
First, the terms used in the Autopsy. What they are and what each is responsible for in the body. We will also breakdown Amy’s injuries and how they might have been caused through common sense and anatomical knowledge. All of Amy’s injuries were on the left side of the neck and back left side of her head. This is important because in times of panic, self-defense or aggression, 9 times out of 10, the primary writing hand is the hand used to strike. Why does this matter? Amy’s killer is likely right-handed to strike Amy on her left side from a facing Amy position.
Hyoid Bone – This bone located in the neck above the Adams Apple. Its purpose is to anchor the tongue. Amy’s hyoid bone was struck with the stabbing object on the left horn as shown in the following photo
Carotid Artery – Large artery in the neck responsible for supplying oxygen rich blood to the brain. Amy’s left carotid artery was transected which means it was cut or stabbed into horizontally as shown in this image. Damage to the forward hyoid bone indicates a motion traveling from the back to the front in a swinging sideways direction
Posterior Occipital Region – The lowest portion of the back of the skull. Amy’s left occipital region was hemorrhaged (massive swelling). The following photo shows this area
Subgaleal Hemorrhage – Swelling of the space between layers of tissue on the outside of the skull as shown here
Cervical soft tissue – Muscle and skin of upper portion of the neck. Goes from shoulder level to the base of the skull as shown here
By understanding the anatomical injuries we can form a hypothesis of how Amy’s injuries were sustained. Based on all known facts presented in the autopsy, It is possible that the injuries occurred as a single event using multiple quick swinging motions with a medium-sized somewhat heavy, possibly broken object with jagged edges like a lamp as shown below. Her blood may have still been drained but with no other veins or arteries being cut noted in the autopsy, the original open wound would have to be the exit for the blood. It is our opinion based on mechanism of injury, believing Amy would fight back, direction and depth of the wounds that Amy may have been forced orally and she bit down. The killer panicked, grabbed an object using a repeated motion in quick succession swinging it into Amy’s left head and neck until she let go. Her left earring may have come off during this event.
*Updated 5-25-2023
These were just some thoughts we had. We can only speculate how Amy’s injuries were sustained.
All stated within this posting is the opinion of our team and is only an educated guess.
Rest In Peace Amy
Amy Mihaljevic The pursuit of her killer 
This is a fantastic blog! I’m curious about the sharp edged murder weapon. Is it possible that a 2” (?) pocket knife could have been the murder weapon? Wondering if the autopsy mentioned the size of Amy’s wounds, and if the weapon was definitely jagged edged?
Thank you!
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Hello PI Kassidy! Thanks for being here and thank you for the compliment. The autopsy does not reveal anything about the murder weapon. In this case, we are leaning in the direction of whatever object was used to strike Amy’s head as the same object that penetrated her neck. We are on the fence on this subject because all of the injuries occured on Amy’s left side and back left side of her head. All evidence and mechanism of injury point to a single event. We remain open though. We simply don’t know for sure but we sure as hell are going to find out. Thanks again
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Kass, wanted to elaborate more with your question. To answer your question direct. Yes a small knife could have been used to stab her neck. It doesn’t take much as the carotid artery is just beneath the skin. Amy’s artery was cut into horizontally. An odd shaped possibly broken object with jagged edges was considered based on this being a single event. If the head strike was fatal, the carotid artery could have been stabbed into to drain her blood. That would qualify as two events which of course included multiple stab wounds to her neck. We just can’t envision this based on all evidence and the mechanism of injury. Perhaps a lamp struck her head and that didn’t get her to release and a secondary object is used to stab her. Remember we believe she was forced orally and bit. We don’t think they set out to murder Amy. It’s a sexual crime gone bad based on what we know. For all we know there could have been multiple people in the murder room.
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