Autopsy Reveals AMA Pilot Was Shot with Gun Muzzle Pressed to Face

The head of the Papua Regional Police’s Bhayangkara Hospital, Senior Commissioner Dr. Sebastian Romi, stated that forensic examination results confirm AMA airline pilot Nicholas Gosselin died from a gunshot wound fired at extremely close range. “The examination results show the victim suffered an entry gunshot wound on the left cheek consistent with a contact gunshot wound, meaning the muzzle of the weapon was perpendicular and pressed against the skin surface,” Sebastian said on Saturday. He explained that the bullet’s trajectory entered through the left cheek and exited near the right ear, causing severe damage to the facial bones and the base of the skull. In addition to the gunshot wound, the forensic team also found several injuries caused by blunt force trauma, including open wounds on the head, forehead, and right ear, as well as fractures to the upper and lower jaw. To determine the cause of death, the medical team conducted a radiological examination (X-ray), which revealed a fracture at the base of the skull. According to Sebastian, the examination was carried out through external examination supported by radiological imaging without an internal autopsy. “From these results, it was determined that the bullet’s entry and exit trajectory caused severe damage to the base of the skull, resulting in a very rapid death (sudden death),” he stated. Following the forensic examination, Gosselin’s body was handed over to AMA airline in the early hours of Saturday to be flown to Jakarta before being repatriated to the United States for burial.