I am a physician and have had 30 years experience with head and neck injury.
In certain aspects I disagree with the ME in this case. The ME is a general pathologist. (?? Fellowship training in forensic pathology). He is not a neurosurgeon who treats gunshot wounds to the head. Therefore the ME is in NO position to opine about the clinical outcome of a single 25 caliber bullet to the anterior cranial fossa. This is strictly the purview of a neurosurgeon. PERIOD.
Secondly - as I recall - the autopsy report is "weak" in describing in precise anatomic detail how the bullet fragment/s exited the anterior cranial fossa and what direction the fragments traveled in the left infratemporal fossa. We assume the bullet fragment came to rest in TA left masticator space BUT how it got there, I am unsure based on the autopsy report.
The " bullet first theory" has a lot going for it EXCEPT for the final resting place of the casing. The discussion about hemorrhage at the entry wound, the leptomeninges, the right frontal lobe white and grey matter is simply NOT probative. The bullet missed the anterior cerebral artery, the supraclinoid carotid artery, the middle meningeal artery, and the superior sagittal sinus - all sources of luxuriant hemorrhage. The precise path through the right frontal lobe and right gyrus rectus is UNKNOWN. This is in part due to the liquefactive necrosis that occurs post mortem.
Quod erat demonstrandum.
I would like an experienced trauma neurosurgeon to weigh in on this matter.