Commotio cordis is a recognised cause of sudden death in which an apparently 
minor blow to the chest causes ventricular fibrillation and cardiac arrest. It 
is best known for causing death during games of youth baseball in the United 
States, but individual cases have been recorded as a result of a wide range of 
activities, principally sporting. The underlying biochemical and 
mechano-electric causes have been well documented. However, there are few 
reported cases where commotio cordis is implicated as the cause of death in 
homicide cases. We present three cases from the north-east of England where an 
assault caused death by this mechanism.