In France, cases of violent death have been the subject of few previous studies by forensic institutes and are underestimated in the statistics of the CépiDc. Our retrospective study examined all forensic autopsies performed in 2008 at the Strasbourg Institute of Forensic Medicine (a total of 149 autopsies). The aim was to determine, for each autopsied case, the role of forensic activities—combining the performance of the forensic autopsy with various supplementary examinations—in determining the cause of death when it was unknown prior to the autopsy. In total, out of 149 autopsied cases, 64% were classified as violent deaths: 26% following the removal of the body alone, 2% following the autopsy, 26% after toxicological analyses, 5% after pathological analyses, and 5% after limnological analyses were completed. Despite the completion of all supplementary examinations, no cause of death was determined in 3% of cases. In 6% of cases, neither toxicological analyses in cases of lethal poisoning nor limnological analyses for individuals whose bodies had been found in water were requested by the magistrates: therefore, no formal cause of death could be established. In conclusion, our study highlights the fundamental role of forensic investigations in understanding violent deaths. Increasing the scope of autopsies and supplementary examinations would improve this understanding and, thereby, help identify homicides that have gone unnoticed. (R.A.)