Which of the following may indicate a struggle when examining a crime scene?

Defensive wounds on the victim are a significant indicator of a struggle during an incident. These types of wounds occur when individuals attempt to protect themselves from an assailant, often resulting in injuries on parts of the body that are instinctively raised or shielded.

Detecting defensive wounds can provide critical insight into the dynamics of the attack, suggesting that the victim attempted to fend off an aggressor, which may affirm the presence of a confrontation at the crime scene. This evidence can be crucial in reconstructing events and understanding the circumstances leading to the crime.

While the other choices may show certain aspects of the crime scene—such as arranged furniture possibly hinting at a disturbance or clean surfaces suggesting a cleaned-up scene—they do not provide the direct evidence of a struggle that defensive wounds do. Therefore, the presence of these specific injuries on the victim is the strongest indicator of a physical confrontation during the incident.