Suicidal Decapitation by Guillotine: Case Report and Review of the Literature (original) (raw)
Related papers
Reconstruction of devastating head injuries: a useful method in forensic pathology
International Journal of Legal Medicine, 2011
Crushing head injuries usually do not allow direct visual identification of individuals, and above all, it constitutes an obstacle to comprehensive evaluation of discrete traumatic changes of the skin and soft tissues. We present our experience with the plastic adaptation of devastating head injuries in the two exemplary cases. The principal of the reconstruction is manual repositioning of bone fragments of the cranial and facial parts of the skull and careful approximation of the wound edges and their gradual suture using suture material. The reconstruction method can be recommended as an auxiliary technique in the identification of unknown victims with crushing head injuries and in the evaluation of devastating gunshot wound of the head.
An Autopsy Evaluation of Complete Decapitation Injuries
Complete Decapitations are not uncommon in routine Forensic Autopsies. In this study Complete Decapitations were found in 0.67% of Autopsies of which 96.15% [n-25] were Homicidal and 3.85% [n-1] due to Suicide. Only in 26.92% [n-07] of cases Decapitations were done during the process of death and in 73.08% [n-19] of Decapitations were done Postmortem. The Majority of the Victims belonged to 3rd [n-11] and the 4th [n-10] Decade. The Male to Female Ratio was 2:1. In 21[84%] cases the Head was recovered from the River/riverside Bush, away from the place of residence and in 04 [16%] cases the Head was recovered along with the Torso around the Place of Residence. Major number of cases [n-24] were due to Gang related violence and in 2 cases Love and Sex dominated the incident. In 92.31% [n-24] of cases the C2-3 was involved and in two cases other cervical vertebra were involved. The Thyroid was least affected [n-5] and major number of Decapitations [n-15] were carried out above the Thyroid cartilage and in 6 cases below the thyroid Cartilage. A decapitation was the Proximate Cause of Death in 07 cases, though associated with other nonfatal or near fatal injuries. Decapitations demonstrated extreme degree of violence and Mutilation. It is also a result of high degree of Offensive, Defensive and aggression. Public Display of Head in Complete Decapitation is a method to impose a sense of Fear, it is a mean to Propaganda and Intimidation. Keywords: Complete Decapitations; Homicide; Exsanguinations; Conceal; Postmortem.
Patterns in Forensic Decapitations A Review of the Literature and Case Report
Separation of the head from the body can occur for a variety of reasons and in various locations across the neck. This study presents a review of the literature to identify the patterns of decapitations in forensic cases in relation to manner of death, age, and anatomical location (n = 88). The most common manner of death was suicide, followed by homicide and then accident. Ages ranged from 32 weeks prenatal to 85 years. Decapitation is reported at higher rates for individuals between 19 and 65. The majority of decapitations occurred at the midneck (second to fifth cervical vertebrae), followed by the upper neck and then the lower neck. This pattern holds true for all manners of death; however, in homicides, the percentage occurring at the midneck decreases. The findings of this study indicate some patterns in terms of manner of death, age, and location of decapitation, which could aid the medicolegal community in interpreting neck trauma. A case study is also briefly presented to illustrate findings.
Medico-legal evaluation of deaths due to decapitation
Romanian Journal of Legal Medicine, 2012
Decapitation of bodies is a rare event in the civilian setting and is reported to account for approximately 0.1 % of medico-legal autopsies. Suicidal decapitation is a very rare method of self-destruction. In suicidal decapitation, the favored method is the one involving trains. Other encountered methods are decapitation in suicidal hanging, vehicle-assisted ligature suicide. Though being encountered rarely decapitation by guillotine was also reported. In this retrospective study, in order to depict characteristic features of deaths with decapitation, we presented the findings of fatalities with decapitation over a 10-year period in a medico-legal autopsy series in Istanbul, Turkey. A total of 36270 forensic autopsies were performed over the period of the study and in 19 cases, the bodies were found to be decapitated (0.05 %). The age range of decapitated bodies was 18 to 71 years (average 39,1 years), with a male to female ratio of 13/6. There was only one case of suicide and the way used for suicide was a mechanism like guillotine. In this case, a guillotine-like device designed by male victim had been used for deliberately decapitating the body. The age of the suicide case was 41 years. There was no female suicide case. There were 13 deaths of accidental origin. 6 vehicle crashes and 7 train-pedestrian accidents. The age range of individuals died in accidents was 26 to 68 years (average 36.8 years) with a male to female ratio of 11/2. During the study period the number of the homicide cases with decapitation was 5. The age range of homicide cases was 18 to 71 years (average, 45.2 years), with a male to female ratio of ¼. There were multiple traumas in other body parts of the bodies of homicide cases together with decapitation. In majority of homicide cases, multiple stab wounds were detected. Decapitation level of vertebrae was at the level of 3-4 cervical vertebrae in 9 cases and different levels at cervical region in other cases.
Accidental Decapitation: A Case Report
The American Journal of …, 2009
We report a case of an accidental decapitation of an agriculture worker in a field. The scene investigation revealed that the worker had loosely tied a scarf tied over his face in an attempt to diminish his exposure to barley dust, to which he was allergic, while distributing the barley loads with a shovel upon a trailer. The trailer was simultaneously being loaded by a helix elevator machine and its rotating shaft suddenly caught the victim's scarf and pulled it down to the victim's neck. The rotating motion immediately tightened the scarf around the neck resulting in hanging/strangulation noose that, by continued tightening, caused decapitation of the victim. The victim's body was found on the ground by the trailer and the victim's head was discovered in the barley load in the trailer. Examination revealed that the neck was severed at the level of the second and third cervical vertebrae.
Suicide by Blasting Caps: A Case Study of Rare Cranial Trauma*
Journal of Forensic Sciences, 2008
Suicide is a deliberate act of ending one's life. Suicide by use of any explosive device, when not involved in a terrorist act, is quite rare in occurrence when compared with other methods routinely utilized. In this paper, we present to the medicolegal community a case of an adult male who committed suicide with blasting caps and the subsequent extensive damage to the cranial hard tissue. Although the cause and manner of death were relatively straightforward, consultation with forensic anthropologists was requested for an anthropological trauma assessment of the highly fragmented skull. After the skull was cleaned and reconstructed, the analysis revealed similarities between blasting cap trauma to the head and high velocity gunshot trauma to the head. Therefore, in a case where some evidence may have been removed or destroyed, forensic analysis involving trauma of this magnitude could result in a misinterpretation of the true mechanism responsible for the osseous damage. In this case, cooperation among the law enforcement agency, coroner's investigators, the forensic pathologist, and forensic anthropologists provided a comprehensive death case analysis.
Acta neurochirurgica, 2002
The captive bolt gun (slaughterer's gun) is a tool used in the meat industry for "humane killing" of animals. Used with the intent of suicide, the captive bolt gun causes very serious injuries. We analysed 19 self-inflicted head injuries with captive bolt gun during the past 20 years. Autopsy of 20 pigs killed by this method was also performed. All 19 cases were middle-aged men from rural areas, with low level of education, and without a previous psychiatric history. Five of them used the captive bolt gun daily in their professional activities, while the remaining 14 handled it only sometimes. In seven cases suicide was primarily successful, while in five patients, despite intensive medical care, serious craniocerebral injuries eventually resulted in death. Total mortality was 63.2%. The clinical appearance of the entrance wound and the imaging characteristics of the cranial trauma are very specific, and can be easily differentiated from firearm or other penetrating in...
Cranial trauma in handgun executions: Experimental data using polyurethane proxies
A B S T R A C T Gun violence is a global phenomenon with regional variation in frequency and severity. Handguns are often used in violent deaths such as suicides and homicides. Hence, ballistic trauma is a critical subject of forensic investigations. Trauma patterns are fundamental evidence for the reconstruction of the incident and for the determination of the manner of death. This study investigated the differences in trauma patterns with a series of experiments using six different calibers (.22 LR, .38 Special, .380 ACP, 9 Â 19 mm, .40 S&W, and .45 ACP) and four different bullet types. Synbone 1 spheres (polyurethane bone proxies) were used for close range 30 cm simulated executions. The polyurethane spheres constitute an excellent proxy for human crania at the macroscopic level as suggested by other studies. The results showed that the radius of the entrance wound is positively correlated (Pearson's correlation coefficient R = 0.846, p < 0.05) with the caliber dimension. As muzzle velocity increased, endocranial beveling increased. Bullet weight, conversely, does not seem to have an effect on the size of the endocranial beveling present in Synbone 1 spheres. The ballistic experiments exhibited similarities in entrance wound morphology; radial and concentric fracture patterns, hydraulic burst effect, circumferential delamination, and endocranial beveling with that of documented forensic cases with corresponding caliber shot. Synbone spheres seem appropriate for ballistic simulations of cranial injuries; yet, more research is needed to verify these observations.
Journal of Forensic Sciences, 2007
The authors report a case of complete posthanging decapitation. The decapitated corpse lay against a pillar of a road bridge. The head had rolled 5 m from the trunk. The bridge was 7.2 m above the road level. The rope was 3.6 m long, its lower end was 3.6 m from the ground and its diameter was 10 mm. The noose used was a slip knot. Plain X-rays of the skull and cervical spine were obtained. The skull X-rays showed air in the meningeal spaces, in both lateral and third ventricles. The severance plane of the cervical spine was between the third and the fourth cervical vertebrae. No other cervical vertebral injuries were noted. At autopsy, the brain was macroscopically unremarkable except for air in the meningeal veins. The decapitation injuries of the head and the torso corresponded perfectly, without apparent loss of substance. The severance plane was confirmed. Dry bone study was carried out. Except for fractures of the extremities of the spinous processes of the second and third cervical vertebrae, no other bone injury of the spine was seen. The cervical vertebrae displayed numerous osteoarthritic lesions. The traditional hangman's fracture was not found. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of complete posthanging decapitation with a severance plane between the third and fourth cervical vertebrae.