Citation

Das S, Patra AP, Shaha KK, Sistla SC, Jena MK. Am. J. Forensic Med. Pathol. 2013; 34(1): 34-37.

Affiliation

From the Departments of *Forensic Medicine and Toxicology and †Surgery, JIPMER, Puducherry; and ‡Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, VSS Medical College, Burla, Odisha, India.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2013, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins)

DOI

10.1097/PAF.0b013e31828167a7

PMID

23361081

Abstract

Poisoning, hanging, and burning are the usual methods adopted by people to commit suicide. Suicide by electrocution and that too high voltage is one of the rarest methods adopted for the purpose. We report the case of a young man who committed suicide by climbing up a 25-ft-high electric pole. The deceased was a regular alcoholic and was under severe depression for a long time because of his personal problems. He survived for more than 2 days after the incident. His serum urea and creatinine levels were elevated, so were the creatine kinase total and creatine kinase-MB level. The method adopted and the findings make this case a rare scientific report. Moreover, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case in an English scientific literature of a high-voltage suicidal electrocution with multiple exit wounds. The circumstances surrounding the manner of electrocution and the features of electric injuries are presented and discussed.

Language: en