Citation

Peyron PA, Casper T, Mathieu O, Musizzano Y, Baccino E. J. Forensic Sci. 2018; 63(2): 598-601.

Affiliation

Département de Médecine Légale, Hôpital Lapeyronie, CHU de Montpellier, 371 Avenue du doyen Gaston Giraud, Cedex 5, Montpellier, 34295, France.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, American Society for Testing and Materials, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/1556-4029.13537

PMID

28662311

Abstract

Sharp force injuries and drowning are methods exceptionally combined in complex suicides. We report a challenging case of complex suicide by self-stabbing and drowning that illustrates the difficulty in discriminating between homicide and suicide in such circumstances of death. The corpse of a young man was found submerged in a river, stabbed nine times with two wounds that had penetrated the thorax and had caused lung injuries and a hemopneumothorax. The postmortem and histological examinations were consistent with a death caused by drowning, but the manner of death still remained undetermined. Police investigation finally concluded to a suicide, although no suicide note had been left and the victim had no underlying diagnosed mental disorder. The parameters that may help distinguish suicide from homicide at the autopsy should be interpreted in light of a thorough forensic investigation to determine the exact manner of death in such a case.

© 2017 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

Language: en

Keywords

autopsy; complex suicide; drowning; forensic pathology; forensic science; manner of death; stab wounds