Citation

Palazzo C, Fais P, Mazzotti MC, Gaudio RM, Pelletti G, Pelotti S. Forensic Sci. Med. Pathol. 2018; 14(1): 109-113.

Affiliation

Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Unit of Legal Medicine, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s12024-018-9952-3

PMID

29423778

Abstract

The term "planned complex suicide" means the combination of more than one method of suicide, planned to prevent failure of the first method to ensure a fatal outcome. Professional skills and tools are sometimes used to plan and perpetrate the suicide. A case of planned complex suicide of a mechanical engineer working with furnaces in a tube factory is herein reported. The suicide was committed in a rudimental furnace set up in the victim's apartment using his professional skills, by assembling furniture, mattresses, books and flammable liquid present in the house. Three-dimensional models of the crime scene before and after the realization of the "homemade furnace" are proposed. The discussion will focus on the importance of a comprehensive analysis of the professional background of the victim to infer the manner of death for the identification of complex and occupation-related suicides.

Language: en

Keywords

3D reconstruction; Complex suicide; Death scene investigation; Homemade furnace; Occupational skills