Citation

Peyron PA, Meusy A, Baccino E. Rev. Med. Leg. 2018; 9(1): 30-34.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.medleg.2017.08.004

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

In forensic practice, decapitation accounts for about 0.1% of autopsies and is encountered in cases of suicide, homicide, and accident-related deaths. We report the unusual case of a farm worker who suffered decapitation after his scarf had been accidentally caught by the drive shaft of a trailer. The decapitated corpse was crouched on the ground, hung by the upper clothing to the shaft, while the head was found on the ground. At autopsy, there was a complete decapitation with a rough horizontal severance line located between the third and the fourth cervical vertebrae. The wound margins were clear-cut and bloodless, with a sharply demarcated circular band-like abrasion zone surrounding the site of transection. There were numerous fractures of both the hyoid bone and the larynx, and a comminuted fracture of the mandible caused by its impact against the trailer tongue just before the beheading. The internal examination revealed evidence of blood aspiration that may be related to a transient regulation of breathing on the level of the spinal cord. The small amount of blood found at the scene and the absence of a significant pallor of the organs were explained by the upper clothing operating as a "tourniquet" around the neck. This is only the second case of strangulation-related decapitation due to the tightening force of the victim's clothes in the neck region reported in the literature. This case stresses the need for enforcing protection measures in the agricultural sector. © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS

Language: en

Keywords

Prevention; human; Agriculture; autopsy; cause of death; forensic pathology; strangulation; hyoid bone; Forensic pathology; Decapitation; occupational accident; mandible fracture; decapitation; agricultural worker; abrasion; Article; comminuted fracture; multiple fracture; Occupational accident