Unusual cases of suicidal electrocution using a homemade device

Background The common methods of suicide are hanging and poisoning. Suicidal electrocution using a homemade device is very rare. Victims usually possess knowledge of electrical circuits. Here, we report two cases of suicide by electrocution using a homemade device. Case presentation: Case 1: A retired electrical technician was found unresponsive in his bedroom, with two bare copper wires; one encircling the index finger of the left hand, and the other placed in the mouth. The other ends of the wires were connected to a wall plug supplying 220 V current. Forensic autopsy and microscopic findings attributed death to suicidal electrocution. Case 2: A 51-year-old-man was found dead in the bathroom with bare copper wires encircling both wrists and connected to a wall plug carrying 220 V current. Death scene investigation, necropsy, histological tests and toxicological screening indicated suicide by electrocution.

Importance of dashboard camera (Dash Cam) analysis in fatal vehicle–pedestrian crash reconstruction

The reconstruction of dynamic of traffic injuries remains a challenge in forensic pathology and is often based on circumstantial data. Dash Cams are digital video recorders which can be located inside a vehicle and continuously record the view through the windscreen, thus providing objective evidence. Here we present the case of a traffic crash in which a pedestrian was hit by an articulated lorry. The analysis of a video recorded from a Dash Cam retrieved inside the vehicle during the death scene investigation (DSI) was crucial in the reconstruction of the manner of death. Indeed, the death, which was initially assumed to be accidental, was finally deemed as a suicide on the basis of the video recording, which showed an intentional and sudden rush of the victim to the middle of the roadway. Advantages and disadvantages of the use of Dash Cams will be discussed, focusing on the profound differences in the related national and international regulations. Based on the present case, in traffic crashes, the search for Dash Cams during the DSI may be recommended and the video recordings should be analyzed in the setting of a multidisciplinary and multimodal evaluation of the case, for a proper reconstruction of the facts.

A Case of Fatal Electrocution in Rural Nepal

Although preventable, electrocutions have claimed many lives in Nepal. People of low socio-economic background from remote villages in Nepal who visit jungle to tend cattle, collect firewood and cattle fodder are vulnerable to electrocution when the foliage are in contact with the power lines. We present a case of a 11-year-old boy who was found suspended over three naked high-tension electric wires approximately 30 feet above the ground in rural Nepal. This article describes a case of fatal electrocution and attempts to explain a reasons for such mishaps in Nepal through consideration of topography and socioeconomic factors. This article further discusses the death scene investigation in such cases. Keywords: Death scene investigation; fatal electrocution; high-tension transmission

Suicidal Cut-throat Fatalities: A Case Report from the Kingdom of Bahrain

Using a sharp tool by an individual to cause a severe cut-throat injury is considered an unusual method for suicide. Investigating such suicidal cases is challenging, as no witness is available only the crime scene findings, the autopsy finding and the history of the victim. In this case report, we demonstrate a rare suicidal case received by the directorate of forensic science evidence in the Kingdom of Bahrain. A 39-year-old male was found with a neck laceration in his house, a small knife was found near his body, autopsy showed a cut-throat injury almost completely encircling the neck. Multiple superficial wounds were found in the proximity and parallel to the large incised wound in the front and back of the neck suggesting that they were hesitation marks. A stab wound was found directly medial to the left nipple. The final report was based on death scene investigation, autopsy findings and forensic laboratory results concluding that the death was suicidal in nature.

The Significance of Death-Scene Investigation in Determining Cause and Circumstances of Medico-Legal Death

The article presents two cases of the Arad Medico-Legal Department illustrating just a part of the role of the forensic pathologist at the death scene but there are sufficient to fully justify the importance of this investigation as no example can comprise the complexity of problems and the particularity of each case, nor a statistic can be made. Both cases were found dead at home and forensically autopsied, but the two of them were distinct in terms of forensic pathologist's request death scene participation. In the first case, the autopsy did not find traumatic lesions, but revealed that the death was due to massive hemoptysis caused by cavernous tuberculosis with subsequent exsanguination, microscopically confirmed. The death was nonviolent. In the second case, the autopsy revealed findings of mechanical asphyxia due to neck compression, both macroscopically and microscopically. The death was violent. In both cases the forensic expert participation is required at the death-scene. In the first case it allowed the correct interpretation of the traces of blood found on site, and in the second case, an onsite research would have properly helped for restoring the death‟s occurrence. The scene investigation and autopsy provide, together, the basis for an accurate determination of cause and circumstances of death.

Death due to severe blood loss following an accidental lesion to the femoral vessels

Deaths from sharp force injuries are a significant cause of violent death. While homicides and suicides caused by sharp force wounds are common, accidental injuries are less often described in forensic literature, so their actual incidence or prevalence is not known. This paper presents an accidental death due to massive blood loss which resulted from lesions to the left femoral vessels by glass fragments. The body was found in a pool of blood surrounded by hundreds of glass fragments. Autopsy revealed a near-total transection of the superficial femoral artery, and two wounds of the superficial femoral vein. In case of accidental sharp force injuries, a thorough medico-legal process, including death scene investigation, autopsy examination and toxicological analyses, is always necessary to determine the manner of death.