A charred body inside a burning car with a garden hose connected to the exhaust pipe: Post‐mortem self‐immolation, a complex or a complicated suicide after the ingestion of alcohol? The importance of an interdisciplinary approach

Abstract

The analysis of charred bodies represents a serious challenge for forensic pathologists, and an interdisciplinary approach is often the only way to determine the cause and manner of death. We present an unusual case in which the charred body of a 61‐year‐old man was found inside his burning vehicle. In order to determine cause and manner of death, an interdisciplinary team was employed, with experts in forensic pathology, forensic radiology, toxicology and fire investigations. Post‐mortem computed tomography, autopsy and toxicology ruled out the presence of trauma injury and detected signs of vital exposure to fire and blood alcohol levels. On the other hand, according to fire investigations, the fire started inside the car and partially burned fragments of a garden hose were found along the right side of the car. A suicide could therefore be hypothesized, with the man having attempted to poison himself with the car's exhaust fumes and having set the car on fire. The death was consistent with a complicated suicide in which the victim, in a state of reduced capability, accidentally set his car on fire and was unable to escape. The hypothesis of a complex suicide, with the car having been set deliberately on fire, could not, however, be ruled out.

Hyoid Bone Fracture Pattern Assessment in the Forensic Field: The Importance of Post Mortem Radiological Imaging

“…Therefore, the correct diagnostic process for the right diagnostic assessment of charred corpses must include analysis of those factors representative of the subject's vitality during flame exposure [21]. Among these, the presence of soot in the respiratory tract is considered representative of a subject's vitality during flame exposure; in fact, due to the presence of respiratory activity, carbonaceous particles are inhaled and subsequently observed during autopsy examination of the respiratory tract's mucosa, beyond the bifurcation of the large bronchi [22].…”