Suicidal ligature strangulation utilizing cable ties: a report of three cases

Abstract

In 2006 the US National Vital Statistics Report recorded 33,300 suicides in the United States, of which hanging, strangulation and suffocation combined to account for 7,491 (22.5%) of the cases. Self strangulation by ligature is uncommon and in the majority of cases, scarves, belts, neckties and rope are used. We report three instances where cable ties were secured around the neck in order to commit suicide. All had a history of depression. One was a 37-year-old man who used a belt to complete the act after an unsuccessful attempt to use cable ties. The second was a 63-year old woman who used multiple cable ties to accomplish her goal. In the third case a tensioning tool was used by a 54-year old man to tighten a cable tie around his neck during self strangulation. Utilization of a tool to tighten the cable ties has not previously been reported.

Suicidal ligature strangulation without an auxiliary mechanism. Reports of two cases with a cotton rope or a T-shirt and staining results of the brains using anti HSP-70, CIRBP, RBM3, HIF1-alpha, SIRT 1 and p53 antibodies

“…Suicidal self-strangulation requires use of a ligature that can be locked in place by some mechanism [4]. Sorokin et al [5] described that if the ligature is only tightened manually by the individual and there is no locking mechanism then the tension applied will be lost upon loss of consciousness with associated muscle relaxation, flowing by resumption of cerebral blood flow and the regaining individual consciousness. In cases of ligature strangulation, the importance of distinguishing selfinflicted death from homicide is crucial.…”

Self‐Strangulation Turning into Partial Hanging for a Suicide Victim

“…Suicide by self‐strangulation is unusual but not rare. Case reports and case series have been published in the scientific literature . Our case is an interesting case of suicide by self‐strangulation, which culminated into partial hanging due to a unique mechanism used for the process.…”

“…Analysis of various case reports and case series published on self‐strangulation indicates that the victims of these types of suicide are predominantly male and are above 30 years of age. The ligature used in these cases are a twin, cable tie, hemp rope, scarf, fabric belt, a sleeve of a shirt, nylon rope, dressing gown cord, underpants elastic, telephone wire, pantyhose, wire cloth hanger, rubber band, shoelace, elastic gymnastic bands and waist belt.…”

Asphyxia using a piece of a sarong at a psychiatric unit: a case of self-strangulation

“…Z piśmiennictwa wynika, że samozadzierzgnięcie nie jest niemożliwe i bywa mylone z zabójstwem [4,15]. Do przypadkowego zadzierzgnięcia może dojść podczas czynności seksualnych [16,17] lub u dzieci [18][19][20], a niekiedy także u dorosłych [21][22][23][24][25][26]. Określenie sposobu śmierci w takich przypadkach jest złożonym zadaniem [5].…”