Suicide By Hanging: An Analysis Of 312 Cases

Abstract

Hanging, the commonest method of suicide, is a form of violent asphyxia produced by suspending the body with a ligature round the neck. A total of 312 cases of suicidal hanging autopsied in this five years retrospective descriptive study spanning from January 2000 to December 2004 at Sir Salimullah Medical College (SSMC) morgue. The objective of this study was to evaluate the present situation, pattern of hanging, socio-demographic characteristics of victims and probable cause of suicidal hanging of studied population. Victims' mean( ± SD) age was (23.5 ± 11.7) years and highest number 146 (46.8%) of victims were from the age group 21-30 years. This study revealed that numbers of suicidal hanging cases were increasing day by day in the studied area (46 in 2000 and 82 in 2004). Out of 312 cases, 171 (55%) were female and 141 (45%) were male. Married cases were 165 (53%) and 204 (66%) victims hanged themselves at night. In 165 (53%) victims' stomach were found empty. Most of the cases 309 (99%) were complete hanging and majority 299 (96%) of the bodies were recovered from the living rooms. In two hundred and sixty nine (87%) cases had ligature mark at neck, 132 (43%) cases had fracture of hyoid bone and 45 (15%) victims had the fracture of thyroid cartilages and none of the victims had found spinal cord injury. Maximum number of victims 134 (43%) used ropes as ligature materials. Most common known 70 (23%) cause of self-suspension was quarrel between husband and wife.KYAMC Journal Vol. 4, No.-1, July 2013, Page 331-336

Distinguishing between homicide and suicide knots and ligatures: A comparative analysis of case and survey data

“…This finding agrees with published studies and case reports [1,2,13–20,22–73]. According to a sample of published data summarized in Table 8, full suspension in hanging suicides appears to be more prevalent than partial suspension in eastern cultures [48–64]. Most suicides in the current study, which occurred in North America, were found partially suspended by their neck ligatures, with their feet or knees touching the ground or nearby furniture.…”

“…A relatively consistent detail observed in this study was the tension of neck ligatures in the cases analyzed, which agrees with the forensic literature [22–70]. Knotted homicide strangulation ligatures were typically tighter than suicide ligatures used for hanging.…”

“…The literature data summarized in Table 9 indicate that neck ligatures are knotted more frequently at the back (typical) in external tying situations and more frequently at the front or on the sides of the neck (atypical) with self‐tying [49–54,57,61,65–69]. External and self‐tying knots can occur in various locations around the neck.…”

“…The differences in many specific knot and ligature characteristics are unknown. Further, the knot data reported in the literature are inconsistent, and numerous details have not been examined in case reports and international retrospective studies [1–6,13–20,25–74]. Published knot and ligature data acquired from homicides are not abundant.…”

“…Two notable findings emerged from the survey data: wrist gaps and chirality consistency. Table 8, full suspension in hanging suicides appears to be more prevalent than partial suspension in eastern cultures [48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61][62][63][64].…”