Suicide by Pencil

Grimaldi, Leonardo; De-Giorgio, Fabio; Masullo, Mara; Zoccai, Giuseppe Biondi; Martinotti, Giovanni; Rainio, Juha

doi:10.1520/jfs2004496

Cited by 6 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…Regarding the group of suicides, the leading cause of death was hanging, which may reflect the nature of the prison environment. 19 Even though means sufficient to achieve the compression of the neck are generally easy to find in prison, we have also recorded unusual methods of suicide, 20 in which the prisoners used alternative means (e.g. plastic bags, knives and inhalation of butane gas from gas cans).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Mortality in Prisons: The Experience of the Bureau of Legal Medicine of Milan (Italy) (1993–2017)

et al. 2021

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We undertook a retrospective analysis of deaths that took place in prisons in Milan between 1993 and 2017, by identifying cases from a total of 24,101 autopsies that were performed at the Section of Forensic Medicine of the University of Milan. From the archives of this institution, we found 227 autopsy reports relating to deaths that had taken place in one of Milan’s three detention facilities. These deaths were divided into two types: natural deaths ( n=135; 59.5%) and violent deaths ( n=92; 40.5%). The groups have different characteristics: while natural deaths mostly resulted from cardiovascular diseases, suicides were mainly the result of hanging. Further, people who died by suicide often had a history of psychiatric disease and/or drug abuse, and over a quarter of them had previous suicide attempts and/or had declared suicidal intentions. This study confirms the need for good quality healthcare services for prisoners, given that they remain a population at high risk of early death.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Mortality in Prisons: The Experience of the Bureau of Legal Medicine of Milan (Italy) (1993–2017)

et al. 2021

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“…To the best of our knowledge, only one case of a homicide attempt with a Japanese samurai sword has been described in the forensic literature and none with a sickle [5]. The use of unusual weapons in suicide cases has already been reported [6–10].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Homicide by unusual‐edged weapons: Forensic considerations of two cases

Karray

Dubois

Savall

et al. 2020

Journal of Forensic Sciences

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Homicide by stab wound is common worldwide. However, the use of unusual edged weapons is rarely reported in the forensic literature. Here, we report two cases of homicide involving a Japanese sword, or katana, and a sickle. Both of these weapons can create either stab or incised wounds with some particularities. In our cases, characteristics of the external wounds, internal injuries, and the depth of penetration raised the possibility of an unusual weapon. Meticulous forensic examination of these injuries (morphological characteristics, depth of penetration, trajectories, and cut marks in the bone) may allow the forensic expert to determine the type of weapon used.

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“…Occasionally, suicide can occur inside vehicles by adopting simple suicide methods of different kinds [16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24], or with multiple methods [25][26][27][28], not to mention suicides committed in protected environments like jails [29][30][31][32], hospitals and health care facilities [33][34]. Recent studies from the Unites States report an increasing number of cases of suicide by jumping or falling from parking garages [35].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unusual Suicide Settings: A Forensic-Pathological Analysis Four Cases of Suicide in Cemetery

Zoja¹

2017

FRCIJ

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The Author choose the cases of suicides in the cemetery performed in a period of 24 years in Milan. They highlight the general aspects, together with the forensic pathology and the psychopathological data. In Milan area, the selected cases were 4. The selected sample validates that cemetery suicide are rare and victims present three common features: a depressive mental disorder, the male sex and the burial of a beloved person in the cemetery of the suicide. These observations could enrich the knowledge of epidemiological analysis of such modality of suicide.Keywords: Suicide; Cemetery; Forensic pathology 41 cases of graveside killings is offered, all committed between 1969 and 1992, among which 18 suicides are documented [2]. In the current study, through a manual search of autoptic files over 20 years , the authors identified analogous cases occurred in seven cemeter is in the city of Milan, Italy (Baggio, Bruzzano, Chiaravalle, Greco, Lambrate, Cimitero Maggiore and Cimitero Monumentale) and in the metropolitan area. For each of the cases, an analysis of the crime scene is offered together with details obtained from autoptic examination; finally, the authors provide a tentative psychopathological analysis of the possible motivations connected to this unusual suicide site. Materials and MethodsOut of 22.764 autoptic examinations carried out in over 20 years (January 1 st 1993 -December 31 st 2015) at the Medico-legal Bureau, Milan State University, 3.902 suicides were identified and, among them, those committed in cemeteries or surrounding area were extracted and compared to those with analogous setting committed in Italy. As for the latter type of information, reference was made for data processing purposes to the online archives and to the major Italian national daily papers (Corriere della Sera, La Repubblica), local newspapers (Il Giorno and Il Giornale), and to the database of the Italian national and regional press agency (ANSA). The study was integrated by consulting generic search engines and Internet websites, as well as printed paper volumes and repertories. ResultsThe cases identified for the purpose of the present study were 4 (0.017% of the total number of the autoptic examinations carried out in that time frame) and they constitute 0,10% of all suicides examined at the Medico-legal Bureau, Milan State University. In line with previous studies [1-2], suicide in the cemetery seems to be a phenomenon mostly connected to male gender; the mean age is mostly around adulthood-third age with frequent presence of a positive psychiatric history. All victims were affected by depressive disorders, 75% were under psychiatric pharmacological treatment, while the remaining 25% was affected by bipolar disorder with hypochondriacal ideation. Moreover, half of the sample had a history of previous suicide attempts; the remaining half, though the absence of suicide attempts, had frequently expressed suicide intent. Suicides occurred in a timeframe between three months and a year since their loving ones' death...

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Suicide by Pencil

Cited by 6 publications

References 5 publications

Mortality in Prisons: The Experience of the Bureau of Legal Medicine of Milan (Italy) (1993–2017)

Mortality in Prisons: The Experience of the Bureau of Legal Medicine of Milan (Italy) (1993–2017)

Homicide by unusual‐edged weapons: Forensic considerations of two cases

Unusual Suicide Settings: A Forensic-Pathological Analysis Four Cases of Suicide in Cemetery

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