Suicide with self-contrived guillotine

Gahr, Britta; Matzenauer, Carmen Lúcia Barreto; Gabriel, Peter; Ritz‐Timme, Stefanie

doi:10.1007/s00194-012-0820-2

Cited by 5 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 23 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…This is illustrated by the literature and case reports on PMI estimates via, e.g. total body scores, in which entomological evidence is noted and described but not used and analysed as relevant evidence [72][73][74][75][76][77][78], or by the statement of a retired director of an Institute of legal medicine, who mentions (personal communication) that entomological analyses were not necessary in the decades of his professional activity. Such kind of ignorance is a human stigma from which every profession can suffer, i.e.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

It is all about the insects: a retrospective on 20 years of forensic entomology highlights the importance of insects in legal investigations

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This study highlights the importance of insect evidence by evaluating 949 insect-associated cases, including 139 entomological reports, from 2001 to 2019 at the Institute of Legal Medicine Frankfurt/Germany. With a high number of cases in the summer months and a low number in the colder season, 78.5% of the bodies were found indoors, regardless of year or month. In more than 80% of the cases, where PMI information was available (n = 704), the presumed PMI ranged from 1 to 21 days, a period during which entomological evidence can provide a day-specific estimate of PMImin. In cases where insects have been identified to species level (n = 279), most bodies were infested by one or two species with a maximum of 10 different species. Overall, a total of 55 insect species were found. Information on biology, activity and distribution of the most abundant taxa is given and applied for 5 case histories estimating different PMImins of up to over 6 months. Despite proved importance and scientific development of forensic entomology, insects are still rarely considered as a tool in forensic case work. The main reasons are a lack of awareness and (too) late involvement of a forensic entomologist. Our work shows that forensic entomology is an independent discipline that requires specialist expertise.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

It is all about the insects: a retrospective on 20 years of forensic entomology highlights the importance of insects in legal investigations

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In the suicide context, decapitation as a consequence of a violent method is always a potential factor for confusion with homicide [6]. Suicide cases include motor or vehicle-assisted suicides, railway-related suicides (under the train wheels), suicide deaths caused by explosives or a guillotine, unintentional self-decapitation as a result of hanging (caused by a putrefaction reaction), or post-mortem decapitation by domestic dogs or other animals [5,[7][8][9][10][11][12][13]. Decapitation due to homicide is found in cases of criminal corpse dismemberment [14].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dismemberment by a tamping machine: An unusual case of work-related accidental decapitation

Maselli¹,

Dell’Erba²,

Lobifaro³

et al. 2014

RJLM

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We report the case of a 45-year-old railway worker who was literally decapitated during a work shift. He was working with his colleagues close to a Ballast Cleaning Machine (BCM) behind the driver. This case occurred during the night time, under artificial light that probably allowed this traumatic event. The workplace investigation revealed the victim's head and the right arm were detached from the remains of the body. Probably the cutter bar of the BCM caught his jacket and trapped him in the right arm of the machinery, cutting off his head. The external examination of the body and the following medico-legal autopsy showed excoriated streaks and de-epithelialization area on all over the body, fractures and laceration of the cervical region and of the right arm. Toxicological analyses were negative for alcohol or drug abuse. To the best of our knowledge, no other similar cases have been reported in the international literature.

show abstract

Complete decapitation by a self-constructed guillotine

Görg,

Schwarz,

Wunder

et al. 2023

Rechtsmedizin

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

ZusammenfassungDekapitationen sind im rechtsmedizinischen Sektionsgut nur selten vorzufinden; die jeweilige Fallbeurteilung als Tötungsdelikt, Suizid oder Unfall in Abgrenzung zu einer postmortalen Entstehung kann insbesondere bei komplexeren Auffindesituationen erschwert sein. Vorgestellt wird ein seltener Fall einer vollständigen Abtrennung des Kopfes durch eine selbstkonstruierte Guillotine, der sich in der Zusammenschau der computertomographischen und autoptischen Befunde, beispielsweise Vitalitätszeichen, sowie der Auffindesituation mit einer elaborierten suizidalen Handlung in Einklang bringen ließ.

show abstract

Suicide with self-contrived guillotine

Cited by 5 publications

References 23 publications

It is all about the insects: a retrospective on 20 years of forensic entomology highlights the importance of insects in legal investigations

It is all about the insects: a retrospective on 20 years of forensic entomology highlights the importance of insects in legal investigations

Dismemberment by a tamping machine: An unusual case of work-related accidental decapitation

Complete decapitation by a self-constructed guillotine

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About