The persistence of ligature marks: towards a new protocol for victims of abuse and torture

Abstract

One of the most frequently observed lesions in clinical forensic practice concerns the patterned abrasion on skin due to constriction by various types of ligature. Detection of ligature marks and their patterns may be fundamental for reconstructing events and supporting testimony of an aggression, sexual abuse, or maltreatment. But very little actually exists in literature concerning their detectability and how long they last. This study aims at evaluating the time of persistence and detectability of skin signs left by different types of ligatures in living persons: on the arms of three volunteers, eight different ligatures were applied; 123 tests were performed, with time of contact ranging between 1 min and 2 h and 45 min. In addition, the persistence of the shape and pattern of the ligature was evaluated 15, 30, and 60 min after a 5- and 15-min compression. Polyvinyl siloxane, applied by a gun dispenser, was used to perform a cast of the skin mark. The results show that the pattern was less distinguishable with the decrease of time of contact, going from 75 % after 10 and 15 min of contact, to 45.8 % after 1 min. Above 15 min, the specific pattern was always recognizable. In addition, a progressive decrease of the detectability of the pattern with time, respectively, up to 12.5 and 37.5 % in 5- and 15-min tests was observed. This study provides useful results for the assessment of patterned injuries in forensic pathology and clinical forensic medicine, both on dead and living persons: in addition, the use of silicone casts seems to be a reliable and cheap method for easily recording and preserving the morphological profile of skin lesions.

Decubitus ulcers and ligature marks as evidence in a homicide case

“…Circumferential abrasions of the wrists and ankle suggested a prolonged application of tight ligature around arms, legs and neck, which could have been used to immobilize the woman [13]. The long duration of the bending was suggested by the perseverance of the lesions and the necrosis of the fingers of the left hand that could be attributable to arterial A c c e p t e d M a n u s c r i p t insufficiency due to pressure exerted over the left radial artery and its branches [14,15]. Skin lesions in form of contusions of different timing, although non-fatal and non-specific from a forensic point of view, were interpreted as evidence of a chronic, persistent physical violence, at least in the latest period of life.…”

Forensic application of epidermal expression of HSP27 and HSP70 for the determination of wound vitality in human compressed neck skin

“…Ligature mark is a well-known compression marker on the neck of hanging or strangulation cases. Analyzing the patterned grooves in the neck found at autopsy can help determine the type of hanging or strangulation 1 – 3 . The visibility of neck ligature marks is highly dependent on the nature and texture of the ligature 4 .…”