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

Abstract

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...