Unusual suicides with band saws: Two case reports and a literature review

Gloulou, F.; Allouche, Mohamed; Khelil, Mehdi Ben; Békir, Olfa; Banasr, Ahmed; Zhioua, M.; Hamdoun, Moncef

doi:10.1016/j.forsciint.2008.09.017

Cited by 19 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…According to an extensive literature search of the last 40 years made by Grellner and Wilske , only 11 cases of completed suicides by means of chain saw ( n = 6) and circular saws ( n = 5) have been reported . Together with Grellner and Wilske's (1) two cases, we identified a further three cases of suicide by a power saw in the literature . Fatal accidents with a power saw such as a band saw, chain saw, and circular saw are very rarely reported in the medico‐legal literature .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 87%

Circular Saw‐Associated Fatality Mimicking Gunshot Injury

Hejna

Zátopková

Šafr

et al. 2012

Journal of Forensic Sciences

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A 61-year-old man was found dead in the yard of his house with penetrating injury of the trunk. Initial examination of the body revealed a single penetrating injury on his chest with a collar abrasion-the injury pattern that is similar to a gunshot entry wound or shored exit wound. According to witnesses, the man had cut wooden frames from old windows with a circular saw. X-rays of the torso revealed a contrast object resembling a projectile in the left scapular region. The internal examination disclosed an isolated trunk trauma involving the left lung. In the soft tissue, between the inner edge of the left scapula and thoracic spine, the fragment of a metal nail was found. The autopsy confirmed that the wound on the chest was a non-firearm-related injury. The death of deceased was attributed to massive internal hemorrhage. Further investigation revealed that the pseudo-gunshot wound injury of the trunk of the victim was caused by a fast-flying metal object thrown against the man's trunk from a circular saw while cutting the wooden beams of old windows.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 87%

Circular Saw‐Associated Fatality Mimicking Gunshot Injury

Hejna

Zátopková

Šafr

et al. 2012

Journal of Forensic Sciences

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“…In all cases presented, the diagnosis of death by suicide was formulated after a thorough analysis of the death scene, cross checking autoptic results with circumstantial details and examining suicide notes left by the victims to justify their act. Generally speaking, among the most common sites chosen by suicides, the victim's home prevails among all others [3]; however, suicide acts are reported committed in places located far away from the victim's home, either chosen randomly or in the light of the particular meaning they have for the victim: job place [4] where, in particular, the suicide method used is frequently connected with the job itself [5][6][7][8][9]; natural environment, where corpses are found in fields [10][11], rivers [12] or woods [13][14], often characterized by specific symbolic meanings -for instance, the Aokigahara-Jukai forest, at the foot of Mount Fuji, is the principal suicide site in Japan where every year 30 victims commit suicide [15].…”

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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“…The literature shows that nearly all suicides with power operated saws involve either the head or inTRoDuCTion Suicidal deaths utilising electrical power saws are exceedingly rare with 20 cases having been reported in the English and German literature [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%