Drowning with Bound Wrists: Report of Two Autopsy Cases.

Lee, Taebum; Park, Hyun Do; Jung, Yong Han; Kim, Jung Hwan; Ha, Hongil

doi:2017.41.3.78

Korean J Leg Med > Volume 41(3); 2017 > Article

Case Report

Korean Journal of Legal Medicine 2017;41(3):78-82.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.7580/kjlm.2017.41.3.78 Published online August 31, 2017.

Drowning with Bound Wrists: Report of Two Autopsy Cases.

Taebum Lee, Hyun Do Park, Yong Han Jung, Jung Hwan Kim, Hongil Ha

¹Department of Pathology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
²Busan Metropolitan Police, Busan, Korea.
³Division of Forensic Medicine, National Forensic Service Busan Institute, Yangsan, Korea.
⁴Division of Forensic Investigation, National Forensic Service Seoul Institute, Seoul, Korea. sanchee@korea.kr

Abstract

Drowned bodies with bound wrists are occasionally observed in forensic practice. Suicidal victims may bind their hands or feet with a rope to ensure success of the suicide attempt, but the possibility of homicidal drowning cannot be excluded. We report on two autopsy cases of drowning with bound wrists. A 51-year-old man (case 1) was found in the bathroom beside the bathtub, with his head under the water in the bathtub. His wrists were tied with a green bath towel. An 83-year-old man (case 2) was found dead in a reservoir. His wrists were loosely bound with blue nylon traps on the back, and both ankles were loosely tied with socks, with a simple knot on the left ankle. At autopsy, the lungs were hyperinflated, and foamy fluid was exuded from the bronchi in both cases.

Key Words: Drowning, Suicide, Autopsy