A Case Report of Rare Decapitation in Suicidal Hanging Death.

Kim, Dae Yoil; Lee, Sang Han

Case Report

Korean Journal of Legal Medicine 2011;35(2):152-156.
Published online November 30, 2011.

A Case Report of Rare Decapitation in Suicidal Hanging Death.

¹Scientific Investigation Team, Gyeongsan Police Station, Gyeongbuk Provincial Police Agency, Daegu, Korea.
²Department of Forensic Medicine, Kyungpook National University School of Medicine, Daegu, Korea. sanghan1@knu.ac.kr

Abstract

We report a rare case of complete decapitation in suicidal hanging from a bridge railing. A 71-year-old man weighing 75 kg jumped from the bridge of 6 m in height from the ground using a 4.5 m and 0.9 cm thick nylon rope with a running noose. The lower end of the rope was hanged 2.5 m from the ground. The decapitated body was found in the ground with blood pool. The head was 1 m apart from the body. The neck had a sharply demarcated circumferential band-like ligature mark with twisted diagonal lacerated margins. He had a history of depression and left a suicidal note. From the police investigation and death scene investigation, the case was determined as a suicidal hanging although the autopsy was not done. We reviewed literatures of decapitation cases in hanging deaths and compared the calculated physical forces applied to the ligature.

Key Words: hanging, decapitation, suicide