Abstract

BARBERIA MARCALAIN, E.  and  MIRO GARCIA, F.. Decapitation by suicidal hanging. Cuad. med. forense [online]. 2002, n.28, pp.43-48. ISSN 1988-611X.

Most suicides are by hanging. In this type of death, complete decapitation is very rarely produced, few cases being documented in the literature. In this paper we review the determinant mechanisms for decapitation in hanging, as also the specific peculiarities of the picture, so as to carry out a comparative analysis of our findings, coincidental factors being: free fall, the resistance and thinness of the rope, and the significant weight of the subject. A factor which does not coincide in the reviewed articles is the level of occipital-atloid decapitation, which we have not found in the cases reviewed, although it is described as a possibility in some texts. Finally we make a few suggestions which we consider useful when analysing and evaluating deaths of this type.

Keywords : hanging; decapitation; suicide; autopsy; occipital-atloid.

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