Study approved by the Ethics Committee of the Legal Medical Institute of Porto Velho – RO, at meeting 003/2022, held on 07/08/2022. The authors inform there is no conflict of interest.
ESGORJAMENTO HOMICIDA ATÍPICO NO BRASIL
Conrado Falcon Pessoa (1)
http://lattes.cnpq.br/7889843286078053 – https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4854-5141
Nathália dos Santos Vieira Loubet (2)
http://lattes.cnpq.br/7287028244416209 – https://orcid.org/0009-0008-2956-6696
Ana Cecília Guedes Pereira Falcão (3)
http://lattes.cnpq.br/8421929250333889 – https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0876-2590
Murilo Sérgio Valente-Aguiar (4)
http://lattes.cnpq.br/5886046890650632 – https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4623-7022
(1) Centro Universitário São Lucas – UNISL, Porto Velho – RO, Brasil. (autor principal)
(2) Centro Universitário São Lucas – UNISL, Porto Velho – RO, Brasil. (autor secundário)
(3) Faculdades Integradas Aparício de Carvalho – FIMCA, Porto Velho – RO, Brasil. (levantamento bibliográfico e coordenador)
(4) Instituto Médico Legal Dr. José Adelino da Silva, Porto Velho – RO, Brasil. (coordenador e orientador)
Email: conradofalcon@hotmail.com
ABSTRACT
When the police are called in to investigate a crime involving neck incisions, determining the nature of the wounds – whether they were inflicted by homicidal, suicidal, or accidental means – can be challenging. This is especially true if the medical examiner cannot be present at the crime scene or if there are no reliable witnesses to provide insight into the nature of the wounds.
In this case report, the victim’s body displayed four incisive wounds to the anterior part of the neck. Three of these wounds had hesitation marks, indicating that the cause of death was likely suicidal. However, two cervical constriction marks suggested the possibility of strangulation. As the police investigation progressed, it was discovered that these marks were consistent with the pattern left by the rope used by the killers to drag the body to a remote location away from the crime scene. The hesitation marks, on the other hand, were attributed to the killer’s alcohol intoxication.
All this information was crucial in enabling the medical examiner to rule out strangulation as the cause of death, and instead determine that the victim had died due to mechanical asphyxiation resulting from blood aspiration from the neck incisions. This conclusion enabled the crime to be classified as an atypical homicide. It is important to emphasize that sharing the findings from forensic autopsies of homicides is essential for the advancement and improvement of forensic medicine.
Keywords: Homicide, Suicide, Autopsy, Asphyxia, Strangulation, Neck injuries.
Bibliographical references
[1] Hercules HC. Medicina Legal – Atlas e Texto, Editora Atheneu, São Paulo, Brasil, 2008.
[2] Croce DCJr. Manual de Medicina Legal, 8ª ed., Saraiva, São Paulo, Brasil, 2012.
[3] Aguiar MSV. Manual Prático de Fotografia Forense – com casos comentados, 1ª ed., Fontenele Publicações, São Paulo, 2020.
[4] Gôk E, Fedakar R. Suicide of a butcher by cut-throat: a case report. Adli Bilimler Dergisi / Turkish Journal of Forensic Sciences 18(4) (2019) 21 – 25.
[5] Yadav A, Raheel MS, Kumar RL, Sharma SK, Kanwar H. Cut-throat wounds: Suicidal and homicidal-two case reports and review of literature. Medicine, science, and the law 56(1) (2016) 53-7.
[6] Ozdemir B, Celbis O, Kaya A. Cut throat injuries and honor killings: review of 15 cases in eastern Turkey. J Forensic Leg Med 20(4) (2013) 198-203.
[7] Vidanapathirana M, Samaraweera JC. Homicidal Cut Throat: The Forensic Perspective. Journal of clinical and diagnostic research : JCDR 10(3) (2016) GD01-2.
[8] Demirci S, Dogan KH, Gunaydin G. Throat-cutting of accidental origin, Journal of forensic sciences 53(4) (2008) 965-7.
[9] Nwawolo CC, Asoegwu CN. Experience with Managing Penetrating Anterior Neck Injuries in Lagos, Nigeria. Journal of the West African College of Surgeons 7(3) (2017) 1-23.
[10] S.A. Kumar, V. Kumar Ms, Y.R. Babu, M. Prasad, A case of “atypical homicidal” cut-throat injury, The Medico-legal journal 84(3) (2016) 156-8.
[11] G.V.d. França, Medicina Legal, 11ª ed., Guanabara Koogan, Rio de Janeiro – RJ, Brasil, 2017.
[12] M.S. Valente-Aguiar, A.C. Falcão, T. Magalhães, R.J. Dinis-Oliveira, A Cruel Homicide via Blades of a Young Boy under Custody in a Juvenile Correctional Unit, Forensic Sciences 1(1) (2021) 4-7.
[13] N. Bhattacharjee, S.M. Arefin, S.M. Mazumder, M.K. Khan, Cut throat injury: a retrospective study of 26 cases, Bangladesh Medical Research Council bulletin 23(3) (1997) 87-90.
[14] S. Mugoma, G.N. Phokedi, Suicidal ligature strangulation utilizing doubled cable ties – A case report, Forensic Science International: Reports 2 (2020) 100098.
[15] S.-D. Mercè, E. Prunés-Galera, M. Galdo-Ouro, An uncommon suicide method: Self-strangulation by vehicle-assisted ligature, Egyptian Journal of Forensic Sciences 4(1) (2014) 21-24.
[16] S. Cordner, F.J. Clay, R. Bassed, A.H. Thomsen, Suicidal ligature strangulation: a systematic review of the published literature, Forensic science, medicine, and pathology (2019).
[17] K. Serena, J.P. Piva, C. Andreolio, P.R.A. Carvalho, T.S.D. Rocha, Accidental strangulation in children by the automatic closing of a car window, Rev Bras Ter Intensiva 30(1) (2018) 112-115.
[18] S. Acharya, R.K. Dash, A. Das, M. Hota, C. Mohapatra, S. Dash, An Epidemiological Study of Cut Throat Injury During COVID-19 Pandemic in a Tertiary Care Centre, Indian journal of otolaryngology and head and neck surgery : official publication of the Association of Otolaryngologists of India (2020) 1-6.
[19] M. Raleng, A.P. Pore, T. Alinger, Exceptionally Unusual Case of a Self-Inflicted Suicidal Cut Throat Injury, Journal of Trauma and Injury 33(2) (2020) 134-137.
