Motor vehicle-assisted ligature strangulation causing complete decapitation: an autopsy report

The victim, a 63-year-old prosperous businessman from Labasa, of the Northern Island (Vanua Levu) of Fiji Islands, was found completely decapitated in the early hours of morning in 2004. Initial police investigation did not reveal any history of any medical or family calamity. Further inquiry by the police revealed that on the previous day the deceased had visited all his friends and relatives, and his behavior was not out of the ordinary. The police suspected it to be a case of homicide. On visit to the scene, a completely decapitated body was found in a van on a downhill road. Tire marks were found on the road. A nylon rope was used for ligature strangulation. At autopsy, the decapitation wound of the head and the torso articulated well. The face was congested, and there was tongue bite. Wound margins were clear-cut, with well-demarcated abrasion and multiple imprints of the nylon rope on the neck. The upper one third of the larynx was attached to the head. No other injuries were found on the body. From the findings, it was obvious that asphyxiation was involved in the death before decapitation.     

Decapitation in road traffic accident--a case report

A 20-year-old girl along with four of her friends, all in their early 20s, met with a fatal accident in the early hours of the day. Their car was hit by a speeding truck at a crossing. All the occupants of the car sustained multiple injuries and died on the spot. The girl was decapitated in the accident. Her head was recovered outside the mangled remains of the vehicle and the rest of the body was extracted from the co-driver's seat of the damaged vehicle.     

Suicidal decapitation by guillotine: case report

A recently widowed man constructed a guillotine in the entrance to his cellar, having previously announced his intention to decapitate himself. A neighbor who saw the device from her house alerted the police. The deceased was found completely decapitated, still holding a pair of pliers that he had used to activate the mechanism. The findings of the resulting investigation are described, and the mechanism of suicidal decapitation is reviewed.     

Victim's scalp on the killer's head. An unusual case of criminal postmortem mutilation

A case of unusual postmortem mutilation of a victim's body is presented. After killing his father, the son decapitated his body and dissected the scalp free, forming a mask of the father's head and neck. The young man wore the scalp-mask over his own head to imitate the father. The motive of the murder was revenge, and the postmortem mutilation was the realization of the perpetrator's fantasies, symbolically representing a penalty for the reprehensible past life of his father.     

Decapitation as a result of suicidal hanging

A report is presented on a 47 year old man who committed suicide by hanging himself from a staircase bannister of an apartment house. The man, weighing 144 kg jumped with the noose of a 2 cm thick and 2 m long hemp rope around his neck and was completely decapitated. Death from typical "normal" suicidal hanging is usually due to cerebral ischaemia caused by compression of the carotid (and vertebral) arteries. Except for bleeding at the clavicular insertions of the sternocleidomastoid muscles there are only occasional injuries to the cervical soft parts or hyoid bone and/or laryngeal cartilage. A fall with a noose around the neck, on the other hand, is associated with more frequent injuries to cervical structures through additional axial traction and radial shearing forces of the tightening noose. Complete decapitation can occur in rare cases under extreme conditions (heavy body weight, inelastic and/or thin rope material, fall from a great height).     

A case study of the suicide of Luis Mendès France, in Bordeaux, in 1695

After being condemned and imprisoned in Lisbon by the Portuguese Inquisition, Luis Mendes de Franca exiled himself in late 1683 to France, where his descendants adopted the family name Mendes France. In 1695, at the age of 55 years, Luis Mendes committed suicide in Bordeaux by a pistol shot that decapitated him. The inquest conducted at that time concluded that Luis Mendes was insane and thus not guilty of the crime of suicide. We hypothesize that he used a flint stone-type pistol loaded with an extraordinarily large quantity of black gunpowder. Using available information on historic firearms, ammunition, and powder, coupled with the preserved testimony of historic figures, we propose a reconstruction of this drama and a diagnostic approach to the psychiatric aspects of the suicide.     

大鼠局灶性脑损伤后calpain1和calpain2的表达

目的探讨大鼠局灶性脑损伤后钙激活中性蛋白酶1和2（calpain1,calpain2）表达规律与损伤时间的相关性。方法健康成年雄性SD大鼠50只,体重200～250g。随机分为10组,每组5只,其中实验组8组,对照组和假手术组各1组。应用免疫组化染色法,检测大鼠脑损伤后不同时程损伤周边区calpain1和calpain2的表达变化。结果对照组及假手术组均有capain1和calpain2表达。伤后15min,损伤周边区calpain1/calpain2阳性染色开始增强,伤后12h达高峰,24h逐渐减弱,5d阳性表达增强达另一高峰,随后逐渐减弱,至15d接近对照组水平。除伤后15d组外,其余实验组与对照组比较,calpain1和calpain2阳性反应物面积百分比及平均光密度值差异均具有统计学意义（P〈0.05）。结论在正常大鼠脑组织中calpain1和calpain2均有表达,局灶性脑损伤后,损伤周边区calpain1和calpain2的表达随时间呈较典型的双峰变化。     

Suicidal decapitation using a tractor loader: a case report and review of the literature

In forensic practice, decapitated bodies are predominantly associated with decapitation by wheels of trains or with postmortem dismemberment following homicide. In the suicidal context, decapitation accounts for less than 1% of total suicide. Apart from decapitation by trains, other encountered methods involve suicidal hanging and vehicle-assisted ligature suicide. Reported here is a unique case of suicidal decapitation in a 45-year-old man using a tractor loader at the foot of a silo, on his farm. The head was recovered in the loader and there were several impact spots from the loader as well as blood on the silo wall. The autopsy revealed a complete decapitation wound with the severance plane located between the third and fourth cervical vertebra. A 1.5 cm wide abrasion on the anterior part of the neck and abrasions under the chin were noted. This very unique case of intentional suicidal decapitation is the first reported case of a planned system intended to create decapitation outside the unique case of homemade guillotine and the more common decapitation by train.     

Neck injuries caused by automatic two-point seat belts: an analysis of four cases

Although seat belts significantly reduce the extent and severity of injuries sustained by motor vehicle occupants, seat belts are known to be associated with chest and abdominal trauma. Less commonly understood are severe neck injuries caused by the use of two-point automatic shoulder harnesses without concurrent use of a manual lap belt. Such injuries may include cervical spine fractures, craniocervical dislocations and rarely decapitation. Recognizing patterned injuries caused by seat belts and the ability to correlate autopsy findings with the circumstances surrounding the death will allow for correct interpretation of seat-belt related trauma. The four cases described detail fatal neck injuries as a result of improper seat belt use in which an automatic two-point shoulder harness was used without a manual lap restraint. In two of the cases, the victims were decapitated.     

Decapitation and Dismemberment of the Corpse: A Matricide Case*

Abstract: Dismemberment of a corpse has always been viewed by society to be a more hideous crime than the homicide itself. In this study, we present a case of a 57‐year‐old woman who was decapitated and her right arm and both hands were dismembered. It was determined that the victim was murdered and dismembered by her 33‐year‐old daughter, who had been receiving treatment for schizophrenia for 15 years. On the victim’s head and back there were 71 incised and stab wounds in total. They were superficial, except the five stab wounds which were connected to the right chest cavity and which incapacitated the victim. Although there is not a regulation for the act of dismembering the corpse in the Turkish Penal Code, since this type of case is rare, the crime scene and the autopsy findings were evaluated together with other pertinent data available in the literature.     

Suicidal hanging resulting in complete decapitation--forensic, radiological, and anthropological studies: a case report

The authors report a case of complete posthanging decapitation. The decapitated corpse lay against a pillar of a road bridge. The head had rolled 5 m from the trunk. The bridge was 7.2 m above the road level. The rope was 3.6 m long, its lower end was 3.6 m from the ground and its diameter was 10 mm. The noose used was a slip knot. Plain X-rays of the skull and cervical spine were obtained. The skull X-rays showed air in the meningeal spaces, in both lateral and third ventricles. The severance plane of the cervical spine was between the third and the fourth cervical vertebrae. No other cervical vertebral injuries were noted. At autopsy, the brain was macroscopically unremarkable except for air in the meningeal veins. The decapitation injuries of the head and the torso corresponded perfectly, without apparent loss of substance. The severance plane was confirmed. Dry bone study was carried out. Except for fractures of the extremities of the spinous processes of the second and third cervical vertebrae, no other bone injury of the spine was seen. The cervical vertebrae displayed numerous osteoarthritic lesions. The traditional hangman's fracture was not found. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of complete posthanging decapitation with a severance plane between the third and fourth cervical vertebrae.     

Central nervous system consequences of an unusual body disposal strategy: case report and brief experimental investigation

The body of a 73-year-old man was dismembered by his female companion for the purpose of covert disposal. The method employed included skillful separation of body parts with hacksaw and knife, piecemeal disposal of fragments, and prolonged boiling of the decapitated head. The latter treatment resulted in marked shrinkage of cranial dura mater, separation of dura mater from skull, and extrusion of brain fragments into the resultant enlarged epidural space through a dural defect due to the disproportionately greater shrinkage of dura mater compared to brain parenchyma. This resulted in curd-like brain fragments filling an enlarged epidural space and overlying a shrunken, leathery dura mater. The cranial dura mater, still adherent to the skull base, resembled a "shrunken brain" in contour but contained only the remnants of brain tissue not already extruded through the dural defect. This unusual thermal artifact is rarely illustrated or mentioned in forensic literature. The development of this postmortem artifact likely requires the presence of a specific combination of conditions which must be, but apparently rarely are, simultaneously present.     

DNA identification of skeletal remains by investigator’s intuition

In June 2006 a decapitated woman was found in a parking area of the motorway in the area of Prato (Florence). Since the body was beheaded and no victim’s documents or objects were present at the crime scene, identification at that time was impossible. However, DNA profile from woman’s bones were collected. In the same year (2003), a mother had reported her daughter's disappearance but the two events were not related at that time. About ten years later the mother’s DNA profile was finally acquired for a genetic identification of another girl’s body found in the Ferrara area. These genetic profiles were completely discordant. All these genetic comparisons were carried out on behalf of the prosecutors of the cities involved in the findings of the bodies and in the disappearance complaints, but due to the lack of a database the events remained disconnected. In January 2017, the head of the scientific police of Prato who had followed the investigation and questioned the mother of the missing girl found about ten years later, suggested to the magistrate to order the comparison of the mother's DNA with the genetic profile of the bones found in 2006. This comparison finally allowed the identification of the missing daughter.This story highlights the importance of having forensic DNA database to search for missing persons and how the investigator's intuition can play a key role in resolving criminal cases. In fact, databases of unknown bodies and relatives of missing persons were created in Italy as a part of national DNA database just at the beginning of 2018.     

Interpretation of postmortem change in cadavers in Spain

Estimating time since death is especially difficult in the examination of poorly preserved cadavers and depends on the experience of the examiner and comparison with previously documented cases showing similar characteristics. The present study reports on information obtained over the past ten years through the work of the Laboratorio de Antropología y Odontología Forense (LAF) of the Instituto Anatómico Forense de Madrid, Spain, in particular evaluating how the type of fracture influences postmortem change. From the original 225 forensic cases examined between 1992 and 2002 in the LAF, a sample of 29 cases were selected from various regions of the Spanish mainland. A data collection protocol was established to reflect factors which the existing specialized literature, documenting the relation existing in the sample analyzed between time since death and the extent of postmortem change, which in the environments examined are distributed into the following phases: Phase 1 (putrefaction): one week to one month on the surface and two months in water. Phase 2 (initial skeletonization): two months on the surface and five to six months in water. Phase 3 (advanced skeltonization): six months to 1.5 years on the surface and 2.5 years buried. Phase 4 (complete skeletonization): about one year on the surface and three years buried. This paper also provide useful information on the impact of carrion insect activity, location, climate, seasonality, and predator.     

Sharp force injuries in clinical forensic medicine--findings in victims and perpetrators

The injury findings in 58 perpetrators and 158 victims surviving bodily injuries due to sharp force are presented here. Defence injuries were found in 45.9% of the victims without any significant differences between males and females. There was no clear predominance of defence injuries on the left forearm and hand, as is known from autopsy studies; the right and the left hands were affected with an almost identical frequency. Regarding other parts of the victims' bodies, the topographic distribution of injuries showed a marked concentration on the left side (63.7%). The thorax, head and neck were frequently affected (45.9%, 15.3% and 15.3%, respectively), and less often the abdomen (11.1%), the lumbar and gluteal region (6.3%) and the lower extremities (6.1%). In surviving victims with only one singular stab apart from the upper limbs, the incidence of additional defence injuries on the hands and/or forearms was significantly higher (28.3%) than in fatalities. When the perpetrators had unintentionally cut their own hands, the frequency of these injuries on the right and left hands was almost equal.     

Damages in medical litigation in New South Wales

In the period 2001 to 2003, the New South Wales legislature enacted four Acts that impinge on the assessment of damages in litigation against health professionals. They are the Health Care Liability Act 2001 (NSW), the Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW) (as originally enacted), the Civil Liability Amendment (Personal Responsibility) Act 2002 (NSW) and the Civil Liability Amendment Act 2003 (NSW). This article considers the principles on which damages are assessed in medical litigation and how those principles have been affected by these four enactments. It points out that each piece of legislation was retrospective in applying to events that occurred both before and after its commencement. However, proceedings already issued before a particular date were excluded in each case from the retrospective operation of the legislation. The article provides details of the relevant dates of operation of each of the statutes.     

街道乡镇政府信任与居民的社区志愿精神——基于南京市若干城乡社区的实证调查

以南京市城乡若干社区的实证调查为研究个案,深入探讨居民对街道办(乡镇)政府的信任度对居民参与社区志愿服务的意愿与居民的社区志愿精神究竟有何种程度的影响。通过Logistic回归分析,研究结果发现居民对街道办(乡镇)政府的信任度与居民的社区志愿精神之间存在着密切的关联性。对于各级政府而言,本研究的政策含义是需要特别关注影响居民对街道办(乡镇)政府信任的各种居民背景因素,培育居民对街道办(乡镇)政府的信任感和亲切感,不断促进居民社区志愿精神的孕育与成长,从而凝聚成社区草根民主成长的动力和纽带。     

Legal and ethical issues in microbicides research and development in Canada

The Canadian AIDS Society (CAS) recently completed a report entitled Microbicides Development and Delivery in Canada: Legal, Ethical and Human Rights Issues. The report builds on Canadian and international experience and was written in consultation with Canadian community and international experts. It is available on the CAS website (www.cdnaids.ca) and from the Canadian HIV/AIDS Information Centre (www.aidssida.cpha.ca) as of September 2004. In this article the report's author, Anna Alexandrova, argues that Canada needs to develop a microbicides development and delivery strategy that addresses research and development issues, outlines possible roles for meaningful community participation, and provides guidelines on funding, promotion, licensing, and distribution.