title: Autoerotic fatalities with power hydraulics.
abstract: We report two cases in which men used the hydraulic shovels on tractors to suspend themselves for masochistic sexual stimulation. One man developed a romantic attachment to a tractor, even giving it a name and writing poetry in its honor. He died accidentally while intentionally asphyxiating himself through suspension by the neck, leaving clues that he enjoyed perceptual distortions during asphyxiation. The other man engaged in sexual bondage and transvestic fetishism, but did not purposely asphyxiate himself. He died when accidentally pinned to the ground under a shovel after intentionally suspending himself by the ankles. We compare these cases with other autoerotic fatalities involving perceptual distortion, cross-dressing, machinery, and postural asphyxiation by chest compression.
authors.affiliation: Ventura County Medical Examiner Office, CA.
authors.forename: R L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: O'Halloran
authors.forename: P E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Dietz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001237:Asphyxia / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D005554:Forensic Medicine; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008398:Masochism; D008875:Middle Aged