Choking on toilet paper: an unusual case of suicide and a review of the literature on suicide by smothering, strangulation, and choking.
While reports of suicide by smothering and strangulation are common, suicide by choking is far more rare. In addition to the act being difficult to carry out, suspected cases are not easily distinguished from accidental or homicidal deaths. Here, we present a case of suicide by choking on toilet paper in a patient with a long history of schizophrenia. The case was ruled a suicide based on the patient having been witnessed in a previous unsuccessful attempt of the same act.
Sauvageau
Anny
A
Laboratoire de Sciences Judiciaires et de Médecine Légale, Edifice Wilfrid-Derome, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. a.sauvageau@msp.gouv.qc.ca
Yesovitch
Rose
R
D000402:Airway Obstruction; D001237:Asphyxia / Q000209:etiology; D005554:Forensic Medicine; D006801:Humans; D007830:Larynx / Q000473:pathology; D008168:Lung / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010209:Paper; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D013405:Suicide