An unusual autoerotic fatality associated with chloroform inhalation.
We report the death of a young male attributed to chloroform poisoning during autoerotic asphyxia. He was found lying on the floor of his apartment, prone on a piece of foam and a towel. His eyes were bound with a towel, his lower face and nose were almost entirely covered with duct tape surrounding a rubber hose in his mouth. The other end of the hose was loosely sitting inside an open bottle which was in a box beside him. He was bound-up by an intricate system of ropes, handles, and rods, ending with a noose around his neck. Toxicology testing indicated chloroform concentrations of 18.1 mg/L in femoral blood and 1.5 mg/L in urine. Chloroform was measured by headspace gas chromatography with flame-ionization detection using 1,1,1-trichloroethane as the internal standard. The cause of death was recorded as "chloroform toxicity" with "autoerotic asphyxia" as a contributing factor, and the manner of death was "accidental".
Singer
Peter P
PP
Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, 7007--116 Street NW, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6H 5R8.
Jones
Graham R
GR
D001237:Asphyxia / Q000209:etiology; D002725:Chloroform / Q000097:blood / Q000506:poisoning* / Q000652:urine; D002849:Chromatography, Gas; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D005410:Flame Ionization; D006801:Humans; D001239:Inhalation; D008297:Male; D010262:Paraphilic Disorders; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D012997:Solvents / Q000032:analysis / Q000506:poisoning*
D012997:Solvents; D002725:Chloroform