title: Death due to railway-related suicidal decapitation: a case report.
abstract: In Italy, railway-related deaths give rise to extensive inquiries because it is mandatory for the public prosecutor to investigate the circumstances of death. For the railway embankment, normal traffic rules are not valid and the guilt of the engine driver usually cannot be proven. Consequently, these cases are very often declared as suicides without adequate evidence. Furthermore, there is a potential risk of confusion with homicide, body dismemberment or mutilation. Our medico-legal institutes are increasingly engaged with expert opinions on questions of accident, suicide or homicide because they lead to complications in the fields of insurance, criminal and civil law.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Legal Medicine, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, School of Medicine, Rome, Italy. fdegiorgio@tiscalinet.it
authors.forename: Fabio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: De Giorgio
authors.forename: Matteo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Polacco
authors.forename: Vincenzo L
authors.initials: VL
authors.lastname: Pascali
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Oliva
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002423:Cause of Death; D049248:Decapitation / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005104:Expert Testimony / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D006708:Homicide / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009104:Multiple Trauma / Q000473:pathology; D011890:Railroads / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D013405:Suicide / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*