Unusual suicide with a chainsaw.
Described here is a case of suicide with the use of a chainsaw. A female suffering from schizophrenia committed suicide by an ingenious use of a chainsaw that resulted in the transection of her cervical spine and spinal cord. The findings of the resulting investigation are described and the mechanism of suicides with the use of a chainsaw is reviewed. A dry bone study was realized to determine the bone sections, the correlation between anatomic lesions and characteristics of chainsaw. The damage of organs and soft tissues is compared according to the kinds of chainsaw used.
Tournel
Gilles
G
Faculté de Médecine de Lille, Institut de Médecine Légale et Sociale, 59045 Lille Cedex, France. gilles.tournel@univ-lille2.fr
Dédouit
Fabrice
F
Balgairies
Axelle
A
Houssaye
Cédric
C
De Angeli
Bérengère
B
Bécart-Robert
Anne
A
Pety
Nicolas
N
Hédouin
Valéry
V
Gosset
Didier
D
D000328:Adult; D002574:Cervical Vertebrae / Q000293:injuries / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D049429:Forensic Pathology; D006801:Humans; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology*; D013405:Suicide; D014950:Wounds, Penetrating / Q000473:pathology*