title: Unusual suicides with band saws: two case reports and a literature review.
abstract: Suicides or suicide attempts with power saws (band, circular or chain saws) are rather rare events and only a few case reports exist in the forensic literature. The use of a band saw, in particular, has been extremely rare in cases of suicide. We report two cases of suicide that occurred in the same suburban area, three years apart. In each case, the victim was a carpenter and had a history of psychiatric disorder and/or of prior suicide attempts. We summarize the findings of the death scene investigations, the pertinent autopsy findings, and also summarize the world literature pertaining to suicide committed with power saws.
authors.affiliation: Service de Médecine Légale de Tunis, Hôpital Charles Nicolle, 138 Boulevard du 9 avril 1938, Tunis 1006, Tunisia. fgloulou@yahoo.fr
authors.forename: Fatma
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gloulou
authors.forename: Mohamed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Allouche
authors.forename: Mehdi Ben
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Khelil
authors.forename: Olfa
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Bekir
authors.forename: Ahmed
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Banasr
authors.forename: Mongi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhioua
authors.forename: Moncef
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hamdoun
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003252:Construction Materials; D049429:Forensic Pathology; D020197:Head Injuries, Penetrating / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019838:Neck Injuries / Q000473:pathology*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D013405:Suicide; D014950:Wounds, Penetrating / Q000473:pathology*