Unusual suicides with band saws: two case reports and a literature review.
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.
Gloulou
Fatma
F
Service de Médecine Légale de Tunis, Hôpital Charles Nicolle, 138 Boulevard du 9 avril 1938, Tunis 1006, Tunisia. fgloulou@yahoo.fr
Allouche
Mohamed
M
Khelil
Mehdi Ben
MB
Bekir
Olfa
O
Banasr
Ahmed
A
Zhioua
Mongi
M
Hamdoun
Moncef
M
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*