A suicidal death by explosives

Abstract

A 23-year-old man committed suicide by detonating an explosive substance clutched to his abdomen. The face was singed, the hands were lacerated and the chest and the upper part of abdomen were badly mutilated. The death was due to the destruction of several vital organs. The injuries had a directional nature. Only the consideration of all the facts of the case in relation to the situation, nature, distribution and extent of wounds and the preceding medical and social history allowed a reconstruction of the circumstances.

Suicide by head explosion: unusual blast wave injuries to the cardiovascular system

“…In contrast, the cases cited [15,17] presented lung lacerations as direct trauma after open injury to the thorax. Shields et al [13] reported two cases who had each placed an explosive charge in their mouths which destroyed the heads but did not cause injuries to the trunk.…”

“…In the literature, suicides by explosives without a terrorist background are rare [13]. Case reports of suicides by explosives describe mutilation of the trunk [3,15,17] as well as of the head [1,3,13,15]. In 2008, Allaire and Manhein described a suicide that used blasting caps with extensive bone damage to the skull [1].…”

A case of a death by explosives: the keys to a proper investigation

“…Isolated case reports have been reported in countries such as Germany, 6 Sweden, 5 Hungary, 7 Italy, 8 Spain, 9 and Iraq. 2 In 1996, the case of a 32-year-old male who committed suicide by a hand grenade was reported in Italy.…”

“…In Hungary, a 23-year-old man committed suicide by attaching and detonating 80 g of explosives to his chest. 7 Conlin and Groben 10 described the case of a 24-year-old man who died from abdominal trauma resulting from the detonation of a pipe bomb.…”

Suicide by Explosion of Natural Gas

“…In such cases DNA, dental comparison, fingerprints, or combinations of the above may be necessary to confirm identity. 6 The forensic pathologist should search for other injuries, not related to the explosion, so as to exclude or document homicidal injuries disguised by the subsequent explosion. Hence, the forensic pathologist should be familiar with injuries attributable to explosions and may need to discriminate injury patterns observed and relate them to the scene and circumstance to detect any incompatibilities.…”