Vadysinghe Amal Nishantha, Thambirajah Balachandra
Department of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka.
Department of Pathology, University of Alberta, Alberta, Canada.
Forensic Sci Med Pathol. 2019 Dec;15(4):607-611. doi: 10.1007/s12024-019-00152-z. Epub 2019 Aug 30.
Decapitation is well-documented as an immediately lethal injury that is encountered in medicolegal autopsies. It can be due to an accident, suicide, or homicide. Literature on decapitation reveals that suicide is committed by decapitation using domestic or industrial tools, such as electric saws and drills, and improvised guillotines. Decapitation can also be the result of railway or other bizarre incidents. In this particular case, a man committed suicide by decapitation using a log splitter. This has not been reported earlier. Death investigation, including a medicolegal autopsy and scene visit, was conducted. The decedent, a man in his late forties, had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder approximately five years prior to his death and was being treated for this condition. During the year prior to his death, he had been seeing his physician every two weeks for suicidal ideation. Scene investigation revealed a decapitated male lying beside a jigged and powered log splitter in his yard. The autopsy showed no other injuries or pathological conditions. The cause of death was decapitation and the manner of death was suicide. This is a unique case of decapitation by a log splitter which highlights the importance of scene investigation in order to determine the manner of death.
斩首是法医尸检中常见的即刻致命伤。其原因可能是意外、自杀或他杀。关于斩首的文献表明，自杀性斩首通常使用家用或工业工具，如电锯、电钻以及简易断头台。斩首也可能是铁路事故或其他离奇事件导致的。在这个特殊案例中，一名男子使用劈木机进行斩首自杀，此前并无此类报道。我们进行了包括法医尸检和现场勘查在内的死因调查。死者是一名近五十岁的男性，在去世前约五年被诊断患有双相情感障碍，并一直在接受治疗。在他去世前的一年里，他因有自杀念头每两周就去看一次医生。现场勘查发现一名被斩首的男性躺在自家院子里一台带夹具且通电的劈木机旁。尸检显示没有其他损伤或病理状况。死因是斩首，死亡方式为自杀。这是一起使用劈木机斩首的独特案例，凸显了现场勘查对于确定死亡方式的重要性。
