Institute for Legal Medicine Munich, Nußbaumstrasse 26, 80336, Munich, Germany.
Forensic Sci Int. 2021 Mar;320:110708. doi: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2021.110708. Epub 2021 Jan 27.
A 27-year old woman reported an attack by her ex-partner. According to her, he suddenly started to strangle her with his left hand, using a claw-like grip against her throat. After 30-60 seconds the victim reacted by kicking the attacker in the groin, thereby disrupting the strangulation. During the court hearing, pictures of the strangulation marks taken by the police were shown as evidence. From a forensic viewpoint, the pictures and the victim's statements did present several inconsistencies, suggesting the possibility of self-inflicted injuries. The ex-partner was found guilty. The defense appealed against the sentence and demanded a thorough forensic expertise on the origin of the strangulation marks. To identify the possible origin of the strangulation marks considering the victim's statements and the presented strangulation marks, a reconstructive study with 26 participants (25 attackers, 1 victim) was carried out. In the study, the expected strangulation marks did show a vertical, C-shaped pattern on the study subject's neck and throat, while the wounds on the victim's neck were aligned horizontally on the right side of the neck. These results show that the strangulation marks on the neck of the victim did not correspond to the claw-like grip at the throat as described by the victim. In this light, the possibility of self-inflicted injuries is discussed.
一位 27 岁的女性报告了一起被前男友袭击的案件。据她描述，前男友突然用左手以爪状紧紧扼住她的喉咙。30 到 60 秒后，受害者踢向袭击者的腹股沟，从而中断了窒息。在法庭听证会上，警方拍摄的窒息痕迹照片被作为证据出示。从法医学的角度来看，照片和受害者的陈述确实存在一些不一致之处，这表明可能是自残。前男友被判有罪。辩方对判决提出上诉，并要求对窒息痕迹的来源进行全面的法医鉴定。为了根据受害者的陈述和呈现的窒息痕迹确定窒息痕迹的可能来源，对 26 名参与者（25 名攻击者，1 名受害者）进行了一项重建研究。在研究中，预期的窒息痕迹在研究对象的颈部和喉咙上呈现出垂直的 C 形模式，而受害者颈部的伤口则在颈部右侧呈水平排列。这些结果表明，受害者颈部的窒息痕迹与受害者所描述的喉咙处的爪状紧握并不相符。在这种情况下，自残的可能性被讨论。
