CASE REPORT

Ste ´ phanie Racette,

1

B.Sc.; Truong Tho Vo,

1

B.Sc.; and Anny Sauvageau,

1

M.D., M.Sc.

Suicidal Decapitation Using a Tractor Loader: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

ABSTRACT:

In forensic practice, decapitated bodies are predominantly associated with decapitation by wheels of trains or with postmortem dismemberment following homicide. In the suicidal context, decapitation accounts for less than 1% of total suicide. Apart from decapitation by trai ns, othe r enco unte red met hods involve suicidal hanging and vehi cle- assis ted liga ture suicide . Repo rted here is a uniq ue case of suic idal decapitation in a 45-year-old man using a tractor loader at the foot of a silo, on his farm. The head was recovered in the loader and there were several impact spots from the loader as well as blood on the silo wall. The autopsy revealed a complete decapitation wound with the severance plane located betw een the third and fourth cervical vertebra. A 1.5 cm wide abrasion on the anterior part of the neck and abrasions under the chin were noted. This very unique case of intentional suicidal decapitation is the ﬁrst reported case of a planned system intended to create decapitation outside the unique case of homemade guillotine and the more common decapitation by train.

KEYWORDS:

forensic science, decapitation, beheading, suicide

Decapitation of bodies, although not uncommon in a situation of armed conﬂict, is a rare event in the civilian setting, accounting for about 0.1% of forensic autopsies (1). Headless bodies in fo- re nsi c pr act ice are gen era lly ass oci ate d wit h dec api tat ion by wheels of trains or with postmortem dismemberment following a homicide (2). Suicidal decapitation is an unusual method of self-destruction. Two different studies have addressed this issue in 2004. Byard and Gilbert (1) have reviewed 16,589 autopsies in a 17-year period and found only 13 cases of suicide involving death by decapita- tion: 11 cases of decapitation by a train or tram, one case of de- capitation in suicidal hanging, and one case of decapitation in a vehicle-assisted ligature suicide. Tsokos et al. (3) reviewed 7681 autopsies in a 7-year period and found 10 cases of suicidal com- plete decapitation: eight cases by train and two cases of hanging. Here, we report on the unusual case of a man who committed suicide by decapitation using a tractor loader to behead himself.

Case Report

The headless body of a 45-year-old man was found by his son, sitting awkwardly on a stair at the foot of a silo, on the victim’s farm. In front of him, a tractor loader was still running, its rear wheels sunk into the ground and the loader still banging against the silo wall (Fig. 1). On the morning of the victim’s death, he and his son woke up early, as usual, for cow milking. That morning, the victim appeared exhausted to his son, as he did for the last few months. A few hours later, the son met with a veterinarian while the victim stayed at home for his daily nap. When he came back from his meet ing with the veterin aria n, the son disco vere d his father’s body as previously described. The victim’s head was recovered in the loader along with a cap and a blue fabric fragment. There were several impact spots from the loader on the silo wall and the presence of blood was also noted. The ﬁrst impact w as located at 1.26 m above a small stair in front of the silo. Then, a series of impact located progressively higher than the ﬁrst one were observed. This could be explained by the fact that, as the front tires of the tractor were not sunk in the ground, the loader elevated as the rear tires sunk. Moreover, there was a blue print on the silo wall, made by friction of fabric against its surface. The man had suffered from depression in the past and was currently known to suffer from depression since a recent sep- aration. He was under Sertraline and Temazepam, a treatment for which he was noncompliant according to his doctor. Furthermore, the victim apparently reported his suicidal ideations to his rela- tives and even discussed the different methods he could use to do so. At autopsy, the decapitated body was fully dressed, his jacket and sweate r collars rippe d away . The man weighted abou t 75 kg and was nea rly 1.6 8 m tal l (he ad inc lud ed) . The dec api tat ion wound exam revealed a 1.5 cm wide abrasion on the anterior part of the neck, along with linear abrasions under the chin, and a thinner erosion on the posterior part of the neck. The severance plane, slightly lower on the anterior neck than on the posterior part, was located between the third and fourth cervical vertebra. No other external marks of violence were identiﬁed, apart from a small laceration of the right middle ﬁnger. The comparison of the neck severance line with the imprints of the tractor loader on the silo wall was conclusive, revealing that both patterns were com- patible. A toxicological exam was performed and revealed a ther- ap eu ti c co nc en tr at io n of Se rt ra li ne as we ll as tr ac es of Temazepam.

1

Laboratoire de sciences judiciaires et de me ´ decine le ´ gale, Ediﬁce Wilfrid- Derome, 1701, Parthenais street, 12th ﬂoor, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H2K 3S7. Received 11 Dec. 2005; and in revised form 4 Mar. 2006, 25 May 2006; accepted 11 June 2006; published 8 Dec. 2006. Copyright

r

2006 by American Academy of Forensic Sciences

192

J Forensic Sci,