Citation

Wyler D, Zollinger U. Arch. Kriminol. 1997; 200(5-6): 154-158.

Vernacular Title

Der "goldene Sniff": Suizid durch Schnupfen von Heroin.

Affiliation

Institut für Rechtsmedizin der Universität Bern.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1997, Verlag Schmidt-Romhild)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

9486323

Abstract

The best known but apparently rare method to commit suicide by the intake of drugs is the 'golden shot'. As a result of a criminalistic scrutiny in combination with an exploration of the medical history, the findings of the autopsy and the toxicological analysis it is often not possible to discriminate between an accidental and a suicidal intoxication. The manner of death is therefore in most cases undeterminable. The presented unusual suicide by a letal opiate intoxication do to sniffing the drug would not have been clarified, neither with a complete examination of the history, an entirely performed autopsy, the determination of the way of ingestion of the drug nor with a complete toxicological analysis. The diagnosis is based primarily on the availability of a farewell letter. This case demonstrates that it is very difficult to determine the manner of death. Examining drug addicts it is exceedingly important to perform an overall examination by visiting the scene, by inspecting there the corps and the environment and by performing a complete autopsy with toxilogical examinations.

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