Citation

Bolliger SA, Thali M, Jackowski C, Aghayev E, Dirnhofer R, Sonnenschein M. J. Forensic Sci. 2005; 50(2): 455-460.

Affiliation

Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Berne, Buehlstrasse 20, 3012 Bern, Switzerland. bolliger@irm.unibe.ch

Copyright

(Copyright © 2005, American Society for Testing and Materials, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

15813559

Abstract

A body was found behind a car with a noose tied around its neck, the other end of the rope tied to a tree. Apparently the man committed suicide by driving away with the noose tied around his neck and was dragged out of the car through the open hatchback. postmortem multislice-computed tomography (MSCT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) indicated that the cause of death was cerebral hypoxia due to classic strangulation by hanging, and not due to a brainstem lesion because of a hang-man fracture as would be expected in such a dynamic situation. Furthermore, the MRI displayed intramuscular haemorrhage, bleeding into the clavicular insertions of the sternocleidomastoid muscles and subcutaneous neck tissue. We conclude that MSCT and MRI are useful instruments with an increased value compared with 2D radiographs to augment the external findings of bodies when an autopsy is refused. But further postmortem research and comparing validation is needed.

Language: en