1. Skate or die: Unusual circumstances surrounding a natural cause of death.
- Author
-
Thicot F and Fracasso T
- Subjects
- Adult, Autopsy, Cause of Death, Humans, Male, Skating, Suicide, Attempted, Switzerland, Wounds, Stab, Forensic Pathology, Peptic Ulcer Perforation complications, Peritonitis etiology
- Abstract
In a forensic pathologist's mind, a suspicious death scene involving inflicted injuries and a weapon always raises three possible hypotheses regarding the manner of death-homicide, suicide, or accident; the latter is slightly less common. We present a case of a 43-year-old homeless man with a history of chronic alcohol abuse who was found dead in a skate park in Geneva. He was inflicted with a stab wound to his abdomen, with a knife found in situ. With the suspicion of homicide, a crime scene investigation team, including a forensic pathologist, was summoned to the scene. However, further examination of the body revealed a deep cut with hesitation marks on the left forearm. This discovery raised the hypothesis of a suicide. Here, we have described the investigations made by the police and forensic department, along with the circumstances and autopsy findings that determined the cause of death as an effect of a natural disease., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest. This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd and Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine. All rights reserved.)
- Published
- 2020
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