Suicide vs. Homicide

1. Suicide vs. Homicide Maja Crkvenac Mentor: A. Žmegač Horvat

2. Suicide • Latin suicidum, from sui caedere, ‘to kill oneself’ • act of a human being intentionally causing his or her own death • tenth leading cause of death worldwide with about 1 million people dying by suicide annually

3. Classification • self-harm • euthanasia and assisted suicide • murder-suicide • suicide attack • mass suicide • suicide pact • metaphorical suicide -’cry for help’ -most people who attempt suicide do not complete suicide at a first attempt

4. Causes • mental illness -frequently present at the time of suicide with estimates from 87-98% -mood disorders 30% -substance abuse -shizophrenia -personality disorders

5. substance abuse • cigarette smoking • problem gambling Causes

6. Causes • biological • social *a form of defiance or protest *judicial suicide-avoiding prosecution and disgrace *military suicide-suicide attack *dutiful suicide-done in the belief it will secure a greater good *suicide as an escape • other factors -socio-economic factors

7. Suicide methods • leading method of suicide varies dramatically between countries • hanging • pesticide poisoning (worldwide 30%) • firearms (52% in the USA) • asphyxiation • poisoning • blunt force trauma • exsanguination (bloodletting) • intentional drowning • self-immolation, electrocution, intentional starvation...

8. Suicide methods

9. Location • some landmarks have become known for high levels of suicide attempts • four most popular locations in the world: -San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge -Toronto’s Bloor Street Viaduct -Japan’s Aokiagahara Forest -England’s Beachy Head

10. Homicide • (Latin: homicidium, Latin: homo human being + Latin: caedere to cut, kill) • the act of a human killing another human • not always a punishable act under the criminal law

11. Homicide Murder Manslaughter • Criminal homicide • First degree- typically involves a premeditated intent to kill • Second degree- typically does not involve a premeditated intention to kill • unintentional killing that resulted from a person’s criminal negligence or reckless disregard for human life

13. Non-criminal homicide • justifiable or excusable homicide • homicide may be justifiable by the surrounding circumstances • right of self-defence and defence of others • insanity defense • duress or coercion: situation where a person performs an act as a result of violence, threat or other pressure against him/herself • defence of property • prevention of a crime • privilege of public authority - a person who has public authority to commit an act is not criminally liable

14. Non-criminal homicide • entrapment - when a law enforcement officer solicits, induces, or encourages another to commit a crime which they otherwise would not have commited • mistake of fact - asserts that the mistake of fact will disprove a criminal charge, based upon reasonable grounds • mistake of law - not a valid defense to crime except in rare instances where it negates the essential elements of crime • unconsciousness, intoxication, accident • war

15. State-sanctioned homicide • homicides may also be non-criminal when conducted with the sanction of the state • capital punishment • homicides comitted in action during war • justified homicides comitted by members of law-enforcement entities

16. Medicolegal Death Investigation Guidelines • investigative tools and equipment - gloves, body bags, camera, measurement intruments, specimen containers, medical equipment kit... • arriving at the scene - exercise scene safety, confirm or pronounce death, conduct scene ‘walk through’... • documenting and evaluating the scene - photograph scene, establish probable location of injury or ilness, collect evidence, interview witness(es) at the scene... • documenting and evaluating the body - photograph the body, conduct superficial body examination, preserve evidence, decedent ID... • establishing and recording decedent profile information - document decedent medical, mental health, social history • completing the scene investigation

18. Murder or suicide? • firearms where on the body the injury occured - a shot to the side of the head, in the mouth, or to the front of the chest is usually suicide distance of gun from the body - most suicide shots are at or near contact range, causing a burn mark around the wound and leaving gun-powder residue; at contact range and fired just above the bone-star-like wound angle of the shot - most suicide shots aimed slightly upward number of shots fired presence of gun-powder residue on victim’s hand shots through clothing - suggest homicide history, a note, other factors evidence of a struggle - scratches, cuts, bruises...

19. Murder or suicide? • knives defensive cuts - in a homicide on the palms of the hands, and the underside of the arms number of wounds and their location – murder: usually multiple stab wounds to the side, back or stomach; suicide: cuts across the wrist and tentative test stabbings, but usually one wound in the chest location of the murder weapon- suicide: at the scene, with victim’s fingerprints presence of a note - a suicide victim will almost always leave a note stabbing through clothing

21. Murder or suicide? • hanging -accidental and homicidal rare -whether done with rope, an electrical core or a belt, always leaves an inverted V bruise -ligature strangulation leaves a straight line bruise -hanging compresses the veins, but arterial blood flow continues, causing small bleeding sites on the lips, inside the mouth and on the eyelids, as with ligature strangulation, the face and neck are congested with blood and become dark red -ligature strangulations are almost always homicide and the victims are almost always women

22. Murder or suicide? • drowning -most deaths by drowning are accidental and usually involve the abuse of alcohol and drugs -homicidal drowning is almost impossible to prove by an autopsy, drowning is a diagnosis of exclusion -surrounding facts have to be taken into account - wounds, signs of struggle, presence of a suicide note -unlike drowning in a river or the ocean,where samples of the water in the lungs can be tested, the same cannot be done with pool water (chlorine dissipates from the lungs almost instantly) shallow water - may indicate accident or murder, especially if the victim is undressed suicide note evidence of other injuries

23. Murder or suicide? • poison - second most popular form of suicide (38% of all female suicides) - can easily be slipped into a victim’s food or drink - certain poisons can imitate diseases or cause steady weakening of the body, making it susceptible to other diseases