Published in:
01-03-2018 | Case Report
A homemade furnace. Influence of occupational skills in a fire-related planned complex suicide
Authors:
Chiara Palazzo, Paolo Fais, Maria Carla Mazzotti, Rosa Maria Gaudio, Guido Pelletti, Susi Pelotti
Published in:
Forensic Science, Medicine and Pathology
|
Issue 1/2018
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Abstract
The term “planned complex suicide” means the combination of more than one method of suicide, planned to prevent failure of the first method to ensure a fatal outcome. Professional skills and tools are sometimes used to plan and perpetrate the suicide. A case of planned complex suicide of a mechanical engineer working with furnaces in a tube factory is herein reported. The suicide was committed in a rudimental furnace set up in the victim’s apartment using his professional skills, by assembling furniture, mattresses, books and flammable liquid present in the house. Three-dimensional models of the crime scene before and after the realization of the “homemade furnace” are proposed. The discussion will focus on the importance of a comprehensive analysis of the professional background of the victim to infer the manner of death for the identification of complex and occupation-related suicides.