Hanging

Hanging, according to Tardieu is defined as an act of violence in which the body taken by the neck in a tie tied to a fixed point and left to its own weight, exerts on the suspender loop a strong enough traction to produce abruptly the loss of knowledge, the arrest of vital functions and death.

The anoxemia by hanging is aided by its ease of handling, since it is easy to get a rope and a link where to hang it. For death to occur, it is enough that part of the subject is hung and not the whole person, some people have been found with knees on the floor or even semi-sitting. This is achieved because only 2 kg is necessary to obliterate the jugular veins, 5 kg to obliterate the carotid arteries, 15 kg to obstruct the trachea and 25 kg to suppress the permeability of the vertebral arteries.

There are hanging by suicide, accident, judicial execution, suicide is the most common, the accidental is given by children playing the "hanged". The judicial is by judicial order or death penalty. The crimes are often masked by resorting to "suspension" leaving the authority thinking that it is suicide. Suspension is a term used only for corpses that are hanged, but died of something else. If he has not died from anoxemia, Tardieu's spots are not found in the suspended.

Mechanism of death:

When the knot is in the mouth or under the chin and the rope slides well, the occlusion of the vessels and airways occurs rapidly, leading to rapid death, producing a pale face. If the knot is on one of the sides, it is seen in front of the ear, and the vessels on the opposite side are semipermeable, congestion occurs due to the suppression of the venous return, producing the cyanosed face.

When the knot is below the chin the head is back

When the knot is in the neck the head is forward.

Symptomatology of the hanged: Three periods are considered

'Hanging'

1. Anesthesia: presents the following symptoms

Heat sensation in the head

Ringing ears

Visual disturbances

Brain clumsiness

Intense pain in the neck

Loss of consciousness

2. Convulsive period:

Contractions of the muscles of the face (grimaces)

Uneven movements of upper and lower limbs: can cause injury to the subject

3. Final period due to anoxemia:

Precedes death

He can be removed and with care he will come back to life for a few hours, but he will die from the effects of the shock or hypostatic pneumonia

When it comes to the emission of urine and feces, it is impossible for him to live

Death is prevented by artificial respiration and if there is no damage to bodies or spinal cord.

Autopsy:

Pale face color, muscle tone and tongue position have little value.

The groove must be carefully studied: its direction, shape, appearance, consistency and depth. If the bond is hard and thin, the groove will be deeper, well-limited edges and the marked permeation of the dermis. It is considered a hard groove. If the material used is a belt, the groove will be soft.

There are unique, double and rarely triple grooves, depending on the number of bends of the loop or the number of these. The grooves below the larynx are rare.

The grooves can be:

Incomplete, complete

 

Oblique from front to back and from bottom to top, leaving the highest part in the knot

The bottom of the sulcus is pale and cyanosed by blood plasma.

The lower edge less marked unlike the upper part of the groove, there are ecchymosis and blood disorders, there is tearing of the carotids, and blood may be spilled in the area. There is dislocation or fracture of cervical vertebrae.

In thorax, there is pulmonary congestion, subpleural emphysema and bronchi full of mucus.

The brain is congested or ischemic, according to the handles around the neck

The diagnosis about the cause can give us data on whether the hanging is the cause of death, or if it is a suicide, a crime or an accident.