Establishing the Manner of Death: A 3D Reconstruction of a Case of Hanging
Establishing the manner of death is one of the most challenging tasks for forensic pathologists. We present the case of a 24-year-old woman found dead in the early morning on a flyover. The body was sitting on the ground with the back leaning against a wall. The neck was encircled by a white phone c...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-11-01
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| Series: | Forensic Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-6756/3/4/42 |
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| author | Marcello Benevento Laura Ambrosi Eloisa Maselli Davide Ferorelli Biagio Solarino Aldo Di Fazio |
| author_facet | Marcello Benevento Laura Ambrosi Eloisa Maselli Davide Ferorelli Biagio Solarino Aldo Di Fazio |
| author_sort | Marcello Benevento |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Establishing the manner of death is one of the most challenging tasks for forensic pathologists. We present the case of a 24-year-old woman found dead in the early morning on a flyover. The body was sitting on the ground with the back leaning against a wall. The neck was encircled by a white phone charger cable knotted to the staircase’s handrail. The victim had argued with her boyfriend and tried to jump out of his car while coming home from a wedding party the night before. After that, she left home alone with her phone charger in her hand. Due to self-harm behaviors, the first hypothesis was suicide by hanging. However, the ligature crossed immediately beneath the thyroid cartilage and encircled the neck twice horizontally; the two ends of the cable overlapped, forming a cross-over point in the front-right of the neck. Then, the ligature passed obliquely through the nape, gradually disappearing, forming a gap in the mark. The mark was sharply defined, stiff, yellow, and parchment-like. The investigators performed a three-dimensional scene reconstruction using the Trimble X7 Laser Scanner and the PC-Crash Multibody System. Even though the geometry of the ligature mark in the present case raised doubts about the manner of death, the three-dimensional reconstruction confirmed that the hanging was feasible without any external intervention. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T20:45:28Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-25caa9e8bc704601a4c457af20557409 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2673-6756 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T20:45:28Z |
| publishDate | 2023-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Forensic Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-25caa9e8bc704601a4c457af205574092023-12-22T14:09:10ZengMDPI AGForensic Sciences2673-67562023-11-013458259110.3390/forensicsci3040042Establishing the Manner of Death: A 3D Reconstruction of a Case of HangingMarcello Benevento0Laura Ambrosi1Eloisa Maselli2Davide Ferorelli3Biagio Solarino4Aldo Di Fazio5Section of Legal Medicine, Department of Interdisciplinary Medicine, University of Bari, Piazza Giulio Cesare 11, 70124 Bari, ItalySection of Legal Medicine, Department of Interdisciplinary Medicine, University of Bari, Piazza Giulio Cesare 11, 70124 Bari, ItalyRegional General Hospital “Miulli”, Strada Prov. 127 Acquaviva–Santeramo Km. 4, 70021 Acquaviva delle Fonti, ItalySection of Legal Medicine, Department of Interdisciplinary Medicine, University of Bari, Piazza Giulio Cesare 11, 70124 Bari, ItalySection of Legal Medicine, Department of Interdisciplinary Medicine, University of Bari, Piazza Giulio Cesare 11, 70124 Bari, ItalyRegional Intercompany Unit of Legal Medicine, Via Potito Petrone, 85100 Potenza, ItalyEstablishing the manner of death is one of the most challenging tasks for forensic pathologists. We present the case of a 24-year-old woman found dead in the early morning on a flyover. The body was sitting on the ground with the back leaning against a wall. The neck was encircled by a white phone charger cable knotted to the staircase’s handrail. The victim had argued with her boyfriend and tried to jump out of his car while coming home from a wedding party the night before. After that, she left home alone with her phone charger in her hand. Due to self-harm behaviors, the first hypothesis was suicide by hanging. However, the ligature crossed immediately beneath the thyroid cartilage and encircled the neck twice horizontally; the two ends of the cable overlapped, forming a cross-over point in the front-right of the neck. Then, the ligature passed obliquely through the nape, gradually disappearing, forming a gap in the mark. The mark was sharply defined, stiff, yellow, and parchment-like. The investigators performed a three-dimensional scene reconstruction using the Trimble X7 Laser Scanner and the PC-Crash Multibody System. Even though the geometry of the ligature mark in the present case raised doubts about the manner of death, the three-dimensional reconstruction confirmed that the hanging was feasible without any external intervention.https://www.mdpi.com/2673-6756/3/4/42forensic science 1three-dimensional reconstructionhanging |
| spellingShingle | Marcello Benevento Laura Ambrosi Eloisa Maselli Davide Ferorelli Biagio Solarino Aldo Di Fazio Establishing the Manner of Death: A 3D Reconstruction of a Case of Hanging Forensic Sciences forensic science 1 three-dimensional reconstruction hanging |
| title | Establishing the Manner of Death: A 3D Reconstruction of a Case of Hanging |
| title_full | Establishing the Manner of Death: A 3D Reconstruction of a Case of Hanging |
| title_fullStr | Establishing the Manner of Death: A 3D Reconstruction of a Case of Hanging |
| title_full_unstemmed | Establishing the Manner of Death: A 3D Reconstruction of a Case of Hanging |
| title_short | Establishing the Manner of Death: A 3D Reconstruction of a Case of Hanging |
| title_sort | establishing the manner of death a 3d reconstruction of a case of hanging |
| topic | forensic science 1 three-dimensional reconstruction hanging |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-6756/3/4/42 |
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