Strangulation & Suffocation

It is defined as a mode of violent asphyxial death which result from the constriction of the passages at the neck by any means other than the weight of the body and where there is no suspension. The constriction may be effected by (a) ligature around the neck (b) by hand i.e. by throttling (c) by squeezing between two sticks or by one stick against a hard surface. In strangulation, asphyxia plays a prominent role than in death due to hanging. In strangulation cases, the following post-mortem appearances could be seen: Face swollen and blue, lips blue, eyes opened, eyeballs bulging out, pupils dilated, tongue swollen and between the teeth, •• blood stained froth from mouth to nostrils (Photo-11).Hands clenched due to relaxation of the muscles, urine, and faeces may come out. In cases of strangulation due to ligature, the mark would be in the lower part of the neck, and is transversely circular and complete.

Abstract:

The injuries of victims surviving strangulation were separated into six distinct types characteristic for strangulation, with one hand, with two hands from the front, with two hands from behind, by pressing the larynx with two thumbs, by ligature, and by putting the forearm or the elbow region around the neck. These types of injuries could also be recognized on the murdered victims. Besides the signs of strangulation, 43% of the surviving victims had head injuries. If the strangulation was attempted in connection with rape, the body injuries were usually not severe, but self-defence injuries were seen in 73% of the cases. The body injuries of the victims of maltreatment and murder were severe but self-defence injuries were seen only in 20% and 30% respectively. Conjunctival petechiae were seen on 14 out of 79 surviving victims but only 8 of them became unconscious and only 4 experienced sphincter incontinence, which suggests that the...