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Italy. A 53-year-old female psychiatrist was fatally stabbed in her office in a Mental Health Center by a 44-year-old male patient. The man had been referred to the psychiatrist after a previous admission to the ED following experiences of suicidal ideations, psychomotor agitation, and mental confusion. Her colleagues rushed to her aid, but she died despite receiving cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

Fig.1 Stab wounds of the back.

After the attack, the perpetrator was stopped by a nurse who was still in the office and, after threatening the bystanders with the knife, the perpetrator remained in the room where he was arrested by the police. An external and internal examination confirmed 70 sharp wounds to the neck (4 wounds), chest (8 wounds), back (42 wounds), abdomen (3 wounds), lumbar regions (6 wounds, bilaterally), and upper limbs (7 wounds). The cause of death was massive blood loss due to multiple stab wounds.

Fig.2 The weapon: a single-edged knife.

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