Germany. Complex suicide of a 31-year-old man following the attempted killing of his 29-year-old partner. Atypical hanging in a kneeling posture with a scarf. The sling knot is in the chin region. The scarf is attached to the rod of the shower curtain. Extensive bloodstains on the floor and in the sink where a jackknife was found with traces of blood on the tip of the blade (used in the attempted homicide and in the first phase of suicide). Lacerations on the right side of the neck were inflicted in the first phase of suicide (along with tentative stabs in the precordial region).
Fig.1 Complex suicide of a 31-year-old man.
The term “complex suicide” refers to suicides in which more than one suicide method is applied. In this context, a distinction can be made between planned and unplanned complex suicides. In planned complex suicides, two or more methods are employed simultaneously in order to make sure that death will occur even if one method fails. In unplanned complex suicides, several other methods of suicide are tried after the first method chosen failed to gain one’s end or when it proved to be too painful.
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