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Homicidal cut throat. No further info. Cut throats can be homicidal, suicidal or accidental. Homicidal cut-throats are a well-recognized method of killing while suicidal cut throats are less commonly reported and accidental cut throats are rare. The forensic pathologists have a challenging and important task when ascertaining the manner of death when cut throats are presented with no proper history or witnesses. It was highlighted in the OJ Simpson case too, where the body of OJ Simpson’s ex-wife, Nicole was found dead with her throat cut.

Fig.1 Homicidal cut throat.

Accidental cut throats are exceptionally rare. They are usually seen only when a victim goes through a sheet of glass or is struck in the neck by a sharp-edged missile or flying piece of glass. Homicidal cut throats can be produced in two different ways; depending on whether they are produced from the back or the front. Of those two methods, cutting a person’s throat from behind is the most common. The head is pulled back, and the knife is then drawn across it. The knife is drawn across the neck, from left to right by a right-handed assailant and from right to left by a left-handed individual. The wound inflicted deepening at the beginning and then tails off at the opposite side of the neck.

The homicidal cut throat injuries inflicted from behind are usually longer. They usually starts below the ear, runs obliquely downward and medially, then straight across the midline of the neck, and ends on the opposite side of the neck, lower than its point of origination. The length of time it takes to die following an incised wound of the neck depends on several factors. They include whether the venous or arterial systems are severed and whether there is air embolism. In some instances, victims with single carotid artery cut have moved for about 10 minutes.

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