The deceased man had electrical marks on his fingers and lips, which were stained green from metallization from the brass fittings of the table lamp. In addition, he had a metal comb resting over a large electric burn on his abdomen, also wired up to the lamp socket. No circumstantial evidence of suicidal intent could be discovered and some masochistic exercise or autoerotic activity was suspected.
Fig.1 The death was suspected to be a masochistic exercise or autoerotic death.
Autoerotic death refers to the accidental death of individuals of either sex due to failure of devices, or unexpected effect of materials, that were being used to enhance the sexual experience. Although asphyxia from hanging has been described most frequently, a wide variety of other lethal situations have been reported. As there is great variability in the number and types of sexual aids that may be used by individuals, careful death scene examination is essential in helping to exclude suicide and more rarely homicide. The clandestine nature of this paraphilia may, however, make subsequent identification and diagnosis difficult unless the death scene features are typical. This is particularly so in the rare cases involving women.
Fig.2 He had a metal comb resting over a large electric burn on his abdomen.
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