Whether the death is accidental, suicidal, or homicidal is one of the main questions asked of the forensic physician at the death scene. Some criteria may help to distinguish between these three types of death. Suicidal stabbings are often observed in people who pull aside the clothing first, a feature which is evidence of the motive. Many suicidal stabbings take place in bathrooms. Obviously, the death scene is often prepared and in order. Suicidal stab wounds take place on wrists and arms or on the inner surface of the throat, sometimes on a vascular access (hemodialysis).
Fig.1 Self-stabbing of the throat in an elderly woman.
Stab wounds in suicide are repeated, usually parallel, and close together. Tentative or trial incisions are next to the deeper ones, reaching a major vessel or larynx. Abdominal suicidal stab wounds (hara-kiri) are not usual in occidental countries. In contrast, homicidal stab wounds have no particular character, they are often associated with a violent crime scene, and only close together when the victim has been injured by many knife wounds before finally dying under the killer’s knife.
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