Unusual suicides of young women with tentative cuts and fatal neck injuries by chain saw and circular saw

Abstract

Suicides with chain saws and circular saws are extreme exceptions, in particular with regard to females and concerning the neck region. We report two of such rare cases involving young women. A 30-year-old female with a known schizoaffective psychosis killed herself with an electric chain saw. The autopsy revealed a deep saw cut of the neck and shoulder with partial transection of the cervical spine. Several tentative saw cuts were present on the right lower jaw. A 29-year-old woman suffering from depression committed suicide by use of a circular saw. She inflicted herself fatal neck injuries with at least three separate cutting procedures. Our cases were characterized by the following features: female sex, young adulthood, no occupational experience with saws, psychiatric disorders, absence of alcohol or drugs, use of an aggressive method of suicide, focus of saw injuries on the right side of the neck, detection of tentative saw cuts or several trials, identical causes of death (exsanguination and blood aspiration).