Cut throat injuries and honor killings: review of 15 cases in eastern Turkey

Throat cuts could be of homicidal, suicidal or accidental origin. In the cases of death from cut throat, suicide can be distinguished from homicide based on the type and location of the wound and crime scene investigation. The purpose of the current study is to attract attention to the instructive findings for origin determination in deaths by cut throat according to the number and characteristics of the wounds and crime scene investigation. We have reviewed the files of autopsies performed between the years of 2000 and 2010, and compared with previously published case reports; all results were summarized in the current study. The results showed that 60% of cases were male, 40% were female, with 27.9 years of average age. The mean number of wounds was calculated to be 34.3 per case for honor homicides, 7.4 per case for other homicides, and 2.0 per case for suicides. Numbers of wounds were approximately 5 times higher in the honor homicides compared to other homicides. If the number of wounds were excessive, possibility of honor killings should be taken into account. When the killer was a parent not in psychosis, hesitation cuts were detected. Additional lesions were present in 46.7% of the cases, and they were assessed as homicide. Presence of vertebral notch and spinal cord cuts, which require a substantial amount of force and pressure via sharp tools, indicates homicide.