Complex suicide by self-stabbing with subsequent drowning in the sea
Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 9, 2026

Extraction of Diatom DNA from Water Samples and Tissues
Published on: November 10, 2023
Michał Kaliszan1, Karol Karnecki1, Ewa Tomczak1
1Department of Forensic Medicine, Medical University of Gdańsk, ul. Dębowa 23, 80-204, Gdańsk, Poland.
Abstract:
The paper presents a unique case of a complex suicide committed by a young man, mostly probably triggered by a disappointment in love. The uniqueness of the suicide lies in the fact that the victim inflicted several deep stab wounds on himself, in the chest and abdomen, while standing partly submerged in the sea and, having done so, he dropped and disappeared in the water. The postmortem examination showed, apart from deep wounds in the trunk, characteristics of drowning that manifested itself in the form of aqueous emphysema of the lungs. Suicide was clearly determined on the basis of the circumstances preceding death, the location, and arrangement of the trunk wounds and the testimony given by a witness of the incident. The circumstances preceding the suicidal act clearly suggest an underlying undiagnosed mental disorder.
Related Concept Videos
Prevention of Further Absorption of Poison
Pharmaceutical Poisoning: Treatment Strategies
Pharmaceutical Poisoning: Potential Scenarios
Autophagic Cell Death
Autophagy and Apoptosis
Autophagy can activate apoptosis. In normal conditions, the autophagy activating protein Beclin-1 and pro-apoptotic...
Borderline Personality Disorder
Genetic and Environmental Contributions
Borderline Personality...
Necrosis
Morphological Manifestations of Necrosis
Necrotic cells show different types of morphological appearance depending on the type of tissue and infection. In coagulative necrosis, cells become anucleated and die, but their...

