Branch in the heart: unusual fatal self-inflicted injury

The case presents a suicide committed by a 21-year-old man who thrusted a broken tree branch into his chest which penetrated to his heart and caused death. Despite the unusual tool, a tree branch, suicide was confirmed on the basis of similar attempted self-injury, which was committed several weeks earlier, and a history of mental disorders. The man committed suicide 3 days after leaving the psychiatric ward, where he had been hospitalized after being admitted immediately after his previous suicide attempt by self-stabbing with knife. He was discharged from the psychiatric hospital after 1.5 months therapy with diagnosis of improvement and denials of suicide thoughts. The presented case reflects the tragedy of a young man with mental disorders, who effectively committed suicide by using an unusual tool after several previous attempts made with the use of more frequently observed suicide methods. Such cases may cause problems to investigators as to whether the death was a result of suicide, homicide or accident. Therefore it is very important to complete the result of autopsy with analysis of medical history of the deceased, particularly regarding previous suicide attempts and psychiatric treatment. This is a first report of using such peculiar tool as tree branch to pierce the chest in effective suicide attempt.