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Published on: November 6, 2018
Complex suicide: an unusual case of a burned and stabbed corpse
Roberto Bellacicco1, Francesco Vinci1, Fortunato Pititto1
1Section of Legal Medicine, Interdisciplinary Department of Medicine (DIM), University of Bari "Aldo Moro," Bari, Italy.
Abstract:
The distinction between suicide and homicide in forensic medicine can be particularly complex when injuries of different nature coexist, attributable to different times and modalities. The analysis of injury characteristics, integration with historical and circumstantial data, and the support of psychological autopsy are essential for formulating a reliable reconstruction. We present a paradigmatic case of a woman found dead with a complex pattern of injuries (burned and stabbed corpse), detailing the investigative methodology employed to establish the sequence of events.
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