Atypical workplace suicide by industrial guillotine: An unusual autopsy case report

Decapitation injuries, defined as the complete severance of the head from the trunk, result from various causes, including railway accidents, road traffic collisions, homicidal assaults, and explosive trauma. While a head transection clearly establishes the cause of death, determining the manner of death remains challenging. We report a rare case of a 50-year-old male who allegedly sustained decapitation involving a power press machine following a workplace fall. Given uncertainties regarding the manner of death, a multidisciplinary scene investigation was undertaken, involving forensic pathologists, police personnel, the Forensic Science Laboratory, and electrical engineers. The investigation included a review of CCTV footage, a mechanical examination of the power press, analysis of FSL evidence, and a detailed autopsy. Analysis of the press machine, CCTV, and fall analytics, combined with injury characteristics observed during the autopsy, ruled out accidental or homicidal trauma. Interviews with family and coworkers revealed depression exacerbated by financial distress; notably, the deceased had inquired about workplace death compensation benefits days prior to the incident. The findings suggested an atypical method of suicide intended to secure insurance payouts. This case underscores the value of an integrated forensic approach that combines medico-legal inquiry, biomechanical analysis, and psychological profiling to resolve atypical mechanical decapitations and establish the cause and manner of death.