Suicide by ligature‐strangulation with 24 rubber bands in a bathtub and self‐inflicted wounds: Biomechanical determination of fatal mechanism

A 29-year-old man was found dead in a bathtub with 24 rubber bands tightly encircling his neck and two hemorrhagic wounds on his forearm. A forensic autopsy and a whole-body computed tomography (CT) were performed, but they did not allow the authors to determine whether the cause of death was external bleeding from the forearm wounds or asphyxia resulting from cervical compression caused by the rubber bands. To address this question, the authors carried out an experimental biomechanical analysis based on Hooke's law and other physical principles. The cumulative tension exerted by the 24 rubber bands corresponded to a mass-equivalent force of 35.11 kg, sufficient to occlude the carotid arteries, jugular veins, vertebral arteries, and trachea according to the literature. These findings strongly indicate that asphyxia due to cervical compression was the primary cause of death, thereby emphasizing the importance of biomechanical analysis in such cases.