Content area
Full Text
Case Report
Introduction
According to the International Classification of Diseases, in 1993, 355 people in the United States committed suicide by drowning [1]. Studies have shown that suicide by drowning accounts for a small percentage (2.86 to 8.9) of all suicides [2].
When investigating death by drowning, the investigator must consider many different factors surrounding the incident to evaluate it fairly. Death by drowning may be associated with an accidental event. However, homicide and suicide should not be initially ruled out. Although suicide by drowning is an unlikely method of suicide, it is also an unlikely method of homicide. For example, although a murderer may be able to overpower and "drown" a victim in a bathtub, a more likely manner of death may be manual strangulation or asphyxia.
The person who commits suicide by drowning is commonly portrayed as a lonely, disturbed individual who, after contemplating what life has dealt, throws himself off the local suspension bridge to end it all. In reality, the victim in this scenario may die of other causes, such as hypothermia, mechanical injury, or blunt force trauma due to the fall.
Case Histories
Recently, two different "drowning" incidents came under investigation that point out the complexities of these types of events:
Case 1
A thirty-nine-year-old man with a history of both mental illness and substance abuse was checked out of a halfway house by his father. The purpose of the day pass was to take a fishing trip on the Mississippi River. According to the father, the son tripped while boarding the fishing boat and struck his head, injuring the bridge of his nose. This incident upset the son and, once out on the river, he placed his checkbook on the seat and jumped out of the boat. After a brief conversation with his father, the son dove under the water and did not surface. Rescue crews searched for the victim for four days before finding his body about one-half mile downstream, in another police jurisdiction.
Several questions arise when considering this case. How did the bridge of the victim's nose come into contact with the boat or any equipment? (In a fall, the natural reaction is to brace oneself with outstretched hands.) Why did the victim place his...