J Indian Acad Forensic Med. October-December 2013, Vol. 35, No.

4 ISSN 0971-0973

Case Report

Death by Strangulation or By Love

*Aman Deep Kaur, **Yogesh Kumar, **Anil Kumar Malik, ***S.K. Dhattarwal

Abstract
It is said “A mother’s love is patient and forgiving, where as all others are forsaking, it never fails
or falters ever, though the heart is breaking.” But what about the love she should get in return from her
children. Mother cares for her child from the womb regardless of everything. But at times her own child
turns against her and takes her life. The present case showed how the “infatuation, may be love” clouded
the years of motherly love, which is considered next to God’s grace on earth and led to the gruesome
death of the mother in the hands of her only daughter. This case came into light after missing persons
report was filed by her mother’s brother. After police intervention and days of daughter’s interrogation,
she confessed to have strangulated and buried her mother with the help of her lover. Though, the body
was recovered after one month, ante-mortem injuries were still appreciable.

Key Words: Homicide, Ligature Strangulation, Death, Ante-mortem injuries

Introduction: A police complain was lodged regarding

It has been rightly stated by
Shakespeare that a dead body will speak
through its most remarkable organ. In the
present case, a daughter killed her own mother,
the one she had known all her life for the love of
someone who was relatively new to her life, just
because her mother didn’t approve of her
recent, yet forming relations.
The body was then buried close by a
river after being sprinkled with salt. However,
even after one month when the body was
recovered along with its ligature material in situ
on the neck, the ante-mortem injury on the neck
was well appreciable. Thus, even decomposition
could not obscure the ante-mortem injuries,
being the telltale of the gruesome experience of
last moments of death of the most pious relation
on the earth.
Case History:
The victim was staying along with her
only daughter. One day, the mother suddenly
disappeared and when the brother of victim
enquired about her, daughter didn’t give any
satisfactory reply.
Corresponding Author:
*Assistant Professor,
Department of Forensic Medicine,
Pt. B. D. Sharma, Post Graduate Institute of Medical
Sciences, University of Health Sciences, Rohtak
E-mail: dr.aman15@gmail.com
**Resident,
***Professor
DOR: 29.04.13 DOA: 10.11.13
the missing of her mother. Police when
interrogated the daughter she confessed that
she along with her lover strangulated her mother
and buried the body in mud around one month
ago and also sprinkled some salt thinking that it
will fasten the decomposition thereby obscuring
the crime.
On the demarcation by the daughter, the
place was identified and the body was recovered
and was sent to local Government hospital for
post-mortem examination and then, referred to
Department of Forensic Medicine at Pt. B. D.
Sharma Post Graduate Institute of Medical
Sciences, Rohtak on account of its decomposed
state where the autopsy was finally conducted.
Autopsy Findings:
It was found that the body of the female
and the cloths were smudged with mud and
white coloured granular substance, supporting
the statement of the accused that she sprinkled
salt over the body. (Fig. 1) The body was then
cleaned. The skin was found to be blackened,
hardened, and dried up, leathery and mummified
on touch. Epidermis was peeled off from all over
the body. Facial features were distorted making
it unidentifiable. The eye sockets contained
putrefied remnant tissue.
The ligature material in the form of black
coloured metallic wire and encircling the neck in
two loops was found in situ. Each end of the
wire was having a wooden stick at its extreme
ends. The right side wooden stick was of
irregular shape and of length 24cm whereas left
side was of length 21cm and approx 4cm
diameter. (Fig. 2, 3) On the left sided stick, the

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J Indian Acad Forensic Med. October-December 2013, Vol. 35, No. 4
wire was fastened in the form of a loop where as
on right side; the wire was tied to stick with a
fixed knot.
The length of ligature material was
85cm in between the two sticks while the width
of the ligature material (individual wire) was 0.3-
nd
0.4cm. The 2 loop of wire was crossing in
midline with free ends on either side. On nape of
the neck of the victim, hairs were entangled. The
ligature material was carefully removed.
The underlying ligature mark was well
appreciated in the form of two blackish marks
with imprinted pattern of wire on it, running
parallel to each other (Fig. 4, 5, 6) with little
space in between, encircling the neck at the
level of thyroid cartilage. The left arm was
situated 3cm below the left angle of mandible,
extending anteriorly, 5cm below the center of
chin, further extending on the right side of the
neck, 5cm below the right angle of mandible and
moving posterior, on the nape of neck, 10cm
below the level of external occipital
protuberance.
It was placed transversely on front of
neck and going backwards on both sides and
visible faintly on nape of neck. On dissection,
superficial underlying tissues and (Fig. 7) the
laryngo-tracheal structures showed ecchymosis.
A reddish contusion of size 6 x 5cm was also
appreciated on the left malar region.
The systemic examination showed that
all the solid organs were putrefied and softened.
The organs of generation were also softened. It
was then opined that it was the dead body of an
adult female individual and the cause of death in
this case was ligature strangulation. The injuries
described were ante-mortem in nature and
caused by hard blunt object/ surface impact.
Discussion:
Strangulation is a form of violent
asphyxia which is caused from constriction of
the neck by a ligature without suspending the
body. [1] Strangulation is almost always
homicidal (except in children where they tend to
be accidental). A person may be strangled by
another person’s hands (manual strangulation)
or by a ligature (ligature strangulation). Also, a
person may be strangled by virtually any object
that is pushed onto and compresses the neck,
such as a forearm, a knee, or any type of fixed
object such as a metal bar. [2]
In ligature strangulation, the ligature
material used is usually handy and available
near the place of occurrence, may belong to
murderer but may be part of victim’s garments.
[3] All types of ligature can be used like rope,
wire, string, electric and telephone cable,
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ISSN 0971-0973
scarves, stockings, pieces of cloth etc. The mark
on the neck will usually reflect the material used
for the ligature: if a wire or thin cord was used,
the mark will usually be clear-cut and deep with
sharply defined edges. When a narrow wire is
used as the material of strangulation it is called
as “cheese-cutter” method. [1]
If a soft fabric is pulled taut, it will
commonly fold into a series of firm ridges or
bands that may produce interlacing deeper
areas of bruising on the neck of the victim, which
can suggest the use of a narrow ligature.
The ligature mark is a vital piece of
evidence, especially when the killer has taken
away the actual ligature. The mark on the neck
may reproduce the pattern of the object, such as
spiral or plaited weave, and the width of the
mark can sometimes give a clue as to the size of
the ligature. Occasionally, a ligature mark may
lie only across the front of the neck, which
indicates that the assailant either pressed from
the front or pulled from the back using a cord
stretched between two hands. [4]
Death is usually due to asphyxia (anoxic
hypoxia), but it may be due to other causes
namely cerebral ischemia, venous congestion,
shock due to reflex cardiac arrest or
combination. Very rarely cervical vertebrae may
be fractured. [5] When a wire or cord is used, it
often completely encircles the neck.
If there is more than one loop of the
ligature around the neck, there could be bruising
of the skin if the ligature pinches the skin
between two loops. The marks resist
decomposition presumably because the ligature
has compressed the underlying blood vessels,
restricting access to the area by the putrefying
bacteria. So, despite decomposition, ligature
marks tend to be well preserved and
recognizable. [6]
Conclusion:
Strangulation is a common method of
homicidal deaths especially in females who are
easy to subdue and strangle. It is commonly
seen nowadays that females are first raped and
then strangled to death. Though easily
accessible ligature materials and or hands are
used but materials like clutch wires of
automobiles or bicycle chains etc. when found in
situ, indicate pre-meditated and pre-planned
murder, rather than a provoked one. In present
case, the death of a mother in the hands of her
offspring is the most heinous crime on earth
which can make God thinks twice of his own
creation…Human.
References:
1. Reddy KSN. The Essentials of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology,
30th ed. Hyderabad. Om Sai Graphics; 2010. P.315-6
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2. Dolinak D, Matshes E, Lew EO. Forensic Pathology: Principles Fig. 4: Ligature Mark in front of Neck
and Practice, China. Elsevier Academic Press; 2005:p.215
3. Mukherjee JB. Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, 3rd ed.
Academic publishers; 2007. p. 603
4. Shepherd R. Simpsons Forensic Medicine. 12th ed. Oxford
University Press; London 2003: p. 99.
5. Mathiharan K, Patnaik AK. Modi’s Medical Jurisprudence and
Toxicology. 23rd ed. Lexis Nexis Butterworths Wadhwa: Nagpur;
2010 .p.451
6. Di Maio VJM, Di Maio D. Forensic pathology. 2nd ed. CRC Press;
Boca Raton 2001:p.278-82.

Fig.1: Body along with the Ligating Material

Fig. 5: Ligature Mark on back of Neck

Fig. 2: Ligating Material with the two ends

Fig. 6: Ligature Mark on the Neck with

Pattern of Wire

Fig. 3: Ligating Material with the stick used

to tighten the ligature

Fig. 7: Underlying Tissue Showed

Ecchymosis

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