Prospects of Hanging Being Interpreted as Ligature Strangulation are Real

A case report points to the uncomfortable fact that a suspicion of homicide entertained on the basis of findings of sharp weapon injury on the neck and mismatching evidence provided by the relatives was misleading. The relatives attributed death to a natural cause. Medical reports (both treatment and the autopsy report) showed that the deceased had suffered a nick to his neck. There was also a mark on the neck that resembled a ligature mark. The eyewitness account appeared suspicious and led the investigators to think of homicide as a possibility. While the debate on whether the relatives concealed the theory of hanging from others out of compulsion or fear raged on, what remained irrefutable was that it was a suicidal hanging. It was thus possible to miss diagnosis of hanging on autopsy.