Accidental hanging among children and adults: A report of two cases and review of the literature

Abstract

Accidental hanging is rare. The circumstances of death are sometimes so strange and bizarre. It represents a differential diagnosis with suicidal hanging and even criminal hanging. We report two cases of accidental hanging. The first one occurred with a 7-year-old girl playing with a curtain rope. The second with a thief who was found head-trapped between two bars of a metal outer-door. We summarize the findings of the death scene examination, the forensic autopsy and the world literature concerning death by accidental hanging.

Keywords

• Accidental hanging
• Asphyxia syndrome
• Forensic autopsy