Mechanical asphyxia by accidental compression of the neck during a theft: A case report

Abstract Death by accidental mechanical asphyxia in adults is infrequent and usually results from chocking/aspiration, entrapment, ligature strangulation by clothes catching in machinery (especially as occupational deaths) and, more frequently, sexual asphyxia. Except for autoerotic deaths, accidental hanging almost never occurs in adults, and compression of the neck by solid unmovable structures is also rarely reported. The authors report an unusual case of death by mechanical asphyxia due to accidental compression of the neck in combination with suspension of the body, observed in a thief who was found hanging from the ceiling of a room, having his neck compressed by the panels of the floor and his body suspended half a meter from the ground.