A Case of Dyadic Death Associated with Helium Gas: An Autopsy Case Report

Hongil Ha; Seung Lim; Jeong Mok Kim; Sohyung Park; Kyung Moo Yang; Seong Ho Kim; Yu Hoon Kim

doi:10.7580/kjlm.2014.38.3.121

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Ha, Lim, Kim, Park, Yang, Kim, and Kim: A Case of Dyadic Death Associated with Helium Gas: An Autopsy Case Report

Original Article

Korean J Leg Med 2014;38(3):121-125.

Published online: 4 February 2014

DOI: https://doi.org/10.7580/kjlm.2014.38.3.121

A Case of Dyadic Death Associated with Helium Gas: An Autopsy Case Report

Hongil Ha¹, Seung Lim², Jeong Mok Kim², Sohyung Park³, Kyung Moo Yang³, Seong Ho Kim⁴, Yu Hoon Kim⁴

¹Division of Forensic Medicine, Busan Institute, National Forensic Service, Yangsan, Korea

²Scientific Investigation Division, Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency, Changwon, Korea

³Medical Examiner's Office, National Forensic Service, Wonju, Korea

⁴Daejeon Institute, National Forensic Service, Daejeon, Korea

책임저자: 하홍일(626-742) 경상남도 양산시 물금읍 금오로 50, 국립과학수사연구원 부산과학수사연구소 법의학과전화: +82-55-380-4050 FAX: +82-55-380-4060 E-mail: sanchee@korea.kr

Received 1 August 2014 Revised 19 August 2014 Accepted 25 August 2014

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

A 39-year-old man, his 35-year-old wife, and their 13-year-old daughter were found dead in their home. The man and his daughter were found lying in her bedroom, with his head wrapped in a plastic bag connected to four helium gas cylinders by green polypropylene tubes. Fragments of the burnt ignition briquette were found in the bucket located at her feet. His wife was found in a decomposed state lying on her right side in her bedroom. Autopsy findings for the man were unremarkable except for cherry pink lividity; the blood carboxyhemoglobin concentration was 73%. Autopsy findings were unremarkable for the woman as well, except for a few petechial hemorrhages and conjunctival congestion. The daughter showed no definite abnormalities; howev-er, her blood and lung contained helium gas. The deceased man's suicide note, evidence gathered at the scene, and postmortem examination revealed that this was a case of dyadic death.

Keywords: Asphyxia, Autopsy, Helium, Homicide-Suicide

References

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Fig. 1.

The man and his daughter were lying along in her bedroom, with his head wrapped in a plastic bag connected with four helium gas cylinders by green polypropylene tubes (a). Fragments of burnt ignition briquette were seen in the bucket located at his daughter's feet (b).

Fig. 2.

His wife was lying on right side and decomposed in her bedroom.

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