Practical Homicide Investigation. (Vernon J. Geberth) Quy trình điều tra

13. Suicide Investigation

The rationale behind suicide, which is defined as the intentional taking of one's life, can be as simple or as complex as life itself. The person who commits suicide may see his or her actions as some sort of solution to a severe physical or psychological dilemma. Often, a police investigator will find a note indicating that the victim had suffered psychological torment or was severely depressed. The note might even suggest that he or she believed that suicide was the last resort. Many of the suicide notes I have seen over the years indicate the acute depression of persons who have taken their lives. Depression does not discriminate. It affects the young and old alike.

According to the 2004 statistics from the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, suicide took the lives of 31,655 persons in 2002, and 132,353 individuals were hospitalized following suicide attempts.1 The overall rate of suicide among youth has declined slowly since 1992. However, rates remain unacceptably high.

Adolescents and young adults often experience stress, confusion, and depression from situations occurring in their families, schools, and communities. In 2001, 3971 suicides were reported in the 15- to 24-year-old age group. Of these, 86% were male and 14% were female.1 Suicide rates increase with age and are very high among those 65 years and older. In 2001, 5393 Americans over age 65 committed suicide; 85% were male and 15% were female.1

Periodically, the nation's newspapers and television networks may cover this phenomenon by reporting a series of events including "teenage suicide pacts." Ironically, the media attention often results in further teenage suicides. The course of action would be to seek out professional assistance and create programs within the school system to deal with this problem.

Risk Factors2

• Previous suicide attempts

• History of mental disorders, particularly depression • History of alcohol and substance abuse 383

• Family history of suicide

• Family history of child maltreatment

• Feelings of hopelessness

• Impulsive or aggressive tendencies

• Barriers to accessing mental health treatment

• Loss (relational, social, work related, or financial)

• Physical illness

• Easy access to lethal methods

• Unwillingness to seek help because of the stigma attached to mental health and substance abuse disorders or suicidal thoughts

• Cultural and religious beliefs — for instance, the belief that suicide is a noble resolution to a personal dilemma

• Local epidemics of suicide

• Isolation, a feeling of being cut off from other people

Depression: A Clinical Perspective

The primary motivation for suicide is depression. Depression is a mood disturbance characterized by feelings of sadness, despair, and discouragement resulting from and normally proportionate to some personal loss or tragedy. Depression can become an abnormal emotional state, which exaggerates these feelings of sadness, despair, and discouragement out of proportion to reality.

There are four major clusters of depressive symptoms: emotional, cognitive, motivational, and somatic. Each of these clusters of depressive symptoms dependently and independently affects the depressed individual. In fact, as one set of clusters begins to affect the individual, another affects and reinforces the depressive effect. Eventually, the emotional and cognitive clusters affect the motivational symptoms causing what clinicians refer to as a "paralysis of the will" and/or psychomotor retardation (psychomotor pertaining to or causing voluntary movements usually associated with neural activity). In severe depression, the depressed person may actually experience a slowing down of his or her movements and may even have trouble walking and talking. The depressed individual experiences physical changes, which further exacerbate the depressive symptoms. The physical changes are referred to as the somatic symptoms.

Emotional Symptoms

Sadness is the most conspicuous and widespread emotional symptom in depression. Depressed people may even articulate their depression by statements such as "I feel sad." This emotional symptom is worse in the morning, usually as a result of not having been able to sleep. Feelings of anxiety are also present along with a loss of gratification and a loss of interest. The loss of interest may start with work and extend into practically everything the individual does (hobbies, recreational activities, etc.). Finally, even biological functions such as eating and sex lose their appeal.

Cognitive Symptoms

The term cognitive refers to the mental process characterized by knowing, thinking, learning, and judging. It is an intellectual process by which a person perceives or comprehends. The depressed individual thinks or perceives of himself in a very negative way. His future is viewed with despair. The individual may feel that he has failed in some way or that he is the cause of his problems. He believes that he is inferior, inadequate, and incompetent. His depressed cognitive functioning causes him to have intense feelings of low self-esteem. This sows the seeds for eventual hopelessness and pessimism. The depressed individual actually believes that he is doomed and there is no way out.

Motivational Symptoms

These particular symptoms are first noticed by those who are close to the depressed person. Depressed persons generally have trouble "getting started." Most of us are able to function by getting up in the morning, going to work, interacting with one another, and engaging in routine activities. The depressed individual is marked by passivity or lack of activity. This passivity and lack of normal response undermine the individual's ability to engage in important life functions and general socialization. In its extreme form, there may even be a "paralysis of will," whereby the individual does not even feel like doing what is necessary for life, such as attending properly to nourishment.

Somatic Symptoms

These are the biological manifestations of depression. They are perhaps the most insidious set of symptoms due to their impact. As depression worsens, every biological and psychological joy that makes life worth living is eroded. Loss of appetite, loss of interest in sex and sexual arousal, weight loss, and sleep disturbances lead to weakness and fatigue. Depressed individuals physically feel the depression. They are more susceptible to physical illness because the depression, as it becomes more severe, erodes the basic biological drives.

Clinical Scenario

An individual begins to feel sad and sustains a restless sleep. He begins to feel sad in the morning and experiences a lack of interest in work (emotional symptoms). He then begins to question his ability to perform at work and starts to feel inadequate. This adds to his anxiety and low self-esteem (cognitive symptoms). He then discovers that he just cannot get started in the morning and cannot bring himself to go to work and loses interest in life (motivational symptoms). As the depression deepens, the individual loses his appetite and experiences weight loss, which leads to weakness and fatigue. He then slips deeper and deeper into depression and becomes ill (somatic symptoms). The cycle of depressive symptoms will continue to evolve and the depression will worsen. At this point, the individual is in dire need of assistance.3

(A)

(B)

Figure 13.1 SUICIDE BY .308 RIFLE. (A) This suicide victim's locale, the interior of a vehicle, shows the devastating effect of the blast from a .308 rifle. Note the brain matter on the interior roof as well as the back seat of the car. (B) This photo depicts a close-up of the victim and the extensive damage inflicted by the high-velocity blast. The victim committed suicide by placing the barrel of the .308 rifle into his mouth and pulling the trigger. (Courtesy of Detective Lieutenant Raymond Krolak, commander, Investigative Division, Colonie, New York, Police Department.)

(A)

(B)

Figure 13.2 SUICIDE BY HANDGUN. (A) This photo depicts a suicide victim with gun still in hand. The woman had shot herself in the head with a .357 magnum revolver. The gun should be checked for any blowback. (B) This is a close-up shot illustrating the devastating effect of the .357 and the type of head wound the victim received. (Courtesy of Detective Steve Shields, Klickitat County, Washington, Sheriff's Office.)

Other Motives for Suicide

Although depression may be the primary motive for the suicide, other factors frequently play a part. Alcohol, drugs, stress, frustration, fear, anger, hostility, and guilt may lay the groundwork for suicide. In fact, motivations may range from the clinical to the bizarre. Some persons may actually take their life in order to punish the survivors, i.e., their family, coworkers, or even society in general, for some perceived wrongdoing.

I have a case on file that was reported in a Daily News story and actually aired on television. It was a particularly bizarre case in which the victim had planned his death for approximately 7 months. He had promised reporters that his story would be "the story of the decade."4 The victim was a state official who had been found guilty of bribery earlier in the year. On the day of his death, he called for a news conference, ostensibly to resign from public office. As he read his statement, he urged the reporters and camera crews to keep their lenses on him. He then pulled a .357 magnum handgun from a manila envelope and placed it into his mouth, pointing the barrel of the gun up toward his brain. He fired and effectively blew his brains out for the viewing audience.

(A)

Figure 13.3 SUICIDE BY MULTIPLE STABBING. (A) The body has been turned over by the arriving paramedics. Note the extreme violence to the body with the clustered stabbing wounds. (B) This photo illustrates the extensive stab wounds to the body as well as the presence of "hesitation" type wounds. The woman had stabbed herself 31 times. Only one wound penetrated the heart. (C) The knife the victim used was recovered at the scene. The blade was approximately 7 in. long. The blood on the blade indicated that the knife had been plunged into the chest at least 5 1/2 in. (Courtesy of Dr. Leslie I. Lukash, former chief medical examiner, Nassau County, New York.)

(B)

(C)

Figure 13.3 Continued.

In addition, some people feel that they have a right of self-determination and take their lives rather than suffer with an illness or disease. These types of suicides will be discussed later in the section "Final Exit Suicide Investigations." Also, some people wish to end their lives but do not want to do it themselves. They create a confrontational situation in order to force the police to shoot them. These types of suicides will also be discussed later in the section "Suicide-by-Cop."

The Investigation

Investigatively speaking, all death investigations should be handled as homicide cases until the facts prove differently. The resolution of the mode of death as suicide is based on a series of factors that eliminate homicide, accident, and natural causes of death.

Remember: Do it right the first time. You only get one chance.

It has been my experience that suicide cases repeatedly cause more problems for the investigator than homicide investigations. There is the possibility that suicide notes may have been taken or destroyed. In addition, the weapon and/or other evidence may have been removed prior to the arrival of the police. Also, it is not surprising to encounter misdirected grief and/or anger. The surviving family grieves the loss of a loved one and is faced with the psychological uncertainty of whether or not they could have prevented the act. These relatives frequently suffer a deep

Figure 13.4 BIZARRE SUICIDE — SUICIDE BY CHERRY BOMB. This individual decided to commit suicide with a large firecracker. He duct-taped a roll of pennies to a cherry bomb and placed the contraption into his mouth with the fuse extending through his lips. He lit the fuse and blew up his head. (From the author's files.)

Figure 13.5 MULTIPLE GUNSHOT SUICIDE. Victim had attempted suicide by shooting himself in the face with a rifle, blowing part of his face off. However, when this did not work, he placed the barrel of the rifle into his mouth and fired a second time, creating this effect.

(From the author's files.)

sense of guilt about the death, anger at the deceased, and feelings of shame because of the social stigma attached to a suicide incident.

I remember one case in which an 84-year-old woman was found with a gunshot wound to her head. A daughter of the deceased had notified the police of the death. Unknown to the police, the deceased had been suffering from terminal cancer and had been very depressed. Her daughter, who had unsuccessfully attempted to call her mother at home, went to the mother's house.

She opened the door with a key and discovered her mother's body. She saw a .32 caliber handgun, which she immediately recognized as an old family heirloom. The daughter removed the gun from the premises, along with some personal papers and a codicil she found in her mother's dresser drawer. She went home, got rid of the gun, and then called the police to report that she had not been able to get through to her mother. She requested the police to respond to her mother's apartment and she would meet them there.

Needless to say, when we arrived, we were looking at a burglary/homicide case and not a possible suicide. Later that week, we were called by the family's priest, who advised us of what had taken place. The case was properly reclassified as a suicide.

Case History

One of the more problematic cases of suicide I investigated involved the suicide death of an attractive 27-year-old woman. She was discovered in her sister's fiancé's apartment with a cut throat and three stab wounds to the chest. She had been hiding at the apartment from a boyfriend, who at first was our primary suspect. However, upon a complete and thorough death investigation, it was soon discovered that the circumstances of her death, as well as the evidence obtained by investigators during the crime scene search, indicated this death to be suicide. The cutting to the throat was superficial, with a stigma of hesitation. The stabbing to the chest was self-inflicted. The weapon came from the scene. The premises were locked from inside. Her palm prints were found on the blade of the kitchen knife. A note found at the scene, although not a classic suicide note, did indicate the victim's depression. A handwriting analysis revealed that the deceased had written the note.

A background check of the deceased indicated drug and alcohol abuse. Interviews of family and friends were conducted. Additional evidence was discovered that indicated the deceased had first tried to kill herself with a rifle found in the apartment. There were no signs of a struggle or forced entry into the locked apartment. The medical examiner who responded to the scene agreed with the investigative hypothesis and confirmed that the death was suicide.

(A)

Figure 13.6 STABBING SUICIDE — MULTIPLE WOUNDS. EQUIVOCAL DEATH — CASE

HISTORY. (A) The victim in her original position when police arrived. She had incised wounds to her neck and blood emanating from her mouth and nose. (B) Close-up of victim's face. (C) The kitchen knife in situ between her legs and a large bloodstain on the carpet. (D) Close-up of the incised wound to the victim's neck indicating a stigmata of hesitation. (E) Close-up of the victim's chest after the blood was removed. The first two stab wounds hit the sternum. Only one wound was fatal; the wound, which is anatomically to the left, pierced the victim's heart and lungs.

(From the author's files.)

(B)

(C)

Figure 13.6 Continued. (D)

(E)

Figure 13.6 Continued.

However, the following day an associate medical examiner, who lacked the expertise of the medical examiner at the scene and the homicide detectives involved in the case, reclassified the case as a homicide. Her rationale was that she had never seen a body with three stab wounds into the chest and that the victim's throat had incised wounds. The associate medical examiner made this determination without consulting the "tour" doctor, who had been at the scene. She disregarded his official notes, refused to discuss the case with the detectives or me, and adamantly insisted that this case was a homicide. As a result of her arrogant incompetence and the family's insistence, this case was subject to review by the State Attorney General's Office, the New York City Department of Investigation, and the NYPD Internal Affairs Division.

I would later have the pleasure of conferring with the chief medical examiner to make an official complaint against the associate medical examiner for her inappropriate and unprofessional behavior. The case was properly reclassified as suicide. However, the damage was done; to this day, the parents of that girl are convinced that their daughter was killed by the boyfriend. It was easier for them to believe that their child was killed than to accept the fact that she had killed herself.

Remember: Suicide cases can cause more problems for detectives than homicide investigations.

In fact, in my present capacity as a homicide and forensic consultant, many of the inquiries I receive concern death investigations that had originally been classified as suicides. Many of these cases raise serious questions about the actual cause of death (homicide, suicide, accident, or natural). These cases have been inadequately investigated, or there has been inappropriate interference in the investigative process due to political or other personal considerations beyond the control of the investigator.

However, in some situations, the police have been too quick to classify a case as suicide based on their initial observations at the scene. The death might have looked like a suicide; however, the presentation of the circumstances was created by a clever offender who staged the scene to make it appear to be a suicide. I have investigated many such cases and the truth of the matter is that initially, the cases did look like suicides. (See Chapter 22, "Equivocal Death Investigation.")

Staging a Scene

Staging a scene occurs when the perpetrator purposely alters the crime scene to mislead the authorities and/or redirect the investigation.

The term staging should not be used to describe the actions of a surviving family member who covers or dresses a loved one who is found nude or has died in an embarrassing situation.

Staging is a conscious criminal action on the part of an offender to thwart an investigation.

(A)

(B)

Figure 13.7 STAGED CRIME SCENE. (A) Homicide made to look like suicide by hanging. The victim was discovered hanging from a piece of construction equipment. (B) Close-up of victim's head area. Closer examination indicated that the victim had been "strung up" after death and the scene staged to look like a suicide. However, a piece of vegetation that did not come from the crime scene was caught in the victim's hair. This trace evidence indicated that he had been killed elsewhere and transported to this site. (From the author's files.)

Investigative Considerations

The investigator should be aware of three basic considerations to establish if a death is suicidal in nature:

1. The presence of the weapon or means of death at the scene

2. Injuries or wounds that are obviously self-inflicted or could have been inflicted by the deceased

3. The existence of a motive or intent on the part of the victim to take his or her life

It should be noted that the final determination of suicide is made by the medical examiner/coroner after all the facts are evaluated. However, the investigation at the scene and an inquiry into the background of the deceased may indicate the presence of life-threatening behavior or activities that suggest suicidal intent. Of course, the medical examiner/coroner is supposed to avail himself or herself of the input of the investigators who were present at the scene and conducted the death investigation.