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For an interesting method to disguise murder as suicide research auto-erotic asphyxia. This is actually somewhat common and is frequently mislabeled as suicide or even murder. Telltales are friction marks over doors and beams.

It sounds like a cool plot.


mike r

Do yourself a favor and look up the Body Farm at UT Knoxville.

https://fac.utk.edu/

Then read anything and everything Dr William Bass wrote.

We like dead things in TN...

I worked a death like that.

Guy was handcuffed behind his back, and had a HUGE cigar taped into his mouth. He got naked and climbed on a big exercise ball, and rolled it along a wall, rubbing his little pee pee on the wall until he got his cookies... Or, in this case, until he fell off the ball face forward, and crammed that big cigar down his throat so that he couldn't breathe.

Summoned the JP to come to the scene to pronounce death.

We were taking photos when he got there.

Heard the judge hollering about "Which cop handcuffed this guy?"

Umm... he cuffed himself, judge.

It went completely over his head. I had to explain the entire thing to him. I don't think his brain registered what I was telling him, though...

As a matter of fact, I had a buddy who did a crime novel about twenty years ago with auto-erotic asphyxia as the central crux. It was a hell of a good novel too, but I don't think he ever sold it. The murders were taking place on a small college campus, and made to look like suicide.

The fellow who wrote it and did a lot of research. He was going for a Phd. in Pop Culture studies and got intrigued by the fact that no one wanted to talk about this as though it was the ultimate taboo.

I won't go into details, but the rate of this sort of thing causing death is still vastly under-reported . My buddy's revelations caused me to include a word on it in the coming-of-age discussions I had with my sons. The general gist of my message was just don't ever get into it, PERIOD! The problem is that it does produce an incredible sensation, but it quickly becomes addictive and folks go chasing the high.

I always enjoyed weird scenes, once had a dead pony in the room w/ the vic, but yours is a classic. How did you figure out the scenario? We need details says the morbid guy.


mike r

Have had cases of decedent estates where elderly person was overheated and dehydrated, finally dying of self-neglect.

Died and dried in a warm dry house with good ventilation--a mummy of sorts.

If they are old enough, dehydrated enough, lay flat on non-absorbent flooring, it can happen.

Lots of factors.

BMT

It wasn't too much of a mystery, once you just sat back and looked at the scene.

Auto-erotic deaths nearly always are due to lack of oxygen due to restriction. In this case, it was the cigar taped to in his mouth.

The items he used for his satisfaction were openly about the room. Tape was on a table, as were a box of cigars and condoms, and key to the handcuffs he was wearing.

There were also marks on and along the wall from previous sessions.

Only sign of struggle was right where he fell where he writhed and died. Not much, at that.

Not too hard to figure out. More imaginative than the usual auto-erotic death where the vic is found hanging in the closet with a belt loosely around their neck and their pecker in their hand.

Fun fact: The breakdown of amino acids during putrefaction of a cadaver result in the release of the appropriately named gases putrescine and cadaverine.