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Unique thermal destruction of the body following suicidal burning

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Abstract

The concept of spontaneous combustion has huge appeal as an historical fiction but it has no scientific background. However, in some deaths involving fire, a body can burn away virtually completely with minimal thermal destruction to the neighboring environment. We report an extraordinary case of the self-immolation of an elderly woman who set herself on fire with suicidal intentions. The unusual appearance and location of the body closely resembled the phenomenon of so-called spontaneous human combustion because the upper parts of the body were almost totally destroyed by fire, while the legs and surrounding structures remained almost untouched by flames. The results of all investigations proved that the woman set fire to her body using a box of matches and accelerants (concentrated ethanol and a solid firelighter). Near-total combustion of her body subsequently occurred during the postmortem period. The development of alleged spontaneous human combustion requires the following: ignition (external heat source), fuel (molten human fat), a wick (e.g. charred and porous clothing, bedding, or ground), time, and an optimal microclimate for gradual burning.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Hradec Králové, Charles University, Sokolská 581, 500 05, Hradec Králové, Czech Republic

    Petr Hejna

  2. Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Würzburg, Versbacher Str. 3, 97078, Würzburg, Germany

    Michael Bohnert

  3. Institute of Legal Medicine and Medico-legal Expertise, Jessenius Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University, 036 01, Martin, Slovak Republic

    Martin Janík

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  1. Petr Hejna
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  2. Michael Bohnert
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  3. Martin Janík
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Correspondence to Petr Hejna.

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The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

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Hejna, P., Bohnert, M. & Janík, M. Unique thermal destruction of the body following suicidal burning. Forensic Sci Med Pathol 15, 262–266 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12024-018-0076-6

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