Serbia. A 67-year-old woman, without any somatic or psychiatric comorbidities, was found dead in a shed in her backyard. Not having seen her in a while, her husband had started looking for her and found her lying over a circular saw which was off at that moment because of a recent power cut.
Fig.1 The home made table-mounted circular blade saw.
At the death scene, the circular blade was mounted on an arbor, which was driven by an electric motor with a real power output of 220 V. The saw blade, electric motor, and belt were not protected by any kind of guard. Fragments of damaged brain tissue and traces of blood were noticeable on the blade and its surroundings. The blood spatter was consistent with the position of the circular saw blade.
Fig.2 Close view of the circular blade saw showing the fragments of damaged brain tissue, traces of blood and tangled victim’s scarf.
Around the victim’s neck was a scarf that was torn and stained with blood. The autopsy was performed the next day, revealing a 35 cm long incised wound, extending from the right half of the jaw along the right side of the face and the right temporal region up to the parietal region. The edges of the wound were mostly regular. The right ramus of the mandibula, the right zygomatic bone, and the right temporal and parietal bones were severed. The space of the incised wound widely communicated with the cranium, oral cavity, and the right wall of the pharynx.
The cut went through the right hemisphere of the brain in the temporal and parietal lobe regions, going 5 cm deep into the inner surface of the left parietal lobe. A fracture line emerged from the cut on the parietal bone, running along the left half of the calvaria down to the base of the skull over the pyramid of the temporal bone and the Turkish saddle. The brain had no contusions, but the superior sagittal sinus was damaged. Also, there was a ligature mark on her neck at the level of the laryngeal prominence and above it. The mark was dry and brownish and most prominent on the left and front side of the neck. There was no hemorrhage in the soft tissue of the neck, no blood in the trachea, and the lungs showed no blood aspiration. The immediate cause of death was air embolism. Toxicological testing was negative for alcohol and drugs.
Fig.3 Longitudinal facial and cranial wound inflicted by the circular saw.
In this case, the role of the scarf (ligature) is particularly interesting. The assumption is that it got tangled in the circular saw and pulled the woman towards it while she was cutting branches. In such circumstances, she had no chance of saving herself. Also, the airway might have been compressed which could explain the absence of blood aspiration in the lungs. The pressure from the ligature was the strongest on the left and front side of the neck. However, it probably was not strong enough on the right side of the neck to cause jugular vein compression. This allowed for the formation of an air embolism that is considered to be a vital reaction and an immediate cause of death. Possible causes of death in cases like the one presented could include exsanguination, blood aspiration and brain tissue damage.
Fig.4 Close view of the incised wound.
The machine discussed in this case was not a factory manufactured machine, but rather a homemade one, designed to meet the most common needs of this particular household. It consisted of a metal table with a shaft attached to its underside. Woodworking and agricultural attachments, such as the circular saw, lathe and corn-peeling part, can be attached to the shaft. As such, this is a multifunctional machine used for cutting and lathing wood, as well for separating corn kernels from the cob. The shaft was driven by a rubber belt and pulleys connected to an electric engine located on a separate metal plate hinged to the machine’s working surface. The belt was tightened with the engine mass. The engine rotation to shaft rotation ratio was roughly 3:1. An alternating current motor usually rotates at the speed of about 1500 to 3000 rpm, which means that the shaft rotated at 4500 to 9000 rpm. When the machine was working, all the blades, as well as the driving mechanism parts, i.e. the belts and pulleys, were constantly rotating.
No protection whatsoever was observed on any of the moving parts of the machine. Installing a fixed guard over its blade (on the top), leaving only the front side of the blade available, and protection around the belts and pulleys, in which clothes could get tangled, would probably reduce the possibility of events like these.
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