Godoy Medical Forensics

Strangulation and Domestic Violence Awareness Month

Why Strangulation Occurs Since 1987, October has been declared Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM) in order to raise awareness and connect individuals and organizations who work with this issue on a daily basis. This year, the theme is “We Are Resilient.” In the United States alone, an average of 20 people per minute are physically […]

The Many Implications of Asphyxiation

Death By Asphyxiation The Greek used the term asphyxia when referring to a stopping of the heart rate or pulse. When the body doesn’t get enough oxygen, its organs cannot function, either by inadequate delivery of the oxygen, or poor uptake or utilization of the oxygen by the body’s tissues and organs. This is sometimes […]

Strangulation – how it’s done

Carotid Restraint, Manual Strangulation, Ligature Strangulation and Hanging all have different mechanisms and different symptoms and time to unconsciousness. Read about each type here.

Can you strangle someone and not leave a mark?

There may be absolutely no outward physical sign of the strangulation. Approximately 50% of documented cases exhibit no visible injury. An additional 35% have injuries that are too minor to photograph. (Training Institute on Strangulation Prevention, 2014) Therefore the absence of physical signs of strangulation does not exclude the event. This often means that the medical care is delivered and the legal case is built, solely on the subjective symptoms of the victim. When there are physical signs of strangulation, they are commonly non-specific and may be caused by a number of conditions or other trauma.