ABSTRACT

LPG (liquefied petroleum gases) is a mixture of petroleum and natural gases that exist in a liquid state at ambient temper-atures when under moderate pressures. It includes light aliphat-ic hydrocarbons n-butane (C4HW) and propane (C3H). While deaths depending on inhaling LPG are usually accidental, sui-cidal deaths may be seen rarely. Deaths occur in four mecha-nisms as asphyxia, vagal inhibition, respiratory depression and arrhythmia.

In this study, a 64-year-old male case is presented who com-mitted suicide by using a specific contrivance. The body was found in bed under entirely covered by two layers of blanket and there was a hose from an LPG cylinder to bottom of blan-kets. We discussed postmortem macroscopically and micro-scopically findings in view of the literature.

Keywords: LPG, n-butane, propane, suicide, forensic pathology