ABSTRACT

Suicide is defined as “a person’s giving an end to his own life due to emotional, psychological, or social effects”. Many factors such as cultural structure, ethnic group, age, gender and accessibility are effective in the choice of suicide method. The most common suicide method is hanging, followed by firearms, jumping from heights and chemical intake. While the suicide with the sharp instruments constitutes %2 of all suicides, the incidence of suicide with the sharp instruments which is similar to Hara-kiri is % 0.2. What makes our case valuable is that the person belongs to the Turkish race and has chosen a suicide method as hara-kiri that is special to the Japanese race. A 56-year-old man diagnosed with psychotic disorder died of peritoneal, small intestine and mesenteric injuries due to abdominal and chest penetrating stab wounds and hypovolemic shock due to bleeding.

Our case is compatible with similar cases in the literature in terms of age and sex. In addition, the presence of a known psychiatric diagnosis and history of suicide attempts were significant.

As a result, suicide with hara-kiri method is not common and it is important to determine the origin of hara-kiri death cases as well as all other medical cases. The medical history of the deceased and the information of relatives should be obtained before the autopsy.

Keywords: Suicide, Hara-kiri, Forensic Medicine, Abdominal Injury