Combustion of a Female Body Due to an External Ignition Source

In November 2013, a case of sustained combustion of a female body was encountered in a Korean farming village. The body was almost completely incinerated from the neck to the knees, and other parts of the body, such as the head, arms, lower legs, and feet, were slightly damaged. The most likely exte...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inFire Science and Engineering Vol. 34; no. 2; pp. 94 - 96
Main Authors Cho, Young Jin, Ji, Hong Keun, Kim, Sun Jae, Lim, Kyu Young, Lee, Dong Kyu, Choi, Gyeong Won, Park, Jong Taek, Moon, Byung Sun, Goh, Jae Mo, Park, Nam Kyu
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published 30.04.2020
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Summary:In November 2013, a case of sustained combustion of a female body was encountered in a Korean farming village. The body was almost completely incinerated from the neck to the knees, and other parts of the body, such as the head, arms, lower legs, and feet, were slightly damaged. The most likely external ignition source was the flame from a matchstick. The elderly woman was found incinerated on the floor of the living room, while other objects in the house were largely undamaged except for having a brown oily or greasy coating. Flammable substances were not detected from the woman’s intact pieces of clothing and socks, and her muscular tissues did not contain toxic chemicals. The concentration of carboxyhemoglobin in her peripheral blood was 11% and that of ethyl alcohol in her aqueous humor was below 0.010%. An autopsy failed to determine the exact cause of death because of excessive charring.
ISSN:1738-7167
2508-6804
DOI:10.7731/KIFSE.d29798cd