ABSTRACT
The suicide investigations are among the most difficult and most often challenged investigations that face the Death scene Investigator (DSI). Traditionally, suicide involves both intent and the action that led to an individual taking his or her own life. The physical examination of the scene will focus on determining if the mechanism of death was self-inflicted or self-initiated. Suicide occurs when an individual desires to die and initiates an action that intentionally results in the loss of his or her life. Although a death may initially appear suicidal, the circumstances as ascertained through a thorough and complete investigation may indicate that the death was natural or the result of an accident or homicide. If the body has already been removed to a medical facility or funeral home, an investigator must respond to the receiving facility to gather physical evidence and process the body.
