Strangulation

Happy Valentine’s Day.

Many of our loyal readers lately have been asking about strangulation.  I suppose TV coverage isn’t providing enough for you.  Luckily, you’ve come to the right place.  Here’s something to satisfy your appetites for gore – a few excerpts from one of my favorite pieces of bedtime reading, “Death by Strangulation,” by Dr. Dean Hawley.

Strangulation sometimes causes no external evidence.  In other cases scratches and bruises occur on the neck.  These are often from the fingers of the assailant, or even the fingers of the victim from attempts to pry free.  Ligatures, such as the satin stockings used by Destiny Blande, can cause distinct abrasion patterns as well.

“Ligature abrasions follow a predictable pattern of horizontal circumscription about the neck; distinguishable from the marks left by suicidal hanging, where a suspension point causes the ligature furrow to rise toward one ear.”

All of these marks can become more prominent after death as the skin dries out.  Wouldn’t you love to be a fly on the wall as the coroner sits there eating his lunch while strangulation marks appear on the neck of the corpse?

But remember, not all of the evidence lies in the neck.

“. . . In addition to the blunt force injuries of the neck, strangulation produces evidence of asphyxiation, recognized as pinpoint hemorrhages (petechiae) in the skin, conjunctiva of the eyes, and deep internal organs.  Petechiae are non-specific findings that can develop from any cause of asphyxia including strangulation, hanging, drowning, sudden infant death syndrome, aspiration of gastric contents, profound depressant drug intoxication, and some natural diseases.  The presence of petechiae does not prove strangulation, and the absence of petechiae does not disprove strangulation.  In addition to petechiae, one may also (rarely) find interstitial free air in the lung or mediastinum.”

The exact findings at autopsy vary, and may be related to the different ways that strangulation can cause death.  We each probably have our favorite ways that this can happen.  Pressure on the carotid arteries can cut off blood flow to the brain, and blocking the jugular veins can stop the blood returning from the brain, either of which leads to unconsciousness and eventually death.  Pressure on the larynx can prevent air flow to the lungs, causing suffocation.  Then, of course, there’s my favorite, the possibility of causing an abnormal rhythm from carotid artery reflex signals to the heart.

Okay you wild asphyxiaphilics – we know this information will take your breath away because you’re Crazy 4 Crazies.

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Serial Killer Bedtime Stories: Moses Sithole

Tonight's bedtime story is about Moses. No, not that Moses.

A surprisingly intelligent and gentle mannered Moses Sithole is allegedly South Africa's worst serial killer. The suspected Gauteng serial killer, Sithole was charged in the Pretoria Supreme Court with 38 charges of murder, 40 charges of rape and six of robbery. Between 1994 and 1995 he allegedly strangled women in the Pretoria, Johannesburg and East Rand areas. Most victims were lured to secluded fields where Sithole allegedly assaulted, raped and strangled them with their own underwear or belts.

The series of murders started in June 1994, shortly after Sithole had served house arrest for rape. Between 1994 and 1995 South African authorities were alarmed by the growing number of dead women appearing around Pretoria and Johannesburg. Several of the women were left with their hands tied behind their backs. One woman was blindfolded. Many were found with their heads covered with clothing. Apparently he murdered his first victim because she had shouted at him when he asked her for directions. "I cannot remember her name," he said. "I killed her and left her there. I went straight home and had a shower."

Robert Ressler, the F.B.I. Behavioral Science Unit's former chief, was called in to help with the investigation. Ressler concluded that the killings in Cleveland, a suburb of Johannesburg, and Boksburg, a suburb of Pretoria, were linked. In his psychological profile of the killer he indicated the possibility of two killers acting together.

On October 18, 1995, after a week-long nationwide hunt, police shot and wounded Moses Sithole, an ax-wielding ex-convict with six aliases. When he was arrested, authorities thought Sithole might have been acting in conjunction with David Selepe but no evidence has been uncovered suggesting that both men knew each other. Unfortunately for Selepe, he was killed by police while in custody.

On October 22, 1996, Sithole appeared in court and was charged with 38 murders and 40 rapes. On November 14, Sithole's trial was postponed after the suspect appeared in court looking very pale and with his pants soaked with blood. The HIV positive killer was rushed to the hospital where he was treated for a wound on his knee. According to his defense team, the injury came from a fall he sustained at Pretoria Central Prison.

A jailhouse confession videotape -- made by Charles Schoeman on the condition that Sithole and three other prisoners would get a share of the royalties -- shows a visibly relaxed Sithole in a cell either smoking or chewing on an apple while giving a chilling account one of his victim's lasts moments before death. Sithole -- an avid talker -- was a willing party to a series of video and audio tapes made by fellow prisoners. In them he told fellow prisoners that he hated women and felt he was teaching them "a very good lesson" by murdering them.

Facts contained in the tapes were repeated in a confession to the police and in a phone conversation with a Johannesburg journalist. An unknown caller, identified by voice experts as Sithole, claimed to be the Gauteng serial killer and gave details of where he had left the bodies of several of his victims.

Sithole officially became South Africa's worst serial killer On December 5, 1997. when he was found guilty of 38 murders and 40 rapes. Sithole -- who's overwhelming arrogance had ultimately brought about his downfall -- sat emotionless, taking down notes throughout the three-hour judgment. After the judgment, he gathered up his briefcase and left the courtroom with a smile on his face. The next day, as people in the gallery cheered and applauded, Sithole was sentenced to 2,410 year in jail. Relatives of the victims shouted for his head and called for the return of capital punishment. The judge -- who also made a plea for the restoration of the death penalty -- said he would have sentenced Sithole to death without hesitation.

Sweet dreams, and may you forever remain Crazy 4 Crazies.