Hanging
- Finding
In hanging the noose tightens on the neck through the body's own weight; it leaves an oblique, high furrow that is broken at the knot.
What it is
Hanging is compression of the neck by a noose tightened by the weight of the body, wholly or partly. The feet need not be off the ground: the weight of the head and trunk is enough, so there are incomplete hangings with the person sitting, kneeling or lying. The great majority are suicides; accidental and homicidal hangings are rare. The key sign is the furrow: oblique, rising towards the suspension point, high on the neck and broken at the knot.
How to tell it apart
- Versus ligature strangulation: direction, continuity, level and suspension point of the furrow (see the table).
- Versus manual strangulation: there is no furrow, but bruises and abrasions from fingers and nails on the neck.
- Staged postmortem hanging: the furrow lacks a vital reaction and there are other injuries or a different cause of death.
- Neck folds in obese people or infants, or a tight collar, can mimic a furrow.
How to recognise it
- Neck furrow: a band marked by the noose, often parchmented (dry, yellow-brown) after death.
- Oblique direction, rising towards the knot; the furrow is broken where the knot or the suspension point lies.
- High level: between the chin and the thyroid cartilage, above the larynx.
- The width and pattern of the furrow reproduce the noose (braided rope, belt, cable, fabric).
- If the body was suspended for some time, livor becomes fixed in the legs, forearms and hands.
How it forms
- Body weight tightens the noose and occludes the jugular veins and carotid arteries; arterial occlusion causes loss of consciousness within seconds.
- In typical hanging (knot at the nape) arterial occlusion is complete and the face stays pale.
- In atypical or incomplete hanging venous occlusion outweighs arterial occlusion and facial congestion and petechiae appear.
Hanging versus ligature strangulation: the furrow
| Feature | Hanging | Ligature strangulation |
|---|---|---|
| Direction | Oblique, rising towards the knot | Horizontal |
| Continuity | Broken at the suspension point | Continuous around the neck |
| Level | High, above the thyroid cartilage | Middle or low, at or below the thyroid |
| Depth | Deepest opposite the knot | Even |
| Face | Pale in typical; congested in incomplete | Congested, with many petechiae |
| Most frequent manner of death | Suicide | Homicide |
Next step: what to do and document
- If the person may be alive, cut the noose away from the knot, start resuscitation and keep the knot intact.
- If death is obvious, do not take down or move the body before the judicial police document the scene and the suspension point.
- Describe the furrow: direction, level, width, depth, continuity, pattern and associated injuries, with scaled photographs.
- Package the noose with the knot intact, label it and record the chain of custody.
- In a survivor, report the suicide attempt under the surveillance protocol and refer for mental health assessment.
Common mistakes
- Taking petechiae as proof of hanging: they are non-specific and often absent in typical hanging.
- Untying or cutting through the knot: information on how and by whom it was tied is lost.
- Ruling out homicide because the furrow is oblique: a body can be hung after death.
- Reading hypostatic haemorrhages in the neck of a body that lay face down as injuries.
Test yourself
Think of the answer, then tap the question to see it.
What are the features of the typical hanging furrow?
It is oblique and rises towards the knot, lies high on the neck (above the thyroid cartilage) and is broken at the suspension point.
Can a person hang with the feet resting on the ground?
Yes. In incomplete hanging the weight of the head and trunk is enough to occlude the neck vessels.
Why is the face usually pale in typical complete hanging?
Because the noose occludes both the veins and the arteries of the neck, so no blood reaches the face to congest it.
How should the noose of a hanging person be cut?
Away from the knot, to keep it intact; it is then packaged and labelled with a chain of custody.
Where does livor become fixed in a body that hung for several hours?
In the lowest parts: the legs, forearms and hands.
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Educational content on forensic and legal medicine; not legal advice and no substitute for the technical guides of Colombia's National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences. Laws change: each page links the official text and says when it was last checked. For a real case, follow the guide in force and ask the competent authority.
Sources: Ligature Mark: Crime or Suicide? (International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, PubMed Central, 2022); Strangulation Injuries (StatPearls, NCBI Bookshelf, 2023); The Minnesota Protocol on the Investigation of Potentially Unlawful Death (2016) (Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, 2017).
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