The "Social-mobile autopsy": The evolution of psychological autopsy with new technologies in forensic investigations on suicide. (May 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Aquila, I.; Sacco, M.A.; Gratteri, S.; Sirianni, M.; De Fazio, P.; Ricci, P.
• Is Part Of: Legal medicine. Volume 32(2018)
• Page Start: 79
• Page End: 82
• Publication Date: 2018-05
• Subjects: Psychological autopsy -- Social mobile autopsy -- Suicide -- Forensic investigations -- Facebook -- New technologies; Medical jurisprudence -- Periodicals; Forensic Medicine -- Periodicals; Médecine légale -- Périodiques; Medical jurisprudence; Periodicals; 614.1
• DOI: 10.1016/j.legalmed.2017.12.008
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1344-6223

Abstract

Graphical abstract: Highlights: Emphasize the importance of new method of social mobile autopsy in suicide. Social-mobile autopsy method is not only confined to cases of suicide. We better understand the circumstantial data of the crime scene and autopsy. Abstract: Suicide is a huge deal in general public health, representing the second cause of mortality in young people worldwide. The suicidal setting analysis is usually performed through psychological autopsy, a method of investigation commonly used to study what leads to suicide. Psychological autopsy, though, requires the involvement of family and friends, or the finding of a diary or a suicide note. Nowadays, this is not always possible, especially during adolescence, the more if we consider new categories of people that are more used to live in a web dimension, than in a real one. So, with the advent of a new kind of social system including the web, psychological autopsy, as we know it, is not enough to determine the setting of an event. We here report the case of a 17-year old girl who committed suicide by hanging down from her house, leaving no suicide note. We propose a new investigation method developed through the analysis of phone messages and Facebook profile in order to better reconstruct the event. Although the standing difficulties in reconsidering the intimate motivations leading to such a decision, psychological autopsy nowadays needs to consider also social networks in order to prevent similar situations and even reconstruct the psychological dimension of the fact. We propose a model of Social-mobile autopsy .