• Veronique Alunni, Gilles Grevin, Luc Buchet, Yvan Gaillard, and Gérald Quatrehomme.
• Laboratoire de Médecine Légale et d'Anthropologie médico-légale, Université de Nice Sophia Antipolis, Faculté de Médecine, 28 Avenue de Valombrose, 06107 Nice Cedex 2, France. Electronic address: alunni.v@chu-nice.fr.
• Forensic Sci. Int. 2014 Nov 1;244:e30-3.

AbstractWe present a surprising case of suicide by self-immolation. A surveillance camera filmed the victim's agony. We were able to ascertain that he survived 13 min after ignition. This case was the starting point for a review of the literature of the forensic elements required to correctly analyze cases of suicide by self-immolation and to establish the causal link between the burn lesions and death. The authors will focus on the forensic and medical aspects in favor of suicide by self-immolation and on the forensic aspects required to understand the ignition process, the circumstances surrounding the fire with a particular emphasis on determining whether an accelerant was doused on the victim before ignition.Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

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