[hermantheshocker]

A 29-year-old student from Germany was found dead in a hotel room on the last day of his 3-day biking tour at a Slovak mountain resort.


Fig 1. The body of deceased with a diving full-face mask fixed on the face.

According to hotel staff, he had been unaccompanied, he was only in obligatory contact with the reception desk and was last seen in the evening several hours prior to his death. His undressed body was found by a cleaning staff lying on a bed in the supine position with his upper arms extended sideways (Fig. 1).


Fig 2. Diving full-face mask tightly fixed on the face.

There was a full-face diving mask (CRESSI-SUB, Genoa, Italy) found on the face of the victim, being snugly sealed by rubber straps (Fig. 2). The glass of the full-face mask was covered with tiny droplets of the condensed vapor on the inner side. The full-face diving mask was connected with a second stage of standard open-circuit scuba (self-contained underwater breathing apparatus, NOAA) diving regulator. The 2nd stage of the above-mentioned regulator was connected via a flexible medium-pressure rubber hose with the 1st stage of the scuba breathing system used. Finally, the 1st stage of the regulator was firmly screwed into the orifice of a valve of a high-pressure industrial gas tank, filled with pure nitrogen. Both regulators were in the open position.


Fig 3. Diving mask connected to a high-pressure tank.

The cause of death was attributed to nitrogen asphyxiation. Further investigation provided by the German police revealed that the deceased man had made suicidal declarations in the past and that the diving equipment was his own. Further- more, his close relatives confirmed suicidal ideations of the deceased; however, an apparent reason remained unclear. Following the completion of the police investigation (both German and Slovak), the manner of death was classified as a suicide.


Fig 4. Tiny hemorrhagic foci on the pleura of both lung lobes.

The internal examination revealed the following findings: the brain of the deceased was swollen with dilatation and congestion of blood vessels in the leptomeninges. Both lungs were enlarged, congested, and edematous (left lung weight 750 g; right lung weight 950 g). Tiny hemorrhagic foci were found on the pleura of both lungs (Fig. 4). There was a pinkish mucous froth in the airways. The heart was excessively dilated, and the muscular walls were flaccid, with a total loss of tonus. The abdominal organs were congested, and the liver was slightly enlarged (1670 g) without, however, visible morphological changes. The blood within the whole body was dark red and fluid. The reminder of autopsy was unremarkable. -Journal of Forensic Sciences

[viperStrike]

What an interesting way to commit suicide...thanks for this interesting post!

[philovan]

I wonder what it is like to go out that way. Did he simply lose consciousness and fade away or did he experience suffering first? Since one's breathing is not interrupted in such cases there won't be that horrible feeling of not being able to take a breath, and I have no idea if breathing in nitrogen produces unpleasant sensations prior to the loss of consciousness.

[hermantheshocker]

Originally Posted by philovan ↗

I wonder what it is like to go out that way. Did he simply lose consciousness and fade away or did he experience suffering first? Since one's breathing is not interrupted in such cases there won't be that horrible feeling of not being able to take a breath, and I have no idea if breathing in nitrogen produces unpleasant sensations prior to the loss of consciousness.

When humans breathe in an asphyxiant gas, such as pure nitrogen, helium, neon, argon, methane, or any other physiologically inert gas(es), they exhale carbon dioxide without re-supplying oxygen. Physiologically inert gases (those that have no toxic effect, but merely dilute oxygen) are generally free of odor and taste. Accordingly, the human subject detects little abnormal sensation as the oxygen level falls. This leads to asphyxiation (death from lack of oxygen) without the painful and traumatic feeling of suffocation (the hypercapnic alarm response, which in humans arises mostly from carbon dioxide levels rising), or the side effects of poisoning. In scuba diving rebreather accidents, there is often little sensation, however, a slow decrease in oxygen breathing gas content has effects which are quite variable.[9] By contrast, suddenly breathing pure inert gas causes oxygen levels in the blood to fall precipitously, and may lead to unconsciousness in only a few breaths, with no symptoms at all.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inert_gas_asphyxiation

[gimlet]

For him, it beat going back to work after a three day vacation.

'Diver Dan' errr... Diver Dieter left a Hell of a scene for the cleaning lady, he really ought to be ashamed of himself.

[Ms Moody]

Shame

[K53]

A painless demise. Sadly, he was a success.

[trean362]

A good way to go but what a pity

[Omegas3]

Wow. That's, interesting. I wonder was he in pain at all?

[Yanni]

i'd like to see a video of that...curious if there was any arm-waving or thrashing around at all.