The homicide of a transgender by an ante-mortem incaprettamento : a case report

Homicide of a victim belonging to the GLBT community (gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender) is rarely described in the forensic-pathology literature, though this population is more prone to experience victimization than the heterosexual population. Authors illustrate the homicide of a Peruvian transgender that was murdered by her partner with the use of a killing technique that is utilized by the Italian mafia organization: the so-called “incaprettamento”. Cadaver presented both the knee in a flexed position, and all the limbs were forcedly put behind the back, with tied wrists and ankles. The wrists were also fastened with another wire to a “Play-Station” videogame consolle, that enclosed the victim’s neck. At the dissection, the antero-lateral soft tissues of the neck showed blood infiltration, with a complete fracture of the right superior horn of the thyroid cartilage. The cause of death was determined in a self-strangulation due to the “incaprettamento” technique. Convergence of the historical, autoptical and histopathological data permitted to formulate the diagnosis of an homicide by self-strangulation performed with an ante-mortem “incaprettamento”.