Shinto Devassy, Vanika, Arulselvi Subramanian
Smothering is a type of asphyxia in which the external respiratory orifices are closed by hand or any other means. Usually the victims of smothering belong to extreme age groups, very young or old and those with debilitating diseases. This article reports the case of an old man found dead in the morning with mild bleeding from nostrils. In view of minimal findings, it was already difficult to prove the same as a case of smothering, which was further made more difficult by the relatives who refused to accept this fact and attributed the nose bleed to a hypertensive bleed. Keywords: Smothering; Old age; Histology