Just be careful.
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REPORTED AEF CASES INVOLVING SELF-BONDAGE
Some restraint materials can be dangerous
Date: 1931
Age: 37
Gender: M
Cause of death: Bled to death
Shop assistant found dead in his bed. Lying under the covers, gagged with handkerchiefs, head tightly wrapped in a towel. Legs tied with towels, hands tied up behind his back. He was clutching a nail-scissors in his left hand to free himself, but the arteries were cut up by the tight laces around the wrists, and he bled to death.
Source: Schackwitz
Don't drink and die
Gender: M
Cause of death: Compression
Victim winched himself up off the ground by a rope wrapped around his abdomen. High blood alcohol content probably contributed to his inability to release the winch. Pressure continued unabated on his abdomen until breathing became impossible.
Sources: R.R. Hazelwood, et al., Autoerotic Fatalities, Lexington Books, 1983, Lexington, MA. / J Forensic Sci 1984 Apr;29(2)679-84. "An unusual autoerotic death asphyxia with an abdominal ligature." Thibault R, Spencer JD, Bishop JW, Hibler NS.
Bound hands prevent control of personal safety
Gender: M
Cause of death: Compression/asphyxiation
Yale graduate constructed an airtight vinyl bag that he zippered himself into. He bound his hands behind his back with a short length of chain. Penis was wrapped with a saran-wrap/ rubber-band condom. Found dead of asphyxiation.
Source: ? Seeking confirmation.
Having a knife doesn't always mean escape
Gender: M
Location: New Orleans
Cause of death: Asphyxiation
Victim enclosed his body into plastic with an airway out of his "cocoon" in the form of a snorkel tube. He was engaged in masturbation when he apparently lost his mouth piece or airway. He attempted to use a knife to cut himself out, but did not succeed in time.
Source: Am J Forensic Med Pathol 1985 Jun;6(2)151-2. "Wrapped to death. Unusual autoerotic death." Minyard F.
Even without bondage, a gag's effects can sneak up on you
Gender: F
Age: 30
Cause of death: Choked on gag
Found dead in her locked apartment. Nude and lying supine on a blanket on the bedroom floor. A pillow beneath her buttocks elevated them. (Many women use pillows as masturbation tools.) Legs were slightly spread, arms by her sides. Blouse lodged in her mouth and covered her face. Next to body was a dental plate belonging to the victim. Near left foot: empty beer can, an ashtray, and a drinking glass. Neither the body nor the scene exhibited signs of a struggle. Victim's clothes and purse containing her keys were on bed. Vibrator and leather bondage materials were found in her closet. Door was locked with a spring bolt. The autopsy report indicated that she had choked to death.
Source: Hazelwood, Burgess, and Dietz
Elaborate scenarios lead to unanticipated complications
Date: 1973
Age: 40
Gender: M
Cause of death: Compression/asphyxiation
Airplane pilot drove his Volkswagen to a secluded, roughly circular, flat clearing, He removed his clothes and put on a self-manufactured harness, which connected him via a ten-foot length of chain to the car's rear bumper. He tied a belt to the steering wheel and strapped it down so that the wheel was completely counter-clockwise. He started the engine and placed it in first gear, so that the car circled the clearing slowly with him being led walking behind. He had performed this ritual previously. On this final occasion, however, when he approached the car to end the scene, the chain began winding around the left rear axle; he was pulled in toward the left wheel area, and died of compression against the car.
Source: J.C. Rupp, "The Love Bug," Journal of Forensic Sciences, vol. 18, 1973. pp. 259-262.
"Escape mechanisms" can fail
Gender: M
Cause of death: Compression/asphyxiation
Victim was in a garbage can. He'd intended to use a roll of chicken wire as an escape mechanism. The mechanism failed and the man died of compression. (In chest compression, the movement of the ribcage is restricted or the diaphragm movement is cut off.)
Source: R.R. Hazelwood, et al., Autoerotic Fatalities, Lexington Books, 1983, Lexington, MA.
Automated suspension with unexpected error
Age: 62
Gender: M
Cause of death: Compression/asphyxiation
Found dead in his barn, pinned under the hydraulic front scoop of a John Deere tractor. A neighbor found him lying prone on the ground with the scoop of the tractor on his back. The tractor engine was no longer running, but the ignition was still in the on position. Victim nude except for a pair of red women's shoes with eight-inch heels and knee-high nylons. Duct tape was wrapped around ankles. Ankles were bound to a four-foot-long segment of pipe such that legs were spread. A yoke was attached to the center of the pipe, which was attached to the front loader bucket by a chain. Two ropes led from the victim to the tractor's control lever for raising and tilting the bucket. Fully raising the hydraulic bucket would have caused complete suspension of his inverted body by the ankles. He died when accidentally pinned to the ground under the shovel after intentionally suspending himself.
Source: J Forensic Sci 1993 Mar;38(2)359-64. "Autoerotic fatalities with power hydraulics." O'Halloran RL, Dietz PE. Ventura County Medical Examiner Office, CA.
Complete explanation not yet found
Gender: M
Date: 1988
Cause of death: Asphyxiation
Victim found lying on side in semi-fetal position. Right wrist bound behind, in small of back. Left wrist handcuffed in front at crotch level. Legs bent up at knees. Ropes, straps, belts, rings combined for restraints. Undressed but wearing women's shoes.
Source: Wetli, Mittleman, Rau. Practical Forensic Pathology.
Scenarios and activities become more elaborate over time - more experience leads to greater danger of death, not less danger
Gender: M
Age: 26
Victim died while suspended by leather wrist restraints from a hook in the ceiling. Was wearing a commercially produced 'discipline mask' and a had a bit in his mouth. A length of rope was attached to each end of the bit and ran over his shoulders, going through an eyelet at the back of a specially designed belt he was wearing. The pieces of rope ran to eyelets on both sides of his body and were connected to wooden dowels that extended the length of his legs. The ropes were attached to two plastic water bottles, one on each ankle. The bottles were filled with water and each weighed 7 pounds. The victim's ankles had leather restraints about them. A clothespin was affixed to each of the victim's nipples. The victim's belt had a leather device that ran between his buttocks and was attached to the rear in front of his belt. This belt device included a dildo that was inserted in his anus and an aperture through which his penis protruded. His penis was encased in a piece of pantyhose and a toilet-paper cylinder. A small red ribbon was tied in a bow at the base of his penis.
Source: Hazelwood, Burgess, & Dietz
Handcuffs prevent self-rescue
Gender: M
Date: July 10, 2000
Location: Bossier City, LA
Cause of death: Asphyxiation/Strangulation
Man in women's clothes found hanging from a tree, gagged and handcuffed in Louisiana. Was wearing women's clothing. Police said the death was "accidental and sexual in nature." Feet may have slipped while enacting hanging fantasy. Victim was Christopher Jones (caucasian, not black as erroneously reported by some).
Source: SF Gate News (Mike Halphen, Bossier City police)
The next two cases describe pseudo-hogties position where the ankles are leashed toward the neck. The victims believed the neck pressure would be minimal and controllable. Even though their hands were free, they did not survive.
Gender: M
Date: 1968
Cause of death: Asphyxiation
Pseudo-hogtie position where rope was tied to one ankle, leashed up over one shoulder, round front of neck, back over other shoulder and tied back to the other ankle. Hands were free but reduced air intake accidentally led to permanent loss of consciousness. Victim was naked.
Source: T. Watanabe. Atlas of Legal Medicine
Gender: F
Age: 22
Cause of death: Asphyxiation (hair got tangled in the rope)
Victim discovered dead by her sister, who had been staying with the victim temporarily. The sister had been away for two days and returned on Sunday at 9:00 p.m. She went directly to her bedroom and did not discover the victim until the following morning. The deceased was found with her abdomen, thighs and forearms resting on the floor. Her feet were pulled back toward her head. Her body was in an arched position with an electrical cord attached to her neck by a slip knot, passing over a doorknob, and wrapped around her ankles. Her hair was entangled in the slip knot. She was clothed in a sleepshirt. Commercial lubrication cream was found in the victim's vagina, and a battery-operated vibrator was found 4 feet from her body. The only trauma was a 1 1/2-inch contusion above and behind her right ear. The cause of death was determined to be asphyxia due to laryngeal compression.
Source: Hazelwood, Burgess, and Dietz
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FEMALE DEATHS
Female AEFs are rarely correctly identified or reported. A review of eight fatal cases and one near-fatal case was conducted to determine more clearly the characteristics of AEFs by women.
Six of the fatal cases had objective evidence of sexual activity, three had used neck padding to prevent chafing, and eight had failed self-rescue mechanisms.
The majority of women did not use unusual clothing, props, or devices to augment their activity. (These details distinguish females from males; male deaths frequently include presence of crossdressing, sexual props and devices -- these details are not typical in female AEFs.) Five of the women were naked. One was found with elaborate clothing and extra ligatures.
Two fatal cases were atypical in that the apparatus that was used for sexual purposes was not intended to cause asphyxia in one case and did not directly cause asphyxial death in the second case.
Six cases involved characteristic fatal autoerotic asphyxial activity. The final case was not fatal.
Source: Am J Forensic Med Pathol 1993 Mar;14(1)70-3. "Fatal and near-fatal autoerotic asphyxial episodes in women." Byard RW, Hucker SJ, Hazelwood RR. Department of Histopathology, Adelaide Children's Hospital, Australia.
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SEXUAL ACTIVITY IS NOT ALWAYS THE MOTIVE
Sometimes, a person intends to be bound for other reasons, not understanding the possible dangers.
How a gag can suddenly change everything
Date: October 30, 1998
Gender: F
Age: 46
Location: Brixworth, Northamptonshire
Cause of death: Choked on vomit
Kathleen Yeoman, divorced mother of two, staged a fake burglary to win back the affection of former lover/neighbor Paul Cockerhill. She ransacked her house, tipping out drawers and throwing jewelry on her bed. She piled electrical goods in the front room, taped her mouth, put a plastic bag over her head and tied her hands together. Leaving her front door open, she went and lay across Paul's front doorstep. As she waited for his return from a pub, she vomited and, unable to remove the tape from her mouth as her hands were shackled with self-tightening plastic ties, she choked to death. Police at first treated the death as suspicious, but they reviewed the case when they found that nothing had been taken and she still had money in her handbag.
Source: Times, Daily Telegraph 7/1/99.
Just because you decide to be a captive doesn't mean you will be able to retain control
(Not self-bondage, but notable for cause of death)
Gender: F
Age: 22
Location: Valparaiso, Indiana
Date: September 2000
Cause of death: Hypothermia
Burger King night manager Lisa Goetz conspired with day manager Lori Thomas to steal over $4000 from the restaurant. They staged a fake robbery. Lisa was bound with duct tape and placed in a walk-in cooler. Lori started a small fire in a wastebasket and left with a duffel bag of cash. They envisioned a quick rescue of Lisa by the local fire department. Instead the fire smoldered without erupting until the morning shift arrived. Lisa was found in the freezer, chilled and semi-conscious, and was rushed to a hospital where she later died from hypothermia. Police later recovered the cash from Lori's home, at which time she confessed.
Source: APB News and others
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STATISTICS
The authors of a published study of 150 cases of autoerotic asphyxiation estimated that 500 to 1,000 autoerotic deaths occur annually in the United States.
One Canadian researcher studied 117 males aged 10-56 who had died accidentally during autoerotic asphyxial activities.
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LINKS, SOURCES, REFERENCES
Article containing examples of bondage deaths
Silent Victims
Autoerotic Asphyxiation Syndrome
Auto-Erotic Asphyxia
Exit
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Message from a visitor to this site:
I'm writing to thank you for the information you compiled about self-bondage. A few years back I used to fit the description in one of the stories on your self-bondage page: "Scenarios and activities become more elaborate over time - more experience leads to greater danger of death, not less danger".
There's a good chance I might not be alive today if I hadn't come across your page. I found it while searching the web for ideas to make my solo scenes more elaborate.
I have to admit that sometimes the craving for bondage gets very strong and I still indulge in a little self-bondage now and then. But I don't do it as frequently, and my scenes are much simpler now, because of the dangers your page taught me about.
So thank you again. You may have saved my life.
~(anonymous)
4/25/03
LINK
http://www.openmindmedia.com/self-bondage/
Post
cchris