Suicidal decapitation by guillotine: case report.

A recently widowed man constructed a guillotine in the entrance to his cellar, having previously announced his intention to decapitate himself. A neighbor who saw the device from her house alerted the police. The deceased was found completely decapitated, still holding a pair of pliers that he had used to activate the mechanism. The findings of the resulting investigation are described, and the mechanism of suicidal decapitation is reviewed.