Self-immolation in private?

[frogmarch]

In all the cases I’ve read about in which people intentionally set themselves on fire, it was done as an extreme form of political protest or to shock and horrify certain people, agencies or businesses the self-immolators believe have wronged them. I’ve never read or even heard of a case in which someone self-immolated in private. All the self-immolation cases I know of have occurred in public places, and with at least one person handy to see it.

Does anyone know of any suicide-by-fire cases in which the self-immolator was alone, either at home or in a secluded place?

Are there any cases in which a self-immolator chose to use a charcoal briquette campfire as the way to do it?

I’ve been trying to find answers to these questions, but I’m having no luck. Does anyone here know the answers or how I might be able to find them? Thanks!

If the topic is too gross, I’ll be glad to delete it this post. Just let me know.

[LumosMaxima]

1. I do know of a case.

I knew someone who set herself on fire in a bathtub. She lived alone and had a long mental health history.

Charcoal briquettes can be used to commit suicide by generating carbon monoxide, but I've never heard of a person using them to set himself on fire.

[frogmarch]

7. Thanks. Burning to death would be

an awful way to die - one of the very worst ways, in my opinion. I'm sorry about the woman you knew.

My post refers to the burning death of Chadron State College math professor Steven Haataja. He'd given no indication he wanted to die, and he'd left no suicide note, but 95 days after he was last seen, his charred body was found in a gully outside of Chadron, Nebraska, tied to a spindly tree with an extension cord. His ankles were bound together with another extension cord but not tied to the tree. At the base of the tree was a semicircle of ash from a small fire, and there were charcoal briquettes scattered around. A Safeway clerk said he'd bought briquettes that day. He didn't own a charcoal grill.

[El_Johns]

13. There's a book that's sort of about that case. The writer is very good.

Poe Ballantine’s memoir takes up his life story having recently returned from Mexico with his young Mexican girlfriend, Cristina. The two settle in the small town of Chadron, Nebraska (where Poe lived once before during his itinerant years) and get married. Before long they have a son, Tom. Tom is labelled as autistic...

Before long, there’s trouble in Poe’s marriage, he and Cristina are fighting constantly. Poe wants to believe that their problems are caused by Cristina coming to terms with living in the US – having to learn English (understanding jokes is the last thing you learn in another language, which is especially hard on Ballantine, a funny man with a wife who couldn’t understand that he was funny), and making minimum wage as a cleaner despite having been a dentist in Mexico. Once she acclimatises they’ll be happy, or so Poe tells himself. But Cristina came to America with Ballantine imagining that all Americans are rich and successful. Poe, a writer and wanderer, was poor, and as he tells it, a disappointment to Cristina.

Then Poe’s neighbour Steven Haataja (pronounced Hah-de-ya) goes missing. Did he skip town? Commit suicide? Was he murdered? Ninety-five days later his body is discovered on a property near the university campus, burned beyond recognition, tied to a tree. At the time Ballantine was trying, and failing, to come up with an idea for his next book. Then it struck him, he knows everyone in Chadron, he knew Steven, he should write about Steve’s disappearance. I guess a part of every writer wants their very own In Cold Blood moment. So the strange disappearance of Steven Haataja ostensibly serves as the plot of Love & Terror on the Howling Plains of Nowhere. But I wouldn’t read Poe Ballantine’s book if you’re looking to find out exactly what happened to Steve, a tragically curious death that will likely remain a mystery. Much of Poe’s investigation involves navigating police incompetence, and local characters’ endless speculation based on the paltry facts available. But it remains a fascinating portrait of a town in crisis...

http://theoceanfrozen.wordpress.com/2013/10/05/love-terror-on-the-howling-plains-of-nowhere-poe-ballantine/

[frogmarch]

14. The book is superb. The

author is a friend of mine, and we discuss the case a lot. We're trying to find some new clues that might help solve it. The case is still officially open, but law enforcement has pretty much washed their hands of it. The county attorney says he isn't convinced the death was a suicide, but it appears that nearly everyone else in law enforcement is.

Steven had effeminate mannerisms, but no one seems to know if he was gay. Regardless, maybe some bigoted howdy perceived him as gay.

Steven had recently had a hip replacement and although he walked a lot for therapy, whether he could have, or would have, hiked on a winter night in rugged terrain to reach the burn site is questionable.

[El_Johns]

15. Oh! I hope you find some answers. Tell Poe B. he has a fan.

[frogmarch]

16. We do too, and

I'll tell him El_Johns is a fan of his, which will please him very much. We're going to watch the preliminary version of the Love & Terror documentary together next week, when Dave the producer sends him the DVD. (By the way, the book is now on Kindle.)

[El_Johns]

18. Thanks!

[hlthe2b]

2. Here's a Canadian study that came up from search of NIH (PubMed) on self-immolation statistics

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1545201

J Forensic Sci. 1992 Jan;37(1):208-21.
Fire and suicide: a three-year study of self-immolation deaths.
Shkrum MJ, Johnston KA.
Author information
Abstract

Thirty-two self-immolation deaths by fire, representing about 1% of suicides, occurred in the province of Ontario (population 9 million), Canada, from 1986 through 1988. The victims, mostly male (male/female ratio, 26:6), were between 21 and 71 years old (mean age, 38 years). Although the scene of self-immolation was usually familiar to the deceased, some chose remote locations. Eleven were found dead in motor vehicles. An accelerant, usually gasoline, was used in most cases. Many of these individuals had, at some time, indicated their intent to commit suicide, a few by self-immolation, but only about half had a diagnosed psychiatric illness. Most of the victims had a reason to kill themselves, but the factors that motivated them to chose self-immolation by fire were uncertain. Fourteen individuals died in hospitals from severe burn complications. The remainder were found dead at the scene. The postmortem findings of soot in the airway and elevated carbon monoxide in the blood of most of these victims [the carboxyhemoglobin (COHb) concentration was in one case less than 10%, in ten cases greater than or equal to 10 to 50%, and in seven cases greater than 50%] were helpful in determining that the individuals were not only alive at the time of the fire but also that a significant number died from smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide poisoning. The highest levels of carbon monoxide were observed in victims discovered in motor vehicles.

PMID:
1545201
[PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

I imagine if you go to National Center for Health Statistics, which is part of CDC, you could identify US cases--either directly or via a data request.


But, in answer to your earlier question, the public ones are the ones we hear about, but self-immolation suicide in private does certainly occur.

[frogmarch]

9. Thank you much! I'll bookmark the link and

read it shortly. I really appreciate it and the CDC National Center for Health Statistics research suggestion!

[Cerridwen]

3. From PubMed.gov - maybe start looking here?

An abstract of a study I found. These examples seem to fit your parameters.

J Burn Care Res. 2007 Jan-Feb;28(1):30-41.
Suicide by self-immolation: comprehensive overview, experiences and suggestions.
Ahmadi A.
Author information
Abstract

Suicide by burning is a rare condition in the developed countries (0.06-1% of all suicides) but is more frequent in the developing countries (accounting for as many as 40.3% of all suicides). In different parts of Iran, between 1.39% and 9.50% of patients that attempted suicide and 25.0% and 40.3% of patients who committed suicide were via deliberate self-burning. Self-burning (immolation) comprises between 0.37% and 40% of total burn center admissions around the world and, in Iran, it comprises between 4.1% and 36.6% of admissions in Iranian burn centers. Approximately 80% of hospitalized self-immolation patients die. The goal of this study was to identify the epidemiologic features, causes, and potential protective factors regarding suicide by burning in Kermanshah province, in the west of Iran, and to develop the effective intervention programs based on the Public Health Approach to Prevention. During the course of a year, from March 21, 2004, to March 20, 2005 (based on the Iranian calendar), the author examined all the suicidal patients who were admitted to the emergency department of hospitals in Kermanshah University of Medical Science. Examination included a retrospective cross-section study, via demographic questionnaires and suicidal checklists. During the period of study, 1820 patients who attempted suicide and 90 patients who successfully committed suicide were admitted. A total of 41% (37 cases) of patients who committed suicide were via self-immolation. Of these, 81% of self-immolation patients were female (P < .0005), and the female:male ratio was 4.3:1. A total of 86.5% of the patients were in the 11 to 30 years of age group. The mean age was 24.9 years (range, 14-50 years). Forty-nine percent of cases were single, 84% were illiterate or had a low level of education, 78.5% were housewives, and 14% were unemployed. Also, most of the patients (53%) were living in rural area, 97% did not have a previous history of suicide attempt, and 67.5% regretted their self-immolation act. The majority of the self-immolations (64.8%) occurred during daylight hours, and the most common self-immolation motivation factor was marital conflict (32.5%). Overall, this study demonstrates that self-immolation should be considered as a mental health problem in our society, and it is necessary to implement programs and strategies to prevent it. The public health approach provides a framework for a National Prevention Strategy to address this serious national problem. Local data on victims and victim stories from self-immolation provided the stimulus for community action.

More links are on the right side of the page included at the link above.

[frogmarch]

10. Thanks! It will be

interesting to find out how many "private" self-immolations occur in the U.S.

Thanks again! This is definitely the kind of information I'm looking for.

[Awknid]

4. I am surprised that I'm the only one to ask

WHY do you want to research this?

[frogmarch]

8. See my post #7. Also,

here's a short video pertaining to the case. Chadron author, Poe Ballantine, wrote a book about the case, and a documentary film based on the book will soon be ready for release. The video is an intro to the film:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/175630062/love-and-terror-the-documentary

[Warpy]

5. I know one case caused by post partum psychosis

She lived but is horribly disfigured.

It's my understanding that it's a fairly common method of suicide in countries that are nightmares for women like Afghanistan and rural India. They don't do it in public places, they do it at home.

[frogmarch]

11. How sad! Did she live in the U.S,?

It's horrible that in some countries women's lives are so terrible that even burning to death seems better to them.

[Warpy]

17. Yes, she was an acquaintance

I didn't know her all that well but I did know her.

[Raven]

6. A friend of mine died that way.

She bought a gallon of gas, went back to her apartment, sent her kids off to school, closed all the windows. laid down in her dining room, doused herself with gas and lit herself on fire.

[frogmarch]

12. Oh, no! I can't imagine

what could drive someone to do that. I'm very sorry about your friend.

[dembotoz]

19. i remember the buddist monks who did it during viet nam

what balls i thought
what a horrible way to go

would prefer something quicker with no or less pain

[frogmarch]

20. Me too.

It's hard to imagine anyone deliberately burning themselves up to make a statement.