The dotted markings of face, neck, and conjunctivæ described by Tardieu are more characteristic of strangulation.
The principal distinctions between strangulation and suffocation would be the absence in the latter of marks on the neck.
Taylor[793] quotes the case of Marguerite Dixblanc, in which the question was raised whether she had strangled her mistress, Madame Riel, or whether the body had been dragged by a rope around the neck. The question was left unsettled by the medical evidence.
The only motive for attempting to simulate strangulation on a corpse would seem to be to inculpate an innocent person.[794]
Both suicides and murderers are usually more violent than is necessary to destroy life; murderers more than suicides.
Putrefaction may cause external marks to disappear.
All marks on a body should be carefully noted; the cavities of the skull, thorax, and abdomen carefully examined; the possibility of death having occurred from other causes, even in strangulation, must be considered.
As Taylor well says, our judgment must not be swayed to the extent of abandoning what is probable for what is merely possible.
In all cases the cord or strangulating ligature should be carefully examined for marks of blood, for adherent hair or other substances. The precise manner in which the cord has been tied should be noted.