Picking the right method of suicide for a character

xxbatteri

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Hey everyone!

So this is kind of a touchy subject, which is the main reason why it's been really hard for me to find answers on my own.

I have this character, a young man (I haven't decided on his exact age yet, but he's probably going to be somewhere between 18-22), who commits suicide. However, when he does die, he doesn't want people to be able to recognize his body, because he doesn't want his family to go through the pain.
So I was wondering... is there a way to commit suicide that will end up mutilating the body enough that it can't be identified? I considered either jumping in front of a train or off a building, but I wasn't sure if either of those would do the trick.
Does anyone have any ideas?
 

grandma2isaac

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This is brutal, but wood chipper would make sure that all but DNA is destroyed. He's kind of stuck with the DNA issue.
 

GeorgeK

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shotgun to the head while in a pig pen

kayak out to sea and then jump overboard wearing weights
 
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GeorgeK

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Definitely nothing but the gun left.
Say Clem, where'd you get the new shooter?

Oddest thing Billy Bob, found it when cleaning out the pig pen. Don't reckon how long it's been there but it's in mighty fine shape
 

xxbatteri

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Ohh, thank you for the suggestions! I never even considered any of those, but they're good ideas!
 

Maryn

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(Doesn't everybody go around thinking, I could hide a body here? Or maybe it's only writers.)

The trick is probably ensuring the body is never found. Making certain it's eaten by pigs, or that it's far out at sea, is going to achieve that end. Those have both been done, of course, but I imagine you can come up with some other ways to accomplish the same thing.

One hitch is that it's really hard to find an area so remote a body would never be found. Even if all that's left is skeletal remains found many years later, that body may be identifiable. So if your guy prefers not to drown or be eaten, he's going to need to be able to reach an area that's so difficult to access that even hunters and hikers won't find him.
 

grandma2isaac

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He could light himself on fire in the desert, if he brings enough flammable liquid. The only problem is where to leave the vehicle, unless he hitches in disguise.
 

Roxxsmom

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Is the story set in the contemporary world? Because there's really no way of mutilating a body, short of something that would vaporize or burn it to ash, that wouldn't allow DNA analysis. PCR amplification means they can use a couple of bone chips or hairs for that (if the bulb is still attached to the hair). They've been resolving some rather old missing person cases and John Does with this method. Short of jumping into a really hot furnace, or immersing himself in boiling lava (which sounds truly horrible as a way to go), it's hard to think of a method that would destroy all his DNA.

Maybe going to a very remote wilderness area and killing himself there would make it unlikely that his body would be recovered before wild animals ate and scattered it, reducing it to something wouldn't be found (or recognized as human remains by the time it is). There are still a number of missing people who are presumed dead but their bodies are never found. Note that the local environment affects how quickly bodies degrade (they'd decompose fastest in a warm, wet place, slowest in a cold, dry one). I knew someone who worked on a ranch in Oklahoma for a while, and the owner had a story about finding a human skeleton out in a remote area of her land, and it turned out to be someone who'd been missing for several decades.

Note that dumping a body in the ocean is no guarantee of its never being found either. They pinned Laci Peterson's husband with her murder when her body decomposed to the point that it broke away from the chains he'd wrapped it in and washed up on a beach (to be found by a dog walker. I really don't want to think about how that probably unfolded).
 
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frimble3

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Wooden kayak, can of something flammable, go out to sea, pour flammable stuff over himself and kayak, burn to death. There may be some unburned bits, feet, etc, protected by the kayak/water, but most will be burned. The occasional foot-in-a-shoe is perfectly normal, we find them on the West Coast periodically. And no-one knows why.
 

King Neptune

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A blast furnace or similar would destroy all vestiges of the body. The only problem would be getting into one. There are many types of industrial furnace that would work, and it would only hurt for a second.

It is also a matter of where, because crabs are excellent for getting rid of flesh, but the bones wouldn't be destroyed,
 

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Is the DNA ruined if there is still a foot in a shoe?

Nope. That would be an embarrassment of riches for DNA testing. You only need a bone splinter, some dried blood, or hair a bulb.

A blast furnace would work, but ugh. Even if you lost consciousness instantly upon jumping in, getting close enough to the entrance to do this would likely blister your skin.
 
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WeaselFire

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However, when he does die, he doesn't want people to be able to recognize his body, because he doesn't want his family to go through the pain.

Okay, this is a little odd to me. The family is either going to know he's dead or have no clue and never know. Either way there is pain. If his goal is for the family to avoid the pain that comes with the stigma of suicide, make it an accident.

Now, if a body exists in even the smallest form and it's suspected that it may be this guy, a DNA match to the parents is one means of identification. If a body doesn't exist to test, he could have died, run away, been kidnapped or grabbed by aliens.

FWIW, I've known of two suicides where the body was unrecognizable. One was a simple step in front of a dump truck on an interstate. The other was a drowning with a cement block. Both were identified by the ID they carried.

Now, what do you need for the story?

Jeff
 
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cmhbob

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Jumpers on to land do not destroy the body as much as you would think, unless they're from waaaaay high up. There's a subreddit called WatchPeopleDie that I won't link directly to, but there are plenty of videos there of jumpers.

Bridge jumpers are another matter altogether, especially if they somehow fasten even a little bit of weight to themselves. Consider someone going into the water in a bay with tidal currents. They'll drift a fair distance in the time it takes them to float.

I think drowning in ocean or other large body of water is going to be your best bet for the body not being found.
 

Prince Anpiel

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Shave off and burn all of his hair then have him drown himself with weights in a large lye pit. I have seen some the size of lakes so it is plenty possible. That would about do the trick as long as nobody bumped into him too soon. Not sure about the time frame, but this would probably be your best option.
 

Mark HJ

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How about into fresh wet foundation concrete? It doesn't destroy the body, but is relatively simple(?) and ought to be good for a decade or three, depending on the likely working life of the building.
 

GeorgeK

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Ooo Ooo, Go to a graveyard and look for a freshly dug grave awaiting burial tomorrow. He can bury himself just enough to not be seen and take poison. Preferably cyanide if the story wants there to be something to find at a later date
 

Gilroy Cullen

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You know, there is always dying deep in a swamp. The critters and wet environment would make the body disappear. There are homeless around where I live that disappear in a southern swamp and never reemerge. No body found.

(It's also a joke among the mystery writers in the county on which swamp has the most human remains hidden in it.)
 

xxbatteri

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Is the story set in the contemporary world?
Yes, it's set in modern day. Sorry, I forgot to specify.

Okay, this is a little odd to me. The family is either going to know he's dead or have no clue and never know. Either way there is pain. If his goal is for the family to avoid the pain that comes with the stigma of suicide, make it an accident.
Ah, sorry, I really didn't explain it well at all! The general plot is that he finds someone willing to take his place and essentially assume his identity so that no one knows he died (aside from the replacement, of course). Identifying his body would really ruin that, since they would figure out immediately that this other guy isn't really him.

Also, thanks for all the suggestions! The discussions are really interesting and give me a lot to think about.
 

InsomniaShark

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Yes, it's set in modern day. Sorry, I forgot to specify.


Ah, sorry, I really didn't explain it well at all! The general plot is that he finds someone willing to take his place and essentially assume his identity so that no one knows he died (aside from the replacement, of course). Identifying his body would really ruin that, since they would figure out immediately that this other guy isn't really him.

Also, thanks for all the suggestions! The discussions are really interesting and give me a lot to think about.

I agree--this thread and your story idea are both interesting (though admittedly a bit morbid).

Just wondering: Is his replacement going to help with or be there for his suicide? That would make getting rid of the body easier. =X