In my scene, I want to have the villain strangle the victim, using a picture wire. The death needs to be very fast. Will this work?A wire tends to cut into the tissue of the neck, and isn't very broad--it'd be hard to place it directly over the hyoid, especially if the victim struggled.
Most victims will grab at the wire, twist their body, trying to dislodge it—this is survival instinct. The arms won't be flailing. If the victim is off the ground, they may kick.
I can't think of any protrusion or modification of the wire that would be so effective so fast that the victim won't struggle at least a bit. A protrusion that angles upward toward the base of the tongue, which would jam into the bone, might work. Still, death won't be instantaneous.
Let me give you an example.
I’ve seen a drunk driver—not wearing his seatbelt—who rear-ended a parked pick-up. The guy wasn’t going that fast, but his vehicle was old and didn’t have air bags. He hit his throat on the steering wheel. He had some pain in his neck, but drove home. By the time he got there, he was more and more short of breath. He woke his wife, and she drove him to the ER. On the way, he began clawing at his neck, wheezing with each breath.
By the time we got him, he’d had a cardiac arrest; we had to cut a hole in his throat for him to breathe.
Cheers, Kelly
Thanks to Connie for this question!
Questions? Comments?
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Kelly has worked in the medical field for over twenty years, mainly at large medical centers. With experience in a variety of settings, chances are Kelly may have seen it.
Sometimes truth seems stranger than fiction in medicine, but accurate medicine in fiction is fabulous.
Find her fiction at www.kellywhitley.com.
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