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burking

burking
 n.— «A medical examiner testified during the trial that someone used great force that cut and bruised Carissimi’s face as she was held face-down on a muddy trail through woods on the island park in the Detroit River near downtown. He described a method called “Burking” where a killer sits on top of a victim to reduce lung capacity and accelerate asphyxiation.» —“Woman withdraws plea in Belle Isle slaying” by Doug Guthrie Detroit News (Michigan) July 24, 2008. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)

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  • Burking was inspired by Burke and Hare, the Edinburgh mass murderers who sold bodies to doctors for medical experiments. They smothered their victims to minimize damage to the corpses. Once Burke and Hare were found out and arrested, the method of murder came to be called “burking.”

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