Some of the Worst Asphyxiation Deaths in Modern Times

Death by asphyxiation is one of the worst ways to go. It is painful, anxiety-inducing, and not at all quick. To induce strangulation or any form of suffocation on another living being is to relinquish all traces of empathy and basic respect for life. It is heartbreaking to think of those that have perished in such cases, and the suffering they must have endured. How many poor souls have been buried alive? Of those, how many have even been found? The horrors of asphyxiation reverberate throughout the grave. These are cases of cruel deaths and gruesome murder, of strangulation by force. 

From bizarre druggings, incest, and sexual depravity to workplace violence and hate crimes, these killers will make even the most callous observer wince.

Margaret Irvine was an elderly British pensioner who was murdered in cold blood by Patrick Docherty and Brendan Dixon in the summer of 2003. Irvine, who was 91, was found beaten, bound, and gagged by a duster, with her head wrapped in a pillowcase. One judge considered the crime “an act of sheer evil and depravity,” which was "beyond the comprehension of all decent people."

Docherty and Dixon planned to rob Irvine and torture her to extract information. Whether or not the intention was to kill her, things quickly escalated and turned violent. The intruders began punching her in the face and body, struggling with her for her life savings. When she wouldn't give them her money or account information, they choked her and left her to die, botching the robbery and leaving trace evidence behind.

Stephen Small was an Illinois publishing and media heir who was kidnapped and murdered in 1987 as part of a $1 million extortion plot. His assailants, Danny Edwards and Nancy Rish, intended to keep Small alive in an underground makeshift box, providing him with minimal air, light, and water, but only through the use of breathing tubes. Unfortunately, Small's tube failed and he either suffocated or suffered a heart attack.

Small tried to pry out of his wooden grave, but he was too overcome by sand and too exhausted. Police located his maroon Mercedes near the site, and eventually his corpse. To this day, Rish maintains that neither one of them wanted Small dead, and that she was merely a tool Edwards used to further his agenda. She admits to driving Edwards around and helping him, "unknowingly."

Yale University student Annie Le was viciously attacked by a lab technician named Raymond Clark III just days before her wedding in 2009. Clark broke many of Le's bones in the rage, beating her severely, strangling her, and stuffing her into a wall, where she was discovered four days later on what would have been her wedding day.

Le's death was caused by "traumatic asphyxia due to neck compression," a method of choking that requires intense pressure on the victim, comparable to the way a python crushes its prey. The weapon of choice remains a mystery, although her injuries are consistent with a choke hold or another form of pressure-induced asphyxiation. Yale recently settled a lawsuit over the tragic death.

Jesse Dirkhising was a 13-year-old boy from Arkansas who was savagely beaten, bound, raped, tortured, and asphyxiated by two men in 1999. His death was ruled a sex crime.

Dirkhising suffered positional asphyxia during his ordeal. In court, prosecutors described how he was gagged with duct tape, a bandana, and his own underwear, eventually causing him to suffocate. Joshua Macave Brown, 22, and David Carpenter, 38, admitted to force-feeding him a cocktail of drugs. The two bound him and suffocating Dirkhising, as well as raping him with an assortment of objects. Brown was spared the death penalty and is currently serving a 25-year sentence.

Enita Salubi was just eight months old when her life was taken by a careless nanny named Oluremi Oyindasola in 2016. Oyindasola was sleeping on the couch in the family's Maryland home when Salubi started crying and woke her up. A video surveillance camera showed Oyindasola attempting to feed Salubi, growing agitated, and pulling the baby from her walker.

Oyindasola then removed the nipple from Salubi's bottle and forcefully fed the baby two bottles of milk, interfering with her breathing and eventually suffocating her to death. In the horrifying video, Salubi can be seen squirming and trying to resist while seven inches of liquid are poured down her throat. She became unresponsive and was rushed to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Her father described the experience as a "pain no parent should bear."

Victoria Marten was only 10 when she was drugged, raped, and murdered by her mother and two other people in northwest Albuquerque in August 2016. Marten's mother looked on as her boyfriend and a friend injected the little girl with methamphetamine so they could sexually assault her. She explained this was an attempt to "calm her down."

The two proceeded to kill Victoria, one strangling her and one stabbing her. The actual cause of death was not determined, since Victoria's body was so badly mutilated (she was dismembered). Police Chief Gorden Eden described the homicide as "a complete disregard for human life and betrayal by a mother,” adding that it was "the most gruesome act of evil I have ever seen in my career.”

Mina El Houari was a 25-year-old French woman who died mysteriously in 2014 while on the first date with a Moroccan man she had just met. The man claimed Houari lost consciousness and collapsed. Then, believing her to be dead, he decided to bury her in his backyard. He claimed he failed to notice she was still breathing because he was in a rush.

Houari was, in fact, very much alive. She had suffered a diabetic fit and fallen into a shock after her blood sugar levels surged. Unfortunately, her ordeal was only beginning. Police believe she slowly suffocated under the dirt of the garden after being trapped for days. They were finally able to locate her body in a makeshift grave, which was near the man's muddy clothes and a used shovel. He later confessed to the crime and was charged with manslaughter.

Beverly Carter was an Arkansas real estate agent who went missing in 2016, and whose remains were later found in a shallow grave. A mask of duct tape was used to smother Carter's face and she reportedly died in under a minute. The cause of death was asphyxia due to airway obstruction and she likely struggled frantically for air in her final moments.

Her killer, Arron Lewis, faced a number of charges, including capital murder, robbery, and kidnapping. When asked why he chose Carter, Lewis explained that she was "just a woman that worked alone, a rich broker." Still, he maintained his innocence. Carter was found with her hands bound behind her back and her blouse partly undone, which only added to the depravity of the scene.

Nicolas Johnson was a 23-year-old man from North Dakota who was beaten over the head with a flashlight and then strangled in a hotel room. Johnson had been invited into the room in 2016 by a couple he knew, Chase Swanson and Madison West. Once inside, the couple used a belt to suffocate him, all in front of a fourth person, who was abducted and held at knife-point.

The barbaric nature of the crime was shocking. Police determined that Johnson endured repeated stomps to the head by West and further whacks with the flashlight by Swanson. A cinch was fastened to his neck and he was asphyxiated, then sodomized with the same flashlight Swanson had used to hit him over the head. Johnson's wallet was later recovered in the couple's car, along with his driver's license, various bloody items, electronic devices, a suitcase, and a .9 mm handgun.

Barbara Westcott, an 85-year-old Australian nursing home resident, was smothered to death by a bed pole. There was no foul play suspected, only gross incompetence on the part of the nursing staff who committed a failure “of the highest magnitude,” according to one coroner.

At the time, Westcott suffered from dementia, hypertension, and Parkinson's disease. The official cause of her death was positional asphyxiation - her head and neck had become stuck in-between the mattress and a bed pole, which was supposed to be used for mobility. Sadly, she lacked the strength to turn herself over and suffered a ghastly- albeit accidental- demise. Since her death in 2012, the facility has come under new management.