Chloroquine and diazepam for her last sleep

A 25‐year‐old woman was found dead in a hotel room. At the coroner's inquest, several objects of interest were found in the room: two jars containing residuals of blue and white powders, cans of apple purée (empty), leftovers of apple purée with traces of blue powder and a flask of Paspertin®. As the results of the post‐mortem examination pointed to intoxication, a forensic toxicological analysis was performed. The cause of death was the ingestion of a lethal dose of chloroquine (e.g. Nivaquin®, malaria prophylaxis, and malaria treatment) in combination with a high dose of diazepam. There was no doubt that the woman had committed suicide. Searching the Internet for this uncommon suicide method, several Internet pages of different online media were found which reported similar cases and presented detailed information about the lethal dosage of chloroquine and diazepam. Furthermore, numerous articles concerning chloroquine suicides have been published since the 1960s. This combination of chloroquine and diazepam is recommended as a humane and pain‐free suicide method by some online media, therefore similar cases might reappear in the future. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.