An unusual case of corpse concealment driven by emotional distress

•A woman's body was discovered in an advanced state of decomposition, sealed in a bathtub.•The father reported that he had hidden the body after finding it hanging from a rope.•Micro-CT scans and histological analysis supported the hypothesis of suicide by hanging.•Concealment likely stemmed from emotional distress, not criminal intent. Corpse concealment involves hiding a body for criminal purposes for many different reasons, such as destroy evidence of a murder or avoid the discovery of the victim. Although defendants could argue that they did not conceal the corpse with any criminal intent, but rather to spare themselves or others from emotional distress or to honor the wishes of the deceased. However, these arguments are often challenging to substantiate, and defendants may encounter significant legal obstacles when attempting to justify their actions. Herein, we report a case involving the concealment of a woman's corpse by her father. Autopsy and histological investigations were significantly limited due to the advanced decomposition of the body. Nevertheless, by integrating these data with radiological findings obtained from total body CT and micro-CT of the larynx-hyoid complex, hanging was deemed the cause of death. Additionally, the psychological evaluation of the father indicated that the act of concealment was motivated by emotions rather than criminal intent.