A strange death from necrotising fasciitis—more commonly known as flesh-eating bacteria—is the subject of a UK judicial inquiry, as officials seek to understand whether doctors could've done more to save the life of 23-year-old Katie Widdowson.
Widdowson, who passed away on January 2, may have contracted the bacteria after being tied up by her boyfriend during a late-night "sex game" following a New Year's Eve party, per the Daily Mail. The next day, Widdowson went to the hospital to receive help for pain she was suffering in her left wrist. The doctor dismissed it as a mere sprain until she came back the next day, her arm rendered completely useless by the bacteria. She suffered a heart attack while being taken to the hospital by emergency workers.
It isn't certain that the sex was what led to Widdowson contracting the bacteria, but it was presented as one of the possibilities.
RELATED: The Kinky Sex Act Over Two Thirds Of Women Love and Wish Guys Would Do More Of
"The first thing was it could have been caused by trauma to the wrist by falling on the stairs leading up to her flat," her mother said. "The next could have been a tiny cut from when she entertained the baby by diving into hedges and things like that. And the third thing was the sex game."
However, while the details of this story are still being parsed, here are three, bizarre deaths that were absolutely, tragically linked to sex.
In 2008, a man was arrested and charged with manslaughter after he inadvertently shocked his wife to death during some "extreme bondage" play. Though the man said this type of sexual behavior had been part of their sex life for two years, they apparently didn't know the risks they were running when they hooked clips to her nipples and started sending shocks through her body. After he had shocked her multiple times, she became unconscious and eventually stopped breathing.
In 2009, a US man by the name of William Martinez met his maker while engaged in an extra-marital threesome with a male friend and a woman. However, in a strange twist of fate, Martinez's death ended up becoming financially beneficial for his family—to the tune of $3 million.
Why? Well, as it turned out, Martinez had been treated earlier that week by a cardiologist for chest pain. The cardiologist scheduled a stress test for him eight days later, but Martinez died the day before it was supposed to happen. Because the doctor had failed to warn Martinez about the dangers of physical exertion, his estate's lawyers argued, the doctor was liable for his death. Amazingly, a jury agreed.
There's a reason why doctors warn about erections lasting longer than four hours. And, as Russian mechanic Sergey Tuganov learned, pushing that all the way to 12 hours is positively deadly. After downing a bottle of Viagra to win a $4,300 bet he made with two women to last through a 12-hour orgy, Tuganov promptly died of a heart attack the moment he was able to collect his winnings.
This article originally appeared on Men's Health
