Determining Death
TIMELY DEATH
The timing of death is both an art and a science.
Unless the death is witnessed, it is impossible to determine the exact time of death. The Medical Examiner (ME) can only “estimate” the approximate time of demise. It is important to note that this “estimated time of death” can vary greatly from the “legal” time of death, which is the time recorded on the death certificate, or the “physiologic” time of death, which is when vital functions actually cease. The “legal” time of death is the time the body was discovered or the time a doctor or other qualified person pronounced the victim dead.
These “times of death” may differ by days, weeks, even months, if the body is not found until well after “physiologic” death has occurred. For example, if a serial killer kills a victim in July, but the body is not discovered until October, the “physiologic” death took place in July, but the “legal” death is marked as October. The ME’s “estimated time of death” would be July.
That said, the ME can estimate the “physiologic” time of death with some degree of accuracy. He uses the decompositional changes that occur in the human body after death to help him in this endeavor. These changes consist of measuring the drop in body temperature, the degree of rigidity (rigor mortis), the degree of discoloration (livor mortis or lividity), the stage of body decomposition, stomach contents, and other factors. Bodies found in water present special problems in this regard.
Body Temperature
Normal body temperature during life is 98.6 degrees F. After death, the body loses heat progressively until it equilibrates with that of the surrounding medium. The rate of this heat loss is approximately 1.5 degrees per hour until the environmental temperature is attained, then it remains stable. Obviously, this measure is greatly effected by location. A body in the snow in Minnesota in January and one in a Louisiana swamp in August will lose heat a widely divergent rates. These factors must be considered in any “estimate” of time of death.
The criminalist who processes the scene should take a body temperature and measure the temperature of the surrounding medium–air, water, snow, earth (if the body is buried). Ideally, the body temperature is taken rectally. Obviously, the sooner after death the body is found, the more accurately time of death can be assessed by this method. Once the body reaches ambient temperature, all bets are off.
Rigor Mortis
Rigor mortis is the stiffening and contraction of the muscles due to chemical reactions that take place in the muscle cells after death.
It typically follows a predictable pattern. Rigidity begins in the small muscles of the face and neck and progresses downward in a “head-to-toe” fashion to the larger muscles. The entire process takes about 8-12 hours. At that time, the body is completely stiff and is “fixed” in the position of death. Then, the process reverses itself, with rigidity being lost in the same fashion, beginning with the small muscles and progressing to the larger ones. This process begins 18 to 36 hours after death and is usually complete within 48 hours. So, rigor is only useful in the first 48 to 60 hours after death.
The reason for the rigidity, is the loss of adenosine triphosphate, or ATP, from the muscles. ATP is the compound that serves as energy for muscular activity and it’s presence and stability depend upon a steady supply of oxygen and nutrients, which are lost with the cessation of cardiac activity. The later loss of rigidity and the appearance of flaccidity (relaxation) of the muscles, occurs when the muscle tissue itself begins to decompose.
Rigor is one of the least reliable methods for determining time of death because it is extremely variable. Heat quickens the process, while cold slows it. Obese people may not develop rigor, while in thin victims it tends to occur rapidly. If the victim struggled before death and consumed much of his muscular ATP, the process is hastened.
Lividity
Lividity is caused by stagnation of blood in the vessels. It lends a purplish color to the tissues. The blood, following the dictates of gravity, seeps into the dependent parts of the body–along the back and buttocks of a victim who is supine after death. Initially, this discoloration can be “shifted” by rolling the body to a different position, but by 6 to 8 hours, it becomes “fixed.” If a body is found face down, but with fixed lividity along the back, then the body was moved at least 6 hours after death, but not earlier or the lividity would have “shifted” to the newly dependent area.
Body Decomposition
At death, the body begins to decompose. Bacteria go to work on the tissues and by 24 to 36 hours the smell of rotting flesh appears and the skin takes on a progressive greenish-red color. By 3 days, gas forms in the body cavities and beneath the skin, which may leak fluid and split. From there, things get worse. Add to this, predation by animals and insects and the body can become completely skeletonized before long. In hot, humid climes, this can happen in 3 or 4 weeks.
Stomach Contents
The ME can often use the contents of the victims stomach to help determine time of death. After a meal, the stomach empties itself in approximately 4 to 6 hours, depending on the type and amount of food ingested. If a victim stomach contains largely undigested food material, then the death likely occurred within an hour or two of the meal. If the stomach is empty, the death likely occurred more than six hours after eating. Additionally, if the small intestine is also empty, death probably occurred some 12 hours or more after the last meal.
Floaters
“Floaters” are corpses found floating in a body of water. They present special problems for the ME in determining the time of death. Water temperature of course has an effect as do local tides and predators. The general rule regarding decomposition is that one week on dry land equals two weeks for a submerged body.
To become a “floater,” a body must to be in the water long enough for tissue decomposition from bacteria to begin. This process forms gas as a byproduct, which collects beneath the skin and in body cavities. Bodies tend to sink, then rise again in several days when the gas forms, adding buoyancy. They thus become “floaters.”
Under these circumstances, the hands and feet swell (several days), the outer layer of skin separates from the underlying tissues (5-6 days), the skin of the hands and the nails separate (8-10 days), and entire body swells shortly thereafter. Tissues become extremely fragile and are easily damaged during removal from the water.
Timing of the “floating” depends upon several factors, including water temperature, currents, the size of the victim, and other variables. For example, a body will “float” after 8-10 days in warm water and 2-3 weeks if in colder water. Cold slows the process of decomposition.
As you can see, the timing of a victim’s death is a very inexact science and is greatly altered by the environment. In cold areas, body temperature changes are magnified, but decomposition changes are slowed, The inverse is true for hot, humid climes. Add to this, predation by insects and animals and the ME’s job can become difficult.
Searching for a way to commit murder? Check out my FREE .pdf 50 Ways To Murder Your Fictional Characters.
To all US followers: Happy Independence Day!
To all others: Have a wonderful weekend!
If you enjoyed this post, please share. Thank you!
Sue Coletta
Member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, International Thriller Writers, Sue Coletta is the bestselling, award-winning author of psychological thrillers and mysteries. Pretty Evil New England, her exciting new venture into true crime, is anticipated to hit stores in Fall 2020. For three years running, Feedspot awarded her Murder Blog as one of the Top 50 Crime Blogs on the Net (Murder Blog sits at #5). Sue's also the communications manager for Forensic Science and the Serial Killer Project and a proud member of the Kill Zone, where she blogs every other Monday.
29 Comments
borenbooklady
I have D.P. Lyle’s More Forensics and Fiction…great resource!
Sue Coletta
Seems to be. I’m going to have to pick myself up a copy. Have you tried his site? It’s packed with information. I highly recommend.
Robin Rivera
OMG! I don’t know how mystery writers do this! It’s all too much information for me. I really admire the detail and research in this post, I just wish I’d read it before I had breakfast. : P
Sue Coletta
Ha! This stuff doesn’t even bother me anymore. I guess it’s a bit much for non-crime writers. 😉 You must do a ton of research, too, with your historical novels.
Nicholas C. Rossis
An amazing post and another excellent resource. Thank you so much for that!
Sue Coletta
My pleasure. Glad you enjoyed it.
Mae Clair
OOh, I wasn’t familiar with Dr. Lyle, but have several similar books, most of which are decades old and outdated. I’m definitely going to have to check his out. Great post and info!
Sue Coletta
You’ll love his site, Mae. I also have several forensics resource in the Crime Writer’s Resource (menu bar). Help yourself. Happy 4th!
betsyashton
Dr. Lyle is my first source for research. It’s rare I can’t find my answer either in his books on my shelf or on my blog. Great post. Thanks for introducing more people to this incredible resource.
Sue Coletta
He’s my go-to guy as well, Betsy. I love his site; it’s filled with so much information.
coldhandboyack
Another outstanding post. I’m off to share using the various social media button you taught me about.
Sue Coletta
Outstanding…wow. I’d love to take credit, but I only “discovered” him. Thank you so much, Craig, for sharing.
coldhandboyack
You always have the most interesting posts.
Sue Coletta
Stop. *blush* You’re a gentleman and a scholar.
sknicholls
Excellent. I didn’t know all that stuff about water decomposition. We didn’t deal with that too much in the hospitals. (Ha!) Now I’m even more curious. I’m wondering what the differences might be for salt water versus fresh water. Especially since a lot of my planned novels are set in Florida and might involve salt or brackish waters. BTW I tried the link to his blog, but it didn’t work.
Sue Coletta
Jeepers crow, I’m batting a thousand today. I’m sure salt water vs. fresh water makes a difference. I fixed the link, but here it is: http://www.writersforensicsblog.wordpress.com
sknicholls
Got it! Thanks for the introduction. Some really interesting stuff here. Have this page bookmarked and subscribed to his blog.
Sue Coletta
Top-of-line stuff, you’re right. Have fun digging in! You’ll be there for hours if you’re not careful. 😉 I can’t tell you how many days I’ve wasted. Well, not wasted because it was research, but y’know what I mean.
Garry Rodgers
Hi ladies, The big difference between salt and fresh water is the marine life. Fresh water critters are far less predatory. In a salt water environment the residents are very aggressive, especially the crustations. In tidal water death emersions, I’ve seen a good chunk of exposed flesh being devoured right to the bone in a matter of hours. Salt water is also a lot more bouyant so there’s a greater chance of a corpse becoming a ‘floater’ than in fresh water.
Sue Coletta
Susan, you remember Garry. He’s a retired coroner/mountie/firearms expert (Canadian mounted cop). So, there you go…answer to salt v. fresh. Thanks, Garry!
D.P. Lyle, MD
Sue–the repost looks good. Hope your readers enjoy it. One thing–I am not an ME–I am a cardiologist—who just happens to write fiction and books on forensics science.
DP Lyle, MD
http://www.dplylemd.com
Sue Coletta
Oh, I’m sorry. I’ll make the correction. Thanks again for allowing the republish.
Garry Rodgers
Hi Doug, I have ‘Forensics For Dummies’ and have to say that it’s excellent – a first class, completely accurate and reliable resource – especially for crime / thriller writers. You’ve done a great job!
John Maberry
Eww is the most apt, but then if you are to write crime fiction, you must get past that or take up another genre. 🙂
Sue Coletta
Hahaha! It isn’t the most cherry subject, but yes, death, lividity, decomp… all part of the gig. Nice to see you here, John. Enjoy your weekend.
Garry Rodgers
Hi Sue. Great information for crime / thriller writers. From my experience, this information is 100% accurate. Determining time of death is not an exact science and many factors come into play – the biggest one being ambient temperature. Thanks for sharing this!
Sue Coletta
I wonder what your take would be. Good to know it’s dead-on. Pun intended. 🙂
Margot Kinberg
This is absolutely fascinating, Sue! Thanks to both of you for sharing. I think it’s a really important reminder that there are things in science about which you can’t be precise, and still be accurate. And this is the kind of thing crime writers need to keep in mind. A story in which a body is discovered isn’t going to be credible if the ME or other professionals can figure out that the victim died at 7:00pm on the night of….., many months later.
Sue Coletta
Exactly, Margot. They are now working on ways to determine time of death using muscle proteins. With this method, even up to 10 days after death they can pinpoint the exact time. Amazing. You would really love his site.