As a crime fiction fan, I've always had a fascination with death and forensics though, honestly, I never looked into it very closely. Until now. I'm starting with one article per month because I know that adding more will just make me go crazy. Once a month I'll be doing a mini-lesson in forensics with the intention of informing writers on proper procedure.
As I said before, I am not an expert in this subject so use this as your starting point and please let me know if I do make any glaring errors.
We're starting with body decomposition because it's a fairly common subject in crime fiction (no kidding). This is not including other factors such as frozen, burnt, or drowned bodies - I might cover that one later - this is just a general outline.
A human body decomposes at different rates depending on many environmental factors – temperature, climate, weather, local wildlife, any clothing/coverings etc. – but basically, the body goes through several stages of deterioration.
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At the moment of death the circulatory systems stops (the heart stops
pumping blood) and all the skin gets tighter. All the muscles in the body relax
and the bowels and bladder empty. Gravity takes over and all the blood begins
to pool to the bottom of the body (so if they’re lying on their back, blood
will pool on the posterior side of the body – back, buttocks, hamstrings,
calves, etc.). After about three hours, rigor mortis has set in, starting at
the extremities and small muscles), resulting in stiffness.The skin has turned
purple, the eyeballs sinking into the skull. Cells begin to break down and the
anaerobic organisms in the digestive tract begin to break down the surrounding
tissues – the source of the bad smell. The body temperature also begins to drop
from moment of death at a rate of approximately 1.5 degrees per
hour. Twelve hours after death, the body is in full rigor.
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After twenty-four hours the
body is now the same temperature as the surroundings (ambient temperature). The
body will have the smell of rotting meat and the gas causing the smell will
begin to build up. The skin can have a marbling effect, turning blue-green
colours around the abdomen and neck. Eventually the skin will darken to a near
black colour. As the gas continues to swell, bodily fluids will leak from the
mouth, nose, vagina and rectum and rigor will begin to fade. After three days
the stiffness will be gone from the body. Blowflies are often the first to
arrive at the body, usually within two days. The different types of insects
found and their stage of maturity can give important clues about the Interval
since Death and even if the body has been moved.
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Beginning at four days, the body begins to noticeably decay. This is
where bugs and scavengers have usually found the body and the odours become
worse. The skin will have blistered and burst open in several places. This is
often the point where “neighbours are alerted by the smell” comes in if the
body hasn’t been found yet.
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By three weeks the skin, hair and nails are so loose they can easily be
removed (slough) from the body which is dehydrated. The soil stains – from the
excreted bodily fluids – can actually cause maggots and flies to move away and
the vegetation around the body to temporarily die. This can be one of the few
indications of a buried body.
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The last stage is the hardest to measure. While many factors can affect
this interval , the body is reduced to bones and connective tissue. In a hot
climate, it can take just weeks to reach this stage but in a cooler climate it
can take months, even years to fully skeletonize a corpse. The state of the
bones can be a useful post-mortem interval indicator. Greasy bones are more
recent than dry bones. When you are writing about a body that is exposed to the
elements in any way, also be aware of the climate you’re writing in.
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