Post on 17-Jan-2016
"All I desire for my own burial is not to be
buried alive." - Lord Chesterfield, 1769.
• 17th Century– Coma or weak
heartbeat =
– Fear of being buried alive bell in coffin
"Have me decently buried, but do not let my body be put into a vault in less than two days after I am
dead." - deathbed request of George
Washington. • Waiting Mortuaries
– Established in 17th century
Definitions of Death
• Experts cannot agree on definition– Is a person with a heartbeat alive even if there is no
brain activity?• What do you think?
Process ~ not instant event
• According to physiologists– When heart stops beating, cells begin to die
(no fresh O2)• Basic body functions fail to occur –
– FIRST STAGE OF DEATH =
Autolysis
• When a cell dies – it breaks down– Breakdown =
• Definition:
• Once enough cells begin autolysis…life cannot be restarted
Autopsy
• Suspicious or unnatural deaths – medical doctor called– AKA
• Reason for autopsy –
Manner of Death
TOD Unit
Manner of Death
• Four ways a person can die (manner of death)– 1. Natural –
• By age or disease• Most common
– 2. Accidental –
• Car accident, falling from ladder, etc
Manner of Death
– 3. Suicidal –
• Hanging, drug overdose, gunshot, etc.• Rates higher during
– 4. Homicidal –
– 5 ** “Undetermined” – sometimes used on death certificate
•
Categorize Manner of Death
• A man with a heart condition is attacked and dies from a heart attack during the assault– Accident or homicide?
• An elderly woman dies after being kept from receiving proper health care by her son. – Natural or homicide?
• Both cases = . Proving in court that manner of death was a homicide may be difficult
Cause of Death
• Cause of death = reason someone dies
• “Proximate cause of death” –
– Ex: If someone is exposed to large amounts of radiation and then developed cancer
• Proximate cause of death?
Mechanism of Death• Mechanism of Death =
– Ex: If cause of death is shooting, what would be the mechanism of death?
•
– Ex: If cause of death is heart attack, what would be the mechanism of death?
•
Time of Death
• T.O.D to eliminate, confirm or add suspect– 3 ways
Livor Mortis
• Literally means
• Not instant, takes time– Lividity = – First begins about __________ after death
• Discoloration becomes permanent after • If death occurred between _____________, lividity
is present, but if skin is pressed – color will disappear
• __________________, if skin is pressed, lividity will remain
Affects of Temp on Lividity
• Temperature affects the speed of lividity
• **This is why it’s important to
• Wristwatches and tight belts can also affect speed of lividity (anything that impedes flow of blood)
Livor Mortis not only good for TOD
• Reveal position of corpse during first 8 hours
• Reveal if a body has been moved
Rigor Mortis
“The Rigidity of Death”
• At death, skeletal muscles _____________________________
• Without oxygen, ______________ accumulates in these muscles– – This starts in the head and works its way down
to legs–
Rigor Mortis• 12 hours after death,
• If a body has no visible signs of rigor,
• If the body exhibits rigor only in head and neck
• Stiffness disappears (for the most part) after 36 hours
Rigor Mortis
Many factors affect when rigor mortis sets in and how long it lasts:
Algor MortisThe Chill of Death • Literally means
• Corpse no longer generates
– To find the standard temperature of a corpse, a thermometer is inserted into liver
• Why the liver? -
Standard location so investigators can compare results
Algor Mortis
• Body heat is lost at
• Time of death determined by temperature calculations is expressed as
• Rule of thumb –