NCJ Number
174703
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 43 Issue: 1 Dated: January 1998 Pages: 57-61
Date Published
1998
Length
5 pages
Annotation
Methods for determining the time of death in regions with cold weather were studied by means of a review of 20 cases that occurred at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada between 1990 and 1996.
Abstract
This area experiences monthly average temperatures that are below freezing for 5 months of the year. The cases all involved advanced decomposition, with partial to complete skeletonization of the remains. Data were gathered on the age and sex of the individual, the cause of the death, location of the recovered remains, clothing associated with the individual, postmortem animal activity or damage, time elapsed wince the person was last seen or reported missing, the degree of decomposition, the body parts or skeletal elements not recovered, and the method of positive identification. Cases with a postmortem interval (PMI) of less than 7 months were compared with regional weather records to establish the average PMI temperature. Results indicated that skeletonization can occur in less than 6 weeks in summer and 4 months in winter, despite freezing temperatures. In some cases, postmortem animal activity accelerated the decomposition rates. Figures, table, and 18 references (Author abstract modified)