NCJ Number
145905
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 38 Issue: 6 Dated: (November 1993) Pages: 1404-1408
Date Published
1993
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This article describes the procedure forensic experts used to determine that a body had been frozen for 2 1/4 years before its being dumped in a wooded area.
Abstract
A body with a gunshot wound to the head was found in a wooded area in mid-September 1983, wrapped with approximately 20 layers of plastic garbage bags and rope. Examination of the body revealed a bullet hole in the occipital-parietal region and a peculiar decomposition of the body. The external parts of the body were markedly more decomposed than the visceral parts, with no intestinal or tissue distension. This suggested that the victim may have been frozen for a long period of time. Freezing would either kill or alter the growth pattern of enteric flora and the external aspects of the body would be the first to thaw. This would expose it to microorganisms from outside the body. The head region showed more decomposition than the rest of the body because the bullet hole in the head allowed entrance of organisms from the outside. Examination of the heart muscle revealed features that suggested ice crystal artifacts. The body was subsequently identified; the victim was last seen alive approximately 2 1/4 years before the body's discovery. The clothing the victim was wearing when the body was discovered matched the witness's description. A suspect was arrested after a witness claimed to have seen a body hanging in a freezer compartment of a warehouse owned by the suspect. 1 figure and 7 references