Table Of ContentEstimation of the Time
since Death
Current Research and Future Trends
Edited by
Jarvis Hayman
Marc Oxenham
School of Archaeology and Anthropology,
Australian National University, Canberra,
ACT, Australia
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Contributors
Melanie S. Archer, Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine and Monash University,
VIC,Australia
MelanieM.Beasley,DepartmentofAnthropology,PurdueUniversity,WestLafayette,
IN,UnitedStates
Roger W. Byard, School of Medicine, The University of Adelaide, and Forensic
Science SouthAustralia (FSSA),Adelaide
AlyceCameron,SchoolofArchaeologyandAnthropology,AustralianNational Uni-
versity,Canberra,ACT,Australia
DavidO.Carter,LaboratoryofForensicTaphonomy,ForensicSciencesUnit,Division
of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Chaminade University of Honolulu, Hono-
lulu,HI,UnitedStates
JoanneBennettDevlin,ForensicAnthropologyCenter,DepartmentofAnthropology,
UniversityofTennessee,Knoxville,TN,UnitedStates
Lena M. Dubois, Organic and Biological Analytical Chemistry Laboratory, MolSys,
UniversityofLie`ge,Lie`ge,Belgium
StewartJ.Fallon,ResearchSchoolofEarthSciences,AustralianNationalUniversity,
Canberra, ACT,Australia
Shari L. Forbes, De´partement de Chimie, Biochimie et Physique, Universite´ du
Que´bec a` Trois-Rivie`res, Trois-Rivie`res, QC, Canada; Australian Facility for
Taphonomic Experimental Research, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney,
NSW,Australia
Felicity Gilbert, School of Archaeology and Anthropology, Australian National
University,Canberra,ACT,Australia
Jarvis Hayman, School of Archaeology and Anthropology, Australian National
University,Canberra,ACT,Australia
Lee Meadows Jantz, Forensic Anthropology Center, Department of Anthropology,
UniversityofTennessee,Knoxville,TN,UnitedStates
ColinV.Murray-Wallace,SchoolofEarth,Atmospheric&LifeSciences,Facultyof
Science, Medicine and Health, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW,
Australia
Marc Oxenham, School of Archaeology and Anthropology, Australian National
University,Canberra,ACT,Australia
xi
xii Contributors
KatelynnA.Perrault,Laboratoryof Forensic andBioanalytical Chemistry,Forensic
Sciences Unit, Division of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Chaminade Uni-
versityofHonolulu,Honolulu,HI,UnitedStates
ElineM.J.Schotsmans,CentreforArchaeologicalScience,UniversityofWollongong,
Wollongong, NSW, Australia; PACEA De la Pre´histoire a` l’Actuel: Culture,
Environnement et Anthropologie, UMR 5199, CNRS-Universite´ de Bordeaux,
Bordeaux,France
DawnieWolfeSteadman,ForensicAnthropologyCenter,DepartmentofAnthropology,
UniversityofTennessee,Knoxville,TN,UnitedStates
Wim Van de Voorde, Department of Imaging and Pathology, Forensic Biomedical
Sciences, KU Leuven - University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Department of
ForensicMedicine, UniversityHospitalsLeuven,Leuven,Belgium
Giovanna M. Vidoli, Forensic Anthropology Center, Department of Anthropology,
UniversityofTennessee,Knoxville,TN,UnitedStates
James F. Wallman, School of Life Sciences, University of Technology Sydney,
Sydney, Australia; Centre for Sustainable Ecosystem Solutions, School of Earth,
AtmosphericandLifeSciences,UniversityofWollongong,Wollongong,Australia
About the editors
Jarvis Hayman is a retired surgeon who studied archaeology, completing a
Master’sdegreeattheAustralianNationalUniversityinCanberrawithathesis
onthearchaeologyoftheScottishHighlandClearances.Hethencombinedhis
medicalandarchaeologicalknowledgetocompleteaPhDontheestimationof
the time since death in decomposed human bodies in Australian conditions.
His research areas of interest are: historical archaeology and forensic
archaeology/anthropology. He is a Visiting Fellow at the Australian National
University and the co-author of Human Body Decomposition.
Marc Oxenham is a Professor in Bioarchaeology at the Australian National
University, Canberra, Australia. His expertise in human skeletal biology has
been recognized nationally through invitations to consult on a range of
forensic cases for the Australian Federal Police, Australian Government So-
licitor, The Australian Defense Forces (in particular Unrecovered War
Casualties-Army) as well as the New South Wales Police Force. His main
researchhasconcentratedonexploringaspectsofhumanpalaeopathologyand
behavior by way of analyses of human skeletal and dental material. He has
heldteachingandresearchpositionsatColoradoCollege,USA,andtheANU.
He was president of the Australasian Society of Human Biology (2012e14),
an Australian Future Fellow (2013e17), elected a Fellow of the Society of
Antiquaries of London in 2011 and elected a Fellow of the Australian
Academy of the Humanities in 2016.
xiii
Chapter 1
Approaches to time since
death estimation
Jarvis Hayman, Marc Oxenham
SchoolofArchaeologyandAnthropology,AustralianNationalUniversity,Canberra,
ACT,Australia
How to develop a more accurate estimation of the time since death in human
bodiesfounddecomposedordecomposinghasexercisedthemindsofcriminal
investigatorsandothersinterestedinadvancingscientificknowledgesincethe
first forensic cases described by Sung Tz’u in 13th century China [1]. When
moreintenseinterestinthesubjectdevelopedinthe19thcentury,researchfirst
focussedontherecognitionthatthefallinthetemperatureofacorpsecouldbe
ofuseindeterminingthetimesincedeathintheearlystagesofdecomposition
[2e4],butitwasFrenchArmySurgeonandentomologistJeanPierreMe´gnin
whorecognisedthatdifferentgroupsandspeciesofinsectswereattractedtoa
decomposing body during the various stages of decomposition [5]. Of
necessity, this led him to describe the different stages of decomposition in
ordertomatchthemwiththevariousspeciesofinsectsappearingonacorpse
at varying stages during its decomposition. Unfortunately, this led to his
descriptions being used to convict people, often wrongly, of unlawful killing.
In1897Murray GaltMotter,afterastudyof150disinterred humanbodiesin
and around the Washington DC area in the USA, commented, in relation to
using insect succession to estimate the time since death, that it was not
possible to make anyuniversally applicablegeneralisations and indeed it was
not safe to draw any conclusion at all [6]. Although the study of entomology
and its value in estimating the time since death in bodies found decomposed
has advanced greatly since that time, especially in the last 30 years, there is
still an error rate that invites caution when it is employed in criminal cases.
Since the 1950s when researchers increased their efforts to match tem-
perature with the time since death and especially after the studies of Thomas
Marshall and F. E. Hoare in the 1960s in their attempts to determine a
mathematical model, there has been increased interest and research into all
aspectsofhumandecomposition.Asnewtechnologicalinnovationshavebeen
introduced into scientific research, they have been employed in attempting to
more accurately estimate the time since death [7e10]. These have included
EstimationoftheTimesinceDeath.https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-815731-2.00001-7
Copyright©2020ElsevierInc.Allrightsreserved. 1
2 EstimationoftheTimesinceDeath
attempts to find a linear relationship between changes in biochemical
substances with the decomposition of the corpse not only in the early stages
but also in the advanced stages of decomposition; the use of microscopy and
physicochemical methods of dating skeletal material such as chem-
iluminescence, the citrate content of bone and in the last decade, the use of
body scoring methods to quantify the stages of decomposition.
The research published by Mary Megyesiand others in2005 on a method
ofquantifyingthestagesofbodydecompositionwithaTotalBodyScoregave
asignificantboosttoattemptstomorepreciselydeterminethetimesincedeath
in human bodies found decomposed [11]. Many studies since then have
attempted to refine quantifiable scoring of the decomposed remains and to
produce models incorporating the many variable factors which affect the rate
ofdecompositionbuttodatethenumberofthesefactorssuchastemperature,
moisture, context, scavenging etc. as well as the subjectivity of body scoring
methods have defied efforts to produce a more statistically precise model.
Attempts have also been made to define a “universal model” applicable to all
situations in which a decomposed body is found but so far this has not been
provedtobepossiblebecausethecontextualandclimaticsituationsinwhicha
corpsemay bediscoveredaresonumerousandsovariedthatitmayneverbe
possible with present technology although the hope is that it may become
feasible in the future with the development of quantum computing [12,13].
The following section provides an overview of the chapters presented in
this volume. As will be seen, some focus onvery specific postmortem stages
with the initial chapters following a progressively longertimeline after death.
Subsequentchaptersdiscussarangeofbothnewordevelopingapproachesand
techniques to estimating TSD, some of which will be quite novel to some
readers.Wehaveattemptedtobeasthoroughinourcoverageaspossible,with
some techniques, or versions thereof, being commonly employed in forensic
case work, while others are much more experimental and largely untested in
the courts.
Roger Byard, in Chapter 2, begins the substantive part of this volume by
reviewing research on estimating TSD in the early postmortem period
(or24e48h), althoughsomeofthetechniquesreviewed can beutilisedwithin
thefirst24h (e.g. algormortis, orthemoreorlesspredictable declinein body
temperature in the early postmortem period). Indeed, the Hensgge nomogram
remains the preferred method. Livor mortis, generally used to identify body
positionafterdeath,andrigormortischangesovertimearealsodiscussed,both
approachestoTSDestimationbeingdependentonawealthofvariablesmostof
which willbedifficulttocontrol for. Theprocess ofautolysis and putrefaction
arebrieflydescribed,withadetaileddescriptionofhow‘stages’inthisprocess
canbeutilisedforTSDestimationdealtwithinChapters5and10.Rogeralso
notes the limited value of using gastric emptying (evaluation of stomach
contents)indeterminingthetimesincealastmeal.Alsomentionedisthelesser
known,intheWestatleast,useofmechanicalandelectricalmuscleexcitation
Approachestotimesincedeathestimation Chapter | 1 3
techniquesforTSDestimation,approachesthatperhapsrequiremorereplicative
research. Overall, Roger provides a wealth of techniques of varying levels of
accuracy and precision in the estimation of TSD within the first two days
postmortem.
In Chapter 3 Lena Dubois and Katelynn Perrault explore the value of
biomarkers in estimating TSD, the core premise being that measurable bio-
markers change (increase or decrease) in a predictable and relatively stand-
ardised manner during the postmortem interval. Perhaps one of the most well
know of such approaches is analysis of the concentration of potassium in the
vitreous humor of the eye, which is arguably useful up to 72h postmortem.
Awealth of other biomarkers have been analysed, both sourced from within
the body itself (e.g. ammonia and nitrogen concentrations) and others from
decomposition products that have seeped into the immediate environment
(e.g. phosphorous and sodium) with varying degrees of value in TSD esti-
mation. In terms of preservational durability, and thus the ability to be
sampled, adipose tissue lipids and by-products have received considerable
attention in recent years. Again, such biomarkers can be sampled from the
body directly or from the surrounding burialmatrix (generally soil). Proteins,
including enzymes and protein metabolism by-products also appear to be of
value in examining the postmortem interval (PMI). Some of this protein-
focused research has revisited work on the vitreous humor with promising
outcomes. The premise that DNA and RNA degrade in a regular and
measurable manner postmortem has also received attention in recent years.
Itwouldseemthattherateofdecayisdependentonvariousfactors,including
tissue type and temperature and despite a wealth of recent research, the
approaches are still experimental rather than of practical use in case work.
Decomposition odour (volatile organic compounds, VOC) is an important
variable in insect colonisation succession patterns and it is not surprising that
research into the measurement of VOCs released by the decomposing corpse
has shown some promise in the estimation of the TSD. Practical approaches
include recent work on trimethylamine concentrations in postmortem tissues.
Lena and Katelynn finish their chapter with a consideration of the practical
valueofbiomarkerresearchtodate,inasmuchasproposedmethodscanpass
evidentiarystandards.Theirconclusionsaresobering,becauseonlyaveryfew
of the hundreds of biomarkers assessed to date consistently provide useful
TSD estimates.
JamesWallmanandMelanieArcherreviewtheroleofinsectsinestimating
TSD, an approach that can extend the assessable postmortem window
substantively beyond the first 48h. The underlying premise in forensic ento-
mology is that particular species will colonise and utilise a corpse for a finite
periodoftimeandthatthesubsequentchangestothedecompositionfluidsand
tissueswillprovideamoresuitable ecosystem forsubsequentcolonisationby
differentspecies (whetherinsectorotherfactor-moderated):aprocesstermed
succession. James and Melanie begin by introducing the key insect players,
4 EstimationoftheTimesinceDeath
those that have evolved to a point where they rely on locating and colonising
decomposing animals in order to reproduce: for the most part certain fly and
beetle species. It is important to note that it is a minimum PMI that is being
estimated as it is often difficult or impossible to determine the lag period
between death and subsequent initial insect colonisation. Apart from insect
succession, James and Melanie discuss the role ofspecificspeciesmaturation
(e.g. stage and size) in developing an estimate of the minPMI. A range of
confounding factors are also discussed, including the issue of insect species
identification which can have significant flow on effects in calculating the
minPMI. Other issues include seasonality and weather, including retrospec-
tively generated temperature estimates with temperature being a significant
variable in insect activity and reproduction rates. A significant portion of
James and Melanie’s chapter is given to procedures, and associated issues,
with insect collection methods and processes. This is particularly pertinent in
cases where sampling is not being carried out by the forensic entomologist.
TheChapterconcludeswithaseriesofforensiccasestudiesthatillustratethe
role and value of forensic entomology.
In Chapter 5, Eline Schotsman, Wim Van de Voorde and Shari Forbes
tackle the complex issue of estimating TSD when a body has reached an
advanced state of decomposition. In noting the difficulties inherent in esti-
mating TSD with advanced decomposition they stress the importance of
context,notleastofwhichistheeffectoftemperature(andhumidity)ineither
accelerating (higher temperatures) or slowing (cooler temperatures) decom-
position. The environmental context (e.g. soil) has a major influence on
decomposition rates, and thus estimation of TSD, particularly in terms of its
ability (or inability) to facilitate microbial action, gas exchange and moisture
movement.Apartfromfaunalinterference(e.g.vertebratescavenging),human
body disposal behaviours (e.g. by embalming or being confined in a coffin)
will affect the rate and nature of decomposition. Moreover, individual char-
acteristicssuchassex,age,andbodysizewillinfluencedecompositionratesto
varying degrees in different burial environments. Eline and colleagues also
discuss the effects and predisposing conditions for preservation
(e.g. mummification, freezing, saponification) of soft tissues and how such
issues can be dealt with. The intriguing case of bog bodies, the context of
which is generally well known among northern European archaeologists, is
alsomentioned.Theydiscusstheimportantissueofdifferentialdecomposition
(and preservation), which should be taken into consideration when assessing
total body scores (TBS usually assumes uniform rates of decomposition
throughout the entire body, including the external appearance) for the
decompositionoftheentirecorpse.Asignificantportionofthechapterreviews
andcritiquescurrentmethodsforestimatingTSDusingeitherformulaeand/or
aTBSwithasubstantivecomparativetestofsuchapproachesusingacomplex
case study. They conclude by suggesting more regional models of decompo-
sition are better suited to TSD estimates and that specialists need as broad a
knowledge base as possible to deal with this vexing problem.
