Table Of ContentEstimation of Time
Since Death in
Australian Conditions
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Estimation of Time
Since Death in
Australian Conditions
JARVIS HAYMAN MB,ChB, FRCS(Ed), FRACS,
MA(Hons) Archaeology, PhD
Australian National University, Canberra, ACT,Australia
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Contents
Acknowledgements ix
Aboutthebook xi
Introduction xiii
1. Areviewof research concerningthe estimation of time since
death in decomposedbodies in the early stagesof
decomposition 1
1.1 Immediatepost-mortemorsupravitalreactions 2
1.1.1 Livormortis 2
1.1.2 Rigormortis 4
1.2 Algormortisandtemperature-basedmethodsofestimatingthe
post-morteminterval 5
1.2.1 Mid-20thcenturyresearch 7
1.2.2 Late20thand21stcenturyresearch 14
1.3 Biochemicalmethodsofexaminingbodytissuesandfluids 23
1.3.1 Chemicalinvestigationofvitreoushumor 24
1.3.2 Theestimationofhypoxanthineinvitreoushumor 34
1.3.3 Chemicalinvestigationofsynovialfluid 36
1.3.4 Biomarkersofthepost-mortemintervalinthebonemarrowand
otherbodyorgans 36
1.3.5 Immunohistochemistry 37
1.3.6 High-resolutionprotonmagneticresonancespectroscopy 38
1.3.7 Electrolyteconcentrationsincerebrospinalfluid 38
1.3.8 Electrolyteconcentrationsinpericardialfluid 39
1.3.9 Theuseofdeoxyribonucleicacidandribonucleicacidinthe
estimationofthepost-morteminterval 39
2. Areviewofresearchconcerningtheestimationoftimesincedeath
indecomposedbodiesinthelaterstagesofdecomposition 41
2.1 EstimationofthePMIduringthestageofautolysisandearlyputrefaction 41
2.1.1 Extrinsicfactorsaffectingdecomposition:temperature,environment,
insects,burial,moistureandscavenging 41
2.1.2 Delayeddecompositionandpreservation:mummificationand
adipocereformation 43
2.2 EstimationofthePMIinthelaterstagesofputrefactionandskeletonisation 44
2.2.1 Forensicentomologyandtheestimationofthepost-morteminterval 44
2.2.2 EstimationofthePMIinskeletalremains 48
v
vi Contents
2.3 Currentresearchandfuturedirections 55
2.3.1 Developmentofagradingsystemofhumandecomposition 56
2.3.2 CorrelationofadecompositiongradingsystemwiththePMI 57
2.3.3 Recentresearchandcurrenttrends 60
3. Materials andmethods 63
3.1 Materials 63
3.1.1 TheAustralianCoronialSystemandtheVictorianInstituteof
ForensicMedicine 64
3.1.2 TheNationalCoronialInformationSystem:historyandorganisation 65
3.1.3 Qualityofreports 66
3.1.4 ThestatisticsrevealedbytheNCISdatabaseconcerning
decomposedbodies 67
3.1.5 Commentsonthestatisticalfindings 70
3.2 Methods 73
3.2.1 Introduction 73
3.2.2 Theautopsyreport 74
3.2.3 Thesequentialstagesofdecompositionderivedfromautopsyreports 77
3.2.4 Developmentofadecompositiongradingscore 81
3.2.5 Correlationofthedecompositiongradingscorewith
temperatureandhumiditydata 85
4. Modelling time since death 91
4.1 Introduction 91
4.2 Exploringthedatasets 92
4.2.1 Testingfornormalityofdistributionofthevariables 92
4.2.2 Homogeneityofvariance 93
4.3 Explorationofvariablecorrelations 95
4.4 Testingobservedcorrelations 98
4.5 Modellingtimesincedeath 101
4.5.1 Predictionoftheerrorintheoutcomevariable 103
4.5.2 Themathematicalequationofthemodel 103
4.5.3 Theassessmentofindividualpredictorsbythet-statistic(t) 104
4.5.4 Outliersandinfluentialcases 105
4.5.5 Theresultsofregressionanalysisoneachdataset 106
4.5.6 Multipleregressionanalysis 113
4.6 Fittedandobservedrelationships 121
4.7 ComparisonoftheExternalBodyScorewiththeTSD 125
4.8 Summary 128
4.9 Thefinalmodels 129
Contents vii
5. Practicalapplication of the models 131
5.1 Part1:Autopsyassessmentof13decomposedbodies 131
5.1.1 Introduction 131
5.1.2 Descriptionandanalysisof13decomposedbodies 132
5.1.2.1 Caseno.1:male(57) 132
5.1.2.2 Caseno.2:male(68) 135
5.1.2.3 Caseno.3:male(51) 137
5.1.2.4 Caseno.4:male(79) 139
5.1.2.5 Caseno.5:male(68) 142
5.1.2.6 Caseno.6:female(77) 143
5.1.2.7 Caseno.7:male(74) 144
5.1.2.8 Caseno.8:male(57) 147
5.1.2.9 Caseno.9:male(37) 148
5.1.2.10 Caseno.10:male(43) 151
5.1.2.11 Caseno.11:female(59) 153
5.1.2.12 Caseno.12:male(41) 155
5.1.2.13 Caseno.13:male(69) 158
5.1.3 Discussion 159
5.1.4 Conclusion 163
5.2 Part2:Monitoringtwodecomposingbodies
164
5.2.1 Introduction 164
5.2.2 Materialsandmethods 166
5.2.3 Results 168
5.2.3.1 Temperatureandhumiditydata 168
5.2.4 Thedecompositionprocess 171
5.2.4.1 Theautopsies 176
5.2.5 Discussion 183
5.2.5.1 Thetemperatureandhumiditydata 183
5.2.5.2 Thecontrastingdecompositionprocessesbetween
BodyNo.1andBodyNo.2 184
5.2.6 Conclusion 189
6. Discussion andconclusions 191
6.1 Timesincedeath:problemswithaccuracy 191
6.1.1 TSDestimationintheearlystagebytheuseofacoolingformula 191
6.1.2 TSDestimationintheearlystagebybiochemicalmethods 192
6.1.3 TSDestimationinthestageofputrefaction:theroleofentomology 193
6.1.4 TSDestimation:thedevelopmentofanumericalgradingsystem 194
viii Contents
6.2 Thedataset 198
6.2.1 Temperature,humidityandtheenvironment 198
6.2.2 TotalBodyScore 203
6.2.3 Timesincedeath 206
6.2.4 Temperatureoftheinternalbodyorgans 206
6.3 Mathematicallymodellingtimesincedeath 207
6.3.1 Thecontributionoftemperatureandhumiditydatain
modellingTSD 210
6.3.2 Thepracticaluseofthemodel:theassessmentof13decomposed
bodies 212
6.4 Robustnessofthetimesincedeathmodellingandfutureresearch 212
6.5 Summaryandconclusion 214
References 219
Index 231
Acknowledgements
The research while studying the NCIS Database and gaining access to
observe autopsies of decomposed bodies at the VIFM in Melbourne was
in no small way aided by the dedicated pathologists who work there and
in particular to Professor David Ranson the Deputy Director of the
Forensic Services Division at the VIFM. They have my grateful thanks for
their assistance and knowledge. An Endeavour Research scholarship was
awarded by the Australian Government in 2011 which enabled me to
spend 2 months at the Grady Early Forensic Anthropology Laboratory
and the Forensic Anthropology Research Facility (FARF) at Texas State
University in San Marcos. The FARF is a 26-acre outdoor human
decomposition research laboratory at Texas State’s Freeman Ranch and it
is spatially the largest facility of its kind in the world. While there I was
indebted to the many students and to Kyra Stull, then head of the FARF
and now an Assistant Professor of Bioanthropology at the University of
Nevada. I also shared many pleasant lunches with Emeritus Professor
Grady Early and the students and will always be grateful for their kind
hospitality. I owe grateful thanks to the staff at the School of Archaeology
and Anthropology of the Australian National University for their friend-
ship and help in allowing me the use of the facilities during my years
there as a postgraduate student and Visiting Fellow. Lastly, my gratitude
goes to Elizabeth Brown, Senior Acquisitions Editor and her staff at
Elsevier for their help in publishing this thesis rather than have it languish-
ing on a dusty University shelf.
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