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Report on Postmortem Interval
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University of Florida
Added on 2020-04-15
Report on Postmortem Interval
University of Florida
Added on 2020-04-15
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Running head: POSTRMORTEM INTERVAL 1Postmortem IntervalNameInstitution
POSTRMORTEM INTERVAL 2POSTERMORTEN INTERVALIntroductionOne of the most vital pieces of evidence in a case that involves a deceased bodyidentification is to answer what seems to be a direct question - “when did the deceased die?” Adetective, more beloved by the “romantic crime” genre is probably to look at the wristwatch ofthe deceased and declare the time of death to that shown on now fractured and distorted face.The most credible, reliable and valid response to this seemed straight-forward question isprobably to be obtained from impartial or unbiased eyewitness to the event. a) A flaw in the presentation In identifying the flaw, the main focus is to identify how long the deceased has beenlying since death. The pathologist was wrong by giving accurate time (twelve hours-twentyminutes) than the recommended practice of providing a range of times within which the death islikely to have taken place. In this case, the pathologist errored by specifically stating that thebody had been dead for twelve hours and twenty minutes. The longer the post-mortem interval,the broader the range will be. Such an accurate estimate, unfortunately, is only allowed to comefrom the least experienced medical witness who tends to offer the most exact estimate. Indeed,another flaw in the presentation is that the pathologist gave a fraction of an hour (1hr, 20minutes) rather than the recommended practice of giving a whole hour. Thus such a presentationattracts a considerable skepticism from the word go. b) Factors leading to forensic pathologist modifying PMI Algor Mortis is the second phase of decomposition which translates to ‘coldness” (algor)“of death” (mortis). It is sometimes dubbed “death chill” and marked by a stable drop intemperature of the body. It continues till the corpse hits “ambient temperature,” matches the
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