Decomposition In Murder Investigations

Decomposition is the process by which organic substances are broken down into a much simpler form of matter. A murderer could bury his victim in a grave, hide it in a unordinary place or leave their body at the scene of the crime, exposed to the elements. When the body is discovered forensic experts and police on the scene will try to figure out when the victim died. The time of death is very important during a murder investigation. There are many factors along with the decomposition process that can make it difficult to figure out. To estimate the time of death, they usually look at the body temperature. An average body temperature of a living human is around 37’C. When a death occurs, the body temperature gradually loses heat, matching the temperature of the environment around them.

This is a key factor in figure out a crime/murder. When researching, the most interesting aspect was the visible changes that happen to a body after death. I was not aware of discolouration and the different stages of death. This would be interesting to see in real life. Over the course of the next 10 years, I do not see methods changing alot. Other than better technology for figuring out DNA, or more specific ways to tell time of death from a body, I imagine that it will generally stay the same. I was hoping to find some cases where it was necessary to remove body parts or tried to save a recently wounded person after a crime. I could not find anything evolving that. In the year 1971, and body of a young woman was found in Sumter County, Florida under a bridge in Lake Panasoffkee. She was strangled to death with a man’s belt, that was still around her neck when they found the body. She was believed to be in her twenties, had no identification, and nobody ever came to claim the body. A few years later her body was exhumed so they could try to identify her. She had very extensive dental work, and they found that the “Watson-Jones” surgery technique had