Time since death: …. Changes observed
1-2 hours: ………Early signs of lividity.
2-5 hours: ………Clear signs of lividity throughout body. Fixed in 6-10 hours
5-7 hours: ………Rigor mortis begins in face.
8-12 hours: …….Rigor mortis established throughout the body, extending to arms and legs
12 hours: ……….Body has cooled to about 25°C internally.
20-24 hours: …..Body has cooled to surrounding temperature.
24 hours: ……….Rigor mortis begins to disappear from the body in roughly the same order as it appeared.
36 hours: ……….Rigor mortis has completely disappeared.
48 hours: ……….Body discoloration shows that decomposition is beginning.
Determining Time of Death.
The presence and stage of rigor and the body's core temp play a huge factor in determining TOD. Stomach contents not so much MOO
Rigor Mortis
Immediately after death all of the muscles in the body relax. Slowly over the next 24 to 48 hours the body starts to stiffen (not contract but just lock in place) due to a buildup of acid in the muscle tissues. This stiffening process, called Rigor Mortis, has a roughly known time of occurrence and can therefore be used to estimate time of death. In general:
If the body feels warm and no rigor is present, death occurred under 3 hours before.
If the body feels warm and stiff, death occurred 3-8 hours earlier.
If the body feels cold and stiff, death occurred 8-36 hours earlier.
If the body is cold and not stiff, death occurred more than 36 hours earlier.
The use of Rigor Mortis as a time of death indicator is less than ideal because of the large spans of time it encompasses. The windows can vary by as much as 24 hours. There are also several factors that can severely impact the onset and timeline of Rigor:
* temperature
* illness
* activity before death
* physical conditions where the body are found
Death and Kinetics.