Decomp smell **REVISIT**

[sassy_texasbelle2]

I had a small freezer about the size of a dorm frig. The power went out and it was full of meat. The smell OMG the smell was the most horrible thing I have ever smelled. It was only about 24 hours and maggots were starting to show up. I have never been so sick in my life from a smell. We could not get it to the trash fast enough. I cannot imagine how she could have driven around with a dead body for days. She must have done it just putting it out of her mind like she did killing Caylee. She has some kind of mind control that is for sure.

 

[magic-cat]

Oh my. I am so sorry that anyone has had to smell this and I do so much appreciate the honest answers and comments. This has got to be a difficult subject because if you have smelled it then it was likely someone that you loved and I am so sorry that any of you had to endure that. Hugs to each and every one of you who has been affected by this...and thanks again-so sorry for the morbidity, but you know, ask the tough questions, get the straight answers, solve the puzzle...so deepest gratitude to all who have had this misfortune or must endure it in the course of your careers...:blowkiss:

 

[magic-cat]

I had a small freezer about the size of a dorm frig. The power went out and it was full of meat. The smell OMG the smell was the most horrible thing I have ever smelled. It was only about 24 hours and maggots were starting to show up. I have never been so sick in my life from a smell. We could not get it to the trash fast enough. I cannot imagine how she could have driven around with a dead body for days. She must have done it just putting it out of her mind like she did killing Caylee. She has some kind of mind control that is for sure.

She probably just breathed through her mouth or worse nose plugs or a scarf over her face...who knows with Casey's Carnival of Horrors.... (sorry for the loss of meat-that must have HURT!)

 

[TURBOTHINK]

I always wondered about this too and I have found it odd. Did George go to work? A very strange time to go to work after finding the car and the condition it was in. Exactly where was he during these hours. Not only doesn't he answer CA's calls, but LA had to go over to the house because CA was so upset. If he was at work, strange, but that would explain it. If not, very very suspicious. I'm beginning to wonder if the body was still in the trunk and he disposed of it at that time.

I have always believed that.

 

[magiemay]

I always wondered about this too and I have found it odd. Did George go to work? A very strange time to go to work after finding the car and the condition it was in. Exactly where was he during these hours. Not only doesn't he answer CA's calls, but LA had to go over to the house because CA was so upset. If he was at work, strange, but that would explain it. If not, very very suspicious. I'm beginning to wonder if the body was still in the trunk and he disposed of it at that time.

Ok if you go back and listen to the taped interview of Ga he tells the investigator that CA sent him back to work as soon as the car was brought home goes on to talk about he is married to a controlling woman anywho this tells us where GA was the time in question.

 

[spiritao36401]

But I mean after after the body is removed from any location, how long would the smell stay?

My dad past away in the middle of September last year in his apartment. He was supposed to have a caregiver taking care of him, well guess not. I found him two days after his birthday last year on the 19th. of October. The smell was awful, and my hubby being a retired Marine Corp. Vet, could not handle to be around that apartment. Needless to say, we live in Montana and it gets cold here in October so the heat had been on in the apartment since September, and that did not help any at all. I cleaned his apartment out after the funeral, and had to put dryer sheets in sealed bags and boxes as the smell on everything in the apartment smelled awful, and the drive home with his stuff was not going to be great. All his furniture had to be tossed as well. It took us two weeks to clean the apartment including the walls to try to get the smell out. Needless to say, it did not work, it has been a year since his death and the apartment is still not able to be rented. And all the stuff I brought back, it still smells, I have left everything out this summer to vent, but it is still there the same as when I picked the stuff up.

 

[TURBOTHINK]

BTW Anybody notice how NOBODY reports smelling ANY THING RESEMBLING CHLOROFORM at tow yard or prior... which only supports my hunch that it was used later (after recovering vehicle, but before it was picked up by crime lab). To my disappointment there was nothing within the computer forensic report released today re chloroform. Notably there IS an internet search from as late as 7/16 (re search for name ZF-G). So... since it was reported that chloroform searches were done on Casey's laptop; and we know chloroform would've definitely been needed and USED by this point and since there was such a toxic saturation of chloroform even when gases were sampled this all leads me to think a) searches were likely for USE (and not purchase) of chloroform; b) this likely was used while Casey was behind bars (right?); and c) this specific search info being withheld by LE... or any other ideas?

The machines they use to determine decomp and/or other chemicals is so sensitive you would not have to smell it for the machine to pick it up.

You would smell decomp, no matter what they did. That smell premiates everything except metal. There is no mistaking that smell for ANYTHING else.

 

[TURBOTHINK]

IIRC, GA started a new job on that day and was at work.

I would be curious what time he arrived.

 

[Sammi99]

Ok if you go back and listen to the taped interview of Ga he tells the investigator that CA sent him back to work as soon as the car was brought home goes on to talk about he is married to a controlling woman anywho this tells us where GA was the time in question.

I'm sure LE investigated whether he was at work like he said he was. So they already know if he was truthful or not. I think he probably did go to work like he said he did. If he was not credible LE would not have him testify before the GJ.

 

[Sammiejam]

Not trying to be disgusting or outlandish, but I discovered something last week that I could not believe I did not know. My own daughter had gone on a school trip in one of her AP classes to Virginia Tech and they went to some sort of scientific research facility that HAD cadavers. I was discussing this case with her and I said in an offhand way that I had never SMELLED a dead body, so I could not make an absolute statement that a dead human body does not smell like, say, a squirrel for instance. This is when I discovered the information that I had been unaware of. She said, "I have smelled dead bodies mommy, when we went to Virginia Tech." I asked if they were not preserved chemically and she said of course they were, but you could STILL smell the cadaver smell CLEARLY. I asked her if she could describe it, and she said that it was a smell she could and would never forget. I asked her if she smelled it again, would she recognize it and she was 100% positive that she would. I then asked her if she thought it could be mistaken for something else, and she said that once you have smelled THAT smell one time, there is no way to confuse it with ANYTHING else-it was very distinctive.

So I wondered if we have any other sleuths who might have had the opportunity or the misfortune to smell the scent of a deceased human, and if they could share with those of us who have not their thoughts on "confusing" this smell with something else. I also wondered if anyone knows of anything else that could immitate THAT smell???

I guess it is just a time of HORRIBLE threads...Sorry.:blowkiss:

Yes I have smelt it. My dad is a fireman. One time a car was found that had run off the road and into a tree. It was obscured by bushes and other trees and no-one found the car for about a week. (Sadly, a member of the woman's family was driving along her route from work and saw the tire tracks) Anyway, the Jaws of Life were needed to her out. My father arrived and had full protective clothing and a mask. He could smell her from the road. They chopped the car up and carefully tried to remove her. As she was coming out of the car something popped and gas was released. My dad had taken off PART of his head gear for some reason and his hair and lower face was exposed. Well, that night when he got home I went to give him a hug and GAGGED. The reek coming off his person was ABSOLUTELY AND INDISCRIBALY HORRIFIC. He had vicks vapour rub up his nose and still he was having a hard time breathing because of the smell. He actually became ill from the fumes, it was like a chemical spill.

He had to shave his head and his mastache as the smell had permiated the hair and he was giving of stench waves like you see on cartoons. I was convinced I could smell it for weeks after. And it was secondhand!!!!

It smells like nothing else on this earth. Its almost sweet, but not really... its like... i cant even think of words that adequitely describe it.

Oh, another time, my dad was called out to a house where a man had died in his hot-tub. It was till going 4 days later and the guy was almost liquified. Dad could smell it through his gasmask and it made his eyes water and all the guys were throwig up involuntarily. The house ended up having to be pulled down because the smell was so horrific. He was found because his neighbours 3 KILOMETERS AWAY (he lived in a rural area) could smell something when the wind blew and they knew it decomp but was a bit different to the smell of dead sheep or cow which was not uncommon out there.

So yeah, there is no mistaking it and there is nothing else like it. I actually gagged while writing this and thinkng of my Pops walking through the door that day. The smell is burnt into my orfactory memory.

I pray none of you ever have to experience that smell...

 

[Pondering Mind]

My Father-in-law was found 2 days after death in his room, he lived alone...I was in the room after the funeral, so, at least 4 days after his body was removed. The smell made me nauseated , I had to leave or I would have vomited.

My Husband was found by me, about 2 hours after his death...no smell, but some bluish pooling of blood was seen, his lips were blue...but when my Son, 18, gave him CPR, not realizing he was deceased for so long, he said he couldn't get the "TASTE" out of his mouth for months...I now suspect it was the taste of decomp.

It's pretty potent stuff...

OK, I have posted part of this before (I thought it was on this thread, but can't find it now) Don't know how much this will help, but here goes...My first son died of SIDS when he was almost 11 months old in 1974. I went into his room early that morning and knew immediatly something was wrong for 2 reasons, the first being his little head would always pop up when he heard me coming and a slight but noticeable distinct scent. Not "bad", but unlike I had ever smelled before or since, but will NEVER forget. I had checked on him in the middle of the night, so it could not have been more than 3-4 hours and maybe not that, I had no way of knowing. (which was one of the hardest things because then you begin the what ifs) I can't describe it because there is nothing to compare it to, but there has been times over the years when I have caught a waft of something similar and it would stop me in my tracks. (but never knew where it came from) From my experience, even though it was a short length of time it would definitely be unmistakable.

 

[SleuthyGal]

I have never smelled human decomp and surely hope I never do. What's interesting is that my brother died in his bed in an apt. building in December (5 years ago) and was found after 2 days. When my mother went to clean out the apt after his funeral a few days later she said she did not detect any odor. Isn't that strange?

 

[icherish]

I have never smelled a badly decomposed body, no.

But, I have been inside of a morgue (worked in a hospital years ago) and there was a slight, but destinctive odor of decay clinging to the place.
I would best describe it as a slightly fecal smell with a sweetish-musty hint to it. (sorry, I know that's gross)

I've also noticed that odor while viewing a deceased relative at a funeral home. Faint, but definitely destinctive- it sort of wafted past my nose for a moment and I immediately recognized it as the same odor from the morgue. I sure wasn't expecting it because the body was obviously embalmed and looked well-preserved. I guess even the strongest chemicals can't cover it up completely once the process of decomp is under way.

 

[Pondering Mind]

I have never smelled human decomp and surely hope I never do. What's interesting is that my brother died in his bed in an apt. building in December (5 years ago) and was found after 2 days. When my mother went to clean out the apt after his funeral a few days later she said she did not detect any odor. Isn't that strange?

It is strange, was there heat on in the apartment if you know and don't mind me asking? I don't know if what I smelled was "decomp" or "death" and to be honest don't know what the difference really is. Is it length of time? My son passed away in September of 1974 and it was still warm weather here in the South.

 

[SleuthyGal]

It is strange, was there heat on in the apartment if you know and don't mind me asking? I don't know if what I smelled was "decomp" or "death" and to be honest don't know what the difference really is. Is it length of time? My son passed away in September of 1974 and it was still warm weather here in the South.

We (the family) weren't there when he was found, and the police had to break in to his apt. But yes the heat would have been on and it likely would have been around 70 - 72 degrees inside at the end of December in PA. I have no other information although my mother did instruct the funeral home to NOT put his real casket in the room for the ceremony but to have it already in the hearse and instead use an empty casket since the funeral home was unable to embalm him due to the condition of his arteries and were only able to do a 'topical' application. She was worried there might be a smell during the service and she didn't want to take any chances.

 

[TURBOTHINK]

I have never smelled human decomp and surely hope I never do. What's interesting is that my brother died in his bed in an apt. building in December (5 years ago) and was found after 2 days. When my mother went to clean out the apt after his funeral a few days later she said she did not detect any odor. Isn't that strange?

Maybe she had a bad sinus infection. Who knows? I know we used Vick's Vapor Rub in college to keep the smell out of our noses even when the bodies had been refrigerated if we were going to work on them because in a very short time the smell is there.

 

[glezell]

I am sorry I haven't read through the whole thread to see if this was discussed....

But, if they found maggots, could they not test those maggots to see what they had been feeding on (ie dna??)

I seem to remember that entomologists have studied soil sample where a body has been found and they could examine the insects and such in that area and some are that are known to feed on human remains can be tested and they can determine how long the remains had been there and such. (maybe I have read too many crime novels.

So is it possible they were able to do some test on the maggots found and possibly this is the "cutting edge" test they were talking about on NG???

 

[Paladine]

I am sorry I haven't read through the whole thread to see if this was discussed....

But, if they found maggots, could they not test those maggots to see what they had been feeding on (ie dna??)

I seem to remember that entomologists have studied soil sample where a body has been found and they could examine the insects and such in that area and some are that are known to feed on human remains can be tested and they can determine how long the remains had been there and such. (maybe I have read too many crime novels.

So is it possible they were able to do some test on the maggots found and possibly this is the "cutting edge" test they were talking about on NG???

Maggots are a wealth of information...this site is a University forensics site...

Flies might also answer an embarrassing question after you are gone: What drugs were ya taking? You might hope to take evidence of your personal failings to the grave, but what if it could implicate the bad guy? Help is on the way from Virginia Commonwealth University, where scientists are working on, what else, the "maggot milkshake."

The principle is simple, VCU toxicology graduate student Michelle Peace wrote in 2002. "You are what you eat. So if the body had taken any type of drugs prior to death, and the maggots are eating on that body, then the drugs are going to wind up in the maggots."

Flavorful.

Here's the scoop. In a hot, humid climate, a writhing mess of maggots can quickly reduce you to a heap of bones. But if you could find a way to analyze toxins from the maggots, you would produce a voice from beyond the grave. To make a maggot milkshake, you cram maggots direct from the corpse in the ol' Waring blender, and off you go. If the victim had taken drugs -- or perhaps been poisoned -- you might develop leads for a murder investigation.

http://whyfiles.org/014forensic/index.php?g=2.txt

 

[Priester]

I can remember it clearly even 14 years later.

Two children, who had been submerged underwater for 9 days.

uke:

 

[Pondering Mind]

Maggots are a wealth of information...this site is a University forensics site...




http://whyfiles.org/014forensic/index.php?g=2.txt

WoW...Thank You Paladine, Very Interesting ... makes perfect sense. Puts my mind at ease as far as what evidence the Body Farm has been able to uncover.