I've searched several different pages. I didn't read every single word but I searched for the shortest window for an estimated time of death science can calculate and couldn't find that information but I'm going to continue looking later this evening.
I think there isn't a limit because in theory it could be as little as 1 minute or less. Let's say you walked out of a room and walked back in a minute later and someone had died there on the floor it would still be estimated because it wasn't witnessed. There is so many factors that come into play on calculating that information that it's almost impossible to actually pin point the precise time of actual death that any time is an estimate. You could even stop and question the clock hanging on an ER wall....
Being a nurse, when somebody dies in the hospital, if an employee is not in the room when the pt dies, then the TOD is listed when we discover the body. For example, if you were in Debbie's room at 1:30, and she was alive, and went back in her room at 1:50, and she had died, the TOD you would put on the paperwork and in your nsg notes would be 1:50.
I understand what is procedure in a hospital or doctors office at the time of death. That is not what I am trying to explain. We were talking about the science of estimated time of death. I'll find sources later this evening so you can understand what I am trying to explain.
When a person dies at home or in a car, or outside, med personnel rely on body temp, lividity will be taken into consideration, the approx time the person was last known to be alive, amt of rigor mortis, if any. If the person died indoors, TOD would be a range of three to four hours, and be at least 75% correct, or more. If the person was found outside, the same methods for determining TOD, and doc would also keep in mind the time he had last been seen alive, if that info was available. Also condition of the body. If, for example, a person dies during a walk, if somebody said I saw him in grocery store at between four and four thirty today, and the person was found in the park at nine that night, that would help establish TOD. If the person was not found for a day or two, the police would probably ask the news caster to have people call them if they remember seeing that person after four thirty the day before, or however long they had been unaccounted for. In cases like that, also taking consideration the day and evening or nite temps, TOD could still be arrived at between three and twelve hours. I have never worked in forensics before, and science may have advanced more over the last 10 years that I have been working as a private duty nurse in a home setting. Hope this helps.
Yes, I read all of this info too. What my original reply was to a question posted earlier;
