The coroner came to examine her at the R home at 8 PM. The autopsy took place the next morning at around 8 AM. By then rigor was beginning to pass off- 12 hours to form, 12 hours in full rigor, 12 hours to subside- making a 36 hour arc. JB was in the final third.
Don't know where you saw that the ME came at 3 PM.
Yes, 20.20 that evening. Don't know why I thought it was 3pm, but maybe that was the time the R's left the house or it may have been when the Cops arrived to secure the scene?? No matter, it doesn't really contradict what I was thinking.
She was last seen at 10pm on the 26th found at 1.30pm on the 27th, examined at 8.20pm on the 27th and autopsied at 8am on the 28th. Death could have occurred any time between 10pm of the 26th and 6am on the 27th. So when she was found was in the range of 15.5 and 7.5 hours after death. She was examined 7 hrs after after this initially (22.5 - 14.5 after TOD) and autopsied another 12 hours later (34.5 - 26.5 after TOD). According to the information below, rigor mortis begins to reverse after about 28 hours. This is all fairly approximate as it depends on the body temperature and the ambient temperature, which we don't know. However, I think you'll can see that there is still a fairly large window of time that death could have occurred given the condition of the body.
Here's some info I found about the stages of death:
* Moment of Death:
1} The heart stops
2} The skin gets tight and grey in color
3} All the muscles relax
4} The bladder and bowels empty
5} The body's temperature will typically drop 1.5 degrees F. per hour unless outside environment is a factor. The liver is the organ that stays warmest the longest, and this temperature is used to establish time of death if the body is found within that time frame.
* After 30 minutes:
6} The skin gets purple and waxy
7} The lips, finger- and toe nails fade to a pale color or turn white as the blood leaves.
8} Blood pools at the lowest parts of the body leaving a dark purple-black stain called lividity
9} The hands and feet turn blue
10} The eyes start to sink into the skull
* After 4 hours:
11} Rigor mortis starts to set in
12} The purpling of the skin and pooling of blood continue
13}
Rigor Mortis begins to tighten the muscles for about another 24 hours, then will reverse and the body will return to a limp state.
* After 12 hours:
14} The body is in full rigor mortis.
* After 24 hours:
15} The body is now the temperature of the surrounding environment
16} In males, the semen dies
17} The head and neck are now a greenish-blue color
18} The greenish-blue color continues to spread to the rest of the body
19} There is the strong smell of rotting meat
20} The face of the person is essentially no longer recognizable