It seems obvious that a forensic autopsy, on a body out in the elements for 3+ weeks, is far from an exact science. Even if she was killed right after the restaurant, would her stomach contents be decomposed so much at that point to make it impossible to link to the restaurant? I would tend to think so, but I'm obviously no expert.
It seems a few people were expecting the autopsy to narrow down the TOD to the minute. Assuming BL did it (safe assumption, imo), we know the TOD was between the 27th and 30th. The autopsy didn't help narrow down that window any. I think the important thing is that (hopefully) nothing in the autopsy contradicts that window.
Personally, I'm a little skeptical of the autopsy window given (22nd to 29th (unofficial dates, I know)). It just seems pretty convenient how well it lines up with what was already known, or assumed.
Like, what if dr. Blue gave a window of the 26th thru the 2nd? There would be endless debates about how BL possibly COULDN'T have done it.
I'm not saying that the fix is in, or that there is something nefarious going on. I just think that the autopsy window would probably have been a little different if the TOD hadn't already been narrowed down (presumably) to a few days before the autopsy was even conducted. We are, after all, all human.
JMO
So much is known about what bodies do in different tempss, on different kinds of surfaces, in varying humidity, etc., that I would say it is as exact a science as figuring out whether a person needs a certain dose of medicine, depending on their size. There are thousands of studies, two major body farms,. and 5 decades of carefully collected data.
First, the body begins to break down all of the cells in the soft tissue. This is accompanied by the production of various enzymes, whose rates are correlated closely with temperature and humidity (especially temperature). The ME and Coroner know more about the temps at Spread Creek than we do, I'm sure.
The reason that they have a week long window (which is pretty narrow) is that there was probably not a lot of mold or mildew in the area - some, enough to get a window on that stage of decomp. It's really unlikely that all insects, birds and rodents would have avoided the body, so I doubt there's much evidence of what a last meal would have been. It's possible - but that takes sending samples to specialists. There's been no word whether they hired an (expensive) forensic entomologist or not - but they must have preserved the evidence needed for that analysis to take place. I think they could still hire one - if they find BL. Why bother and use up a precious expert resource if he's not found?
I'm not sure why some think 7 days is a wide window. I do not think the pathologists and the ME used alleged facts about restaurant visits or texts to determine cause of death - that's not how it works. The Coroner will include that information in the final report, if it is verified but the autopsy itself focuses on what is known about the body.
Since most of us believe the Merry Piglets visit occurred, that does narrow the window. I wrote a fairly lengthy post about it last night.
IMO, there's no way that the medical examiner worked backwards from any outside facts, as that would be assuming way too much about BL's movements and GP's as well. A ME's job is to do an autopsy, not to go out into the field and ask people at restaurants questions - that's a different aspect to the investigation. Nor would the ME be watching the Bethune's video in order to make a determination of ToD.
Wyoming ME's are well versed in WY conditions. I trust the ME implicitly and believe they found the best expert (from Sheridan) that they could.
Being kept just above freezing for some of the time that Gabby was out there would have slowed decomp a little, so it is possible that they could find evidence of last meals...maybe. A lot depends on whether she was face up or face down. It does not appear that any large scavengers discovered her or by the time they did, there wasn't enough for them to bother. It is usually ravens who get there first (and stand/fly around the various campsites in the area, at the ready).
I should add that even a non-entomologist is going to know how to use the various (often generational) evidence from insects to help determine time of death, and there may not be a lot of exotic insects at Spread Creek. The creek itself had very little water in it and from photos I've seen, I'm pretty sure I could cross it easily and would be unlikely to get much of my boots wet.
A Coroner's full report is different than an autopsy report...once all the verified data are combined, the window of Gabby's death will be August 27 to August 29...(using Merry Piglets). During that entire time, I believe it will be easily established that the van was parked within a few hundred feet of where she was found.
