Human decomposition and the reliability of a ‘Universal’ model for post mortem interval estimations

Cockle, Diane L.; Bell, Lynne

doi:10.1016/j.forsciint.2015.05.018

Cited by 90 publications

(72 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…The time between death and finding a body is called the post-mortem interval (PMI). Determining the PMI is important, because having a time frame can help with the identification of the human remains and contribute to investigate the possible causes of death [ 1 ]. Several methods have been developed to determine the time of death, for example the Henssge-nomogram and the electrical or mechanical stimulation of skeletal muscles [ 2 – 4 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The development of a post-mortem interval estimation for human remains found on land in the Netherlands

et al. 2017

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The decomposition process of human remains can be used to estimate the post-mortem interval (PMI), but decomposition varies due to many factors. Temperature is believed to be the most important and can be connected to decomposition by using the accumulated degree days (ADD). The aim of this research was to develop a decomposition scoring method and to develop a formula to estimate the PMI by using the developed decomposition scoring method and ADD.A decomposition scoring method and a Book of Reference (visual resource) were made. Ninety-one cases were used to develop a method to estimate the PMI. The photographs were scored using the decomposition scoring method. The temperature data was provided by the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute. The PMI was estimated using the total decomposition score (TDS) and using the TDS and ADD. The latter required an additional step, namely to calculate the ADD from the finding date back until the predicted day of death.The developed decomposition scoring method had a high interrater reliability. The TDS significantly estimates the PMI (R 2 = 0.67 and 0.80 for indoor and outdoor bodies, respectively). When using the ADD, the R 2 decreased to 0.66 and 0.56.The developed decomposition scoring method is a practical method to measure decomposition for human remains found on land. The PMI can be estimated using this method, but caution is advised in cases with a long PMI. The ADD does not account for all the heat present in a decomposing remain and is therefore a possible bias.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s00414-017-1700-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The development of a post-mortem interval estimation for human remains found on land in the Netherlands

et al. 2017

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“…Entretanto, a utilização deste íon na previsão do intervalo pós-morte ainda deve ser avaliada com mais cautela, visto que na literatura ainda não há registros que comparem o comportamento dos microelementos durante a decomposição cadavérica de humanos e de mamíferos considerados análogos. 1,9,[41][42][43][44] Com relação ao cobre e ao manganês não foram observadas modificações em suas variações durante o experimento, o que pode ser atribuído ao fato de serem micronutrientes, encontrados em pouca quantidade no organismo de mamíferos. Por serem disponibilizados em baixas concentrações para o solo estes não seriam capazes de mostrar alterações mensuráveis durante a decomposição.…”

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Evaluation of Soil Chemical Properties During Cadaveric Decomposition and its Applications to Forensic Chemistry

et al. 2018

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The estimation of the Post-Mortem Interval (PMI) is a primordial parameter in the investigation of crimes against life. In tropical climate areas, the cadaveric decomposition occurs in an accelerated form, preventing the PMI estimation by usual methods. Understanding how different circumstances affect the cadaveric composition is very important to develop methods that enable the PMI estimation in several climatic conditions. One of the alternatives, however not much explored in Brazil, refers to the use of soil chemistry for the determination of longstanding PMIs. In this research, variations in soil chemical properties were monitored during swine carcasses cadaverous decomposition in a tropical forest area in order to recognize patterns and evaluate the applicability of these by the criminal expertise. Among the evaluated characteristics are the levels of pH, inorganic nitrogen (ammonia and nitrate), total nitrogen, carbon nitrogen proportion (C: N), exchangeable aluminum, available phosphorus and macro and micronutrients. The results showed distinct variations according to the decomposition phases observed and also to the way the carcasses were deposited in the study environment (above or below the soil), evidencing the possibility of using these variations in the development of models for the prediction of postmortem intervals lasting up to 67 days.

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“…On the other hand, there are extrinsic factors like temperature, humidity and insect activity, which can affect the precise estimation of post-mortem interval. Traditional methods to estimate PMI are generally based on physiological changes such as algor mortis, livor mortis and rigor mortis, but those methods can only provide a rough estimation of PMI [2] [3]. Over the years, several molecular-genetic methods using nucleic acid degradation have been developed for the determination of post-mortem interval.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Danio rerio as a model for post-mortem interval estimation based on methylation levels

Pina

Souto

Moreira

2019

Preprint

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Objective The post-mortem interval (PMI) describes the period of time elapsed since death. A precise estimation of PMI has a strong impact in a crime investigation; however, it becomes a complex task due to the influence of intrinsic and extrinsic factors. There are several methods for PMI determination including pathological, biochemical and entomological. Those methodologies have low precision and several practical limitations leading to the emergence of genetic-molecular methods based on degradation of nucleic acids. DNA methylation is a sufficiently stable and time-related epigenetic modification, making it useful for the development of a method to determine PMI. Thus, the methylation levels of a model organism – zebrafish – were analysed since the moment of death, in order to contribute to create a robust model for the PMI estimation.Results In this study, we evaluated the variation in global methylation levels and at the promoter region of EDARADD gene during 6 post-mortem intervals. An increase of global methylation levels in the initial post-mortem intervals was observed, followed by an abrupt decrease until 48h post-mortem. Followed by the amplification of EDARADD’s promoter region by q-PCR and HRM analysis, it was possible to differentiate samples according to relative PMI.

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Human decomposition and the reliability of a ‘Universal’ model for post mortem interval estimations

Cited by 90 publications

References 33 publications

The development of a post-mortem interval estimation for human remains found on land in the Netherlands

The development of a post-mortem interval estimation for human remains found on land in the Netherlands

Evaluation of Soil Chemical Properties During Cadaveric Decomposition and its Applications to Forensic Chemistry

Danio rerio as a model for post-mortem interval estimation based on methylation levels

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