Chapter 4 - A medicolegal approach to postmortem interval estimation

Abstract

The postmortem interval, also referred to as the time since death, is the amount of time that has accrued between the moment of death and the time of discovery. It is one of the most sought out question in a death investigation as it can assist investigators with recognizing the circumstances and timing surrounding the death. The postmortem interval can be established through the analysis of physical and chemical decomposition changes of the body. While there is a plethora of research that attempts to quantify the qualitative process of decomposition, despite these efforts, the accuracy of postmortem interval estimation has been relatively low.