Free Essay

Stages of Death

In:

Submitted By abrnardic
Words 1468
Pages 6
Stages of Death
IND 105 Crime Scene Investigation
Anne Marie Brnardic
April 12, 2013

Estimating the time of death is critical to any crime scene cases. The different stages of death can be very important especially when you find a body that has been dead for days. Knowing the stages of death gives a good determination of when a crime was committed. When finding a body or crime, there are normally two different known points for when determining a crime, that is to find the time the body was found and to figure out the last time that person were actually known to still be living. (M. Lee Goff. 2010) As soon as death occurs, there are different changes that the body goes through to change it. When this happens, it can effect a the physical makeup and image of the body before the decomposition changes occur. (M. Lee Goff. 2010)
There are many stages of death that someone can go through that can happen relatively fast. The three early postmortem changes of death are called Algor Mortis, Rigor Mortis, and Livor Mortis. Each of these stages affect the body differently that cause certain actions to occur on the body after post mortem starts to happen. Algor Mortis is the state when death has happened and the body stops the regulation of its normal temperature. This means the normal temperature of the body begins to cool until the entire body is cooled to a non-existent temperature. This can take place right away and last up to 18 hours. (M. Lee Goff. 2010) Rigor Mortis is the state of death when a chemical change happens in the body, which causes the muscles to stiffen and make changes in the myofibrils of the muscle tissues. Rigor Mortis can be first noticed within 2-6 hours following the occurrence of death. This state can last 24 to 84 hours after it started and last until the muscles begin to relax. (M. Lee Goff. 2010) Livor Mortis is a physical process the body goes through. When death happens, circulation of the blood stops and starts to settle to the lowest point on the body if on an object or surface. The body ends up having discoloration with the part of the body that is closest to a point of contact. This state can happen one hour after death. (M. Lee Goff. 2010)
Other stages of death can be ones like Tache Noir, which is something that can happen to the eyes if they remained open and exposed. If part of the cornea were exposed then it would cause the eye to dry out and leave a greenish or black discoloration. Another effect that can happen to the body is Greenish Discoloration or Marbling of the skin. Greenish Discoloration is when the gases that are produced in the abdomen are spread out in the body that causes a greenish coloring in the blood vessels and other areas of the body. Marbling creates a purple to greenish discoloration. This is sometimes known to present itself similar to a mosaic appearance such as a cracking design. Skin slippage is also common upon death.
In a moist or wet environment, skin slippage can cause the skin to separate and disconnect. However, if this happens, the fingerprints of the skin are still clear enough to get fingerprints if needed. Mummification can happen in a dry climate, whether it is extremely hot or extremely cold in this type of situation. The skin can begin to look to have a leathery appearance, which allows the body to last in its normal looking state for long periods of time, especially with very little change from the temperatures of the weather. Saponification is said to be when the tissues take on a waxy look to them, also having a consistency of the waxy feeling from being submerged or floating in water.
(M. Lee Goff. 2010)

Decomposition is a process that does not stop, starting with the point at which the death occurred and ending when the body has been skeletonized. (M. Lee Goff. 2010) Human decomposition is very quick and begins roughly four minutes after death. This happens because carbon dioxide in the blood increases, pH decreases, the cells of the body are starved from oxygen, and wastes accumulates, which poisons the cells with their toxins. (Arpad A. Vass, Stacy-Ann Barshick, Gary Sega, John Caton, James T. Skeen, Jennifer C. Love, and Jennifer A., Synstelien. 2002) After the decomposition starts, the body has now moved into the ambient temperature known as Algor Mortis. Also resulting in the blood settling in the body to cause discoloration of the skin known as Livor Mortis. Lastly the cytoplasm has gelled together because of the increased acidic in the body known as Rigor Mortis. (E. C. Bate-Smith, J. R. Bendall) At this point, putrefaction can take place. Putrefaction is known as destroying the soft tissues of the body by the action of microorganisms. From the bacteria, fungi, and protozoa, it results in the destructiveness of tissue into gases, liquids, and simple molecules. (Arpad A. Vass, Stacy-Ann Barshick, Gary Sega, John Caton, James T. Skeen, Jennifer C. Love, and Jennifer A., Synstelien. 2002) Bacteria, Fungi, and Molds can also be a good determination to tell when death took place. While alive, your body fights of bacteria all the time. You can get bacteria from any place or at any time. When the human dies, it is hard for the body to keep bacteria in the place it is supposed to be, for example the kidneys. Shortly after death, the body cannot fight off the bacteria anymore, which is where the bacteria start to take over, beginning with the inside out. (M. Lee Goff. 2010)

The skin can say a lot about an incident especially if it gives away clues about the time and method of killing or trauma. The body can have postmortem damage caused by species activity. You can find different activity by noticing feces on the body or anything else left behind near the body. You might also be able to tell what happened by any lacerations or bite marks that were left from an animal. (Kalpana Reddy and Eve J. Lowenstein 2011)

Another way to tell how long the body has been dead is by using the insect activity to determine the time of death. Different insects are attracted to the body at different times after death. This time period of insect activity will show the most recent time of death since it occurred, which can help determine the correct time of death. (M. Lee Goff. 2010) After decomposition starts, the insects feed on the body from the time the person died. There are different insects that can be attracted to the body thorough different stages the body goes through. For example, some insects could be the true flies (Diptera), blow flies (Calliphoridae), or flesh flies (Sarcophagidae), which are normally the early invaders. (Barbara Winter. 2010) The longer the body is exposed, the more it will attract other insects such as spiders, centipedes, and millipedes. There are many ways insects can be used to help solve a crime or estimate the time since death.

We are discovering faster and easier ways to determine death. With the technology we have today, we are able to narrow down the time of the crime and where it took place based on the remains of a body. Knowing the different stages of death can be very important at any moment. Working in this type of atmosphere is not always pleasing. You have no choice but to work with what you have, but in the end you find out it might just be exactly what you needed to solve a crime.

Sources

Arpad A. Vass, Stacy-Ann Barshick, Gary Sega, John Caton, James T. Skeen, Jennifer C. Love, and Jennifer A., Synstelien. 2002. Decomposition Chemistry of Human Remains: A New Methodology for Determining the Postmortem Interval. Page 542-553

Dr. Barbara Winter Simon Fraser University. 2010. Forensic Entomology of the Use of Insects in Death Investigations. Online Journal article
E. C. Bate-Smith, J. R. Bendall. December. Factors determining the time course of rigor mortis. The Journal of Physiology Pages 47-65

Kalpana Reddy and Eve J. Lowenstein. May 2011. Forensics in dermatology: Part 1 Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology Volume 64, Issue 5 Pages 801-808

M. Lee Goff. 2010. Early Postmortem Changes and Stages of Decomposition. Current Concepts in Forensic Entomology Pages 1- 23

M. Sinha, S. Lalwani, R. Mir, S. Sharma, T.D. Dogra, T.P. Singh. October- December 2012. A Preliminary Molecular Study on Protein Profile of Vital Organs: A New Direction for Post Mortem Interval Determination. J Indian Acad Forensic Med Volume:34, Number 4 292-294

Similar Documents

Free Essay

Five Stages of Death

...Five Stages of death The five stages of death are denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. When my mom’s sister died and she requested some time off from work, she found herself talking to herself a lot and being very anti social. She would say things like 'I'm fine, there is nothing wrong with me'. She kept saying to her siblings and to us that we were liars, and that her sister was still here. My mom had a lot of Anger in her, she kept saying 'Why me? Why is this happening to me? It's not fair, my only sister'. She started going through the anger when she started realizing that she could not continue with their denial. A person who is dying will try to bargain with themselves or with God. They will say things like “let me live just a little longer” or “if I do this, let me see my next birthday”. At this point this is when the person thinks they can push their death to a later date. My mom went through a lot of depression when her sister died. She lost a lot of weight, she barely ate and her hair started falling out. My mom thought since her sister was gone and she was eventually going to die at a point- what was the purpose to live?. Everything reminded my mom of her. She began to cry at random times, she wouldn’t let anyone help her or see her and she was very isolated for weeks. When weeks went by and my mom began to go back to her old life she began to accept it. She realized that her sister was in a better place now instead of the pain she was going through...

Words: 317 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

The Different Stages Of Lorca's Death

...Within the grief stricken poets words he writes, the reader can easily depict that he is making his way through what is known today as the stages of grief. Exploring through his feelings of denial, anger, and acceptance we can paint a vivid image of this mans feelings towards the death of Ignacio the bullfighter. First, the explanation itself of what denial really means. In this stage, the world becomes meaningless and overwhelming. Life makes no sense. Most people are in a state of shock and denial. People go numb. (Ross) The text refers to this feeling when Lorca is explaining how he will not see the death of his friend Ignacio. Lorca writes tell the moon to come for I do not want to see the blood of Ignacio on the sand. I will not see it! (Lorca 1416) This stage is something that for most is one of the hardest stages to work through. In the mind of some one who has suffered the loss of a loved one the thought of just denying the death of a loved one is easier than just accepting their fate....

Words: 442 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Cognitive Psych

...Women in Psychology Introduction Before recent times, many doctors, or physicians did not want to treat people with terminal illnesses. People with terminal illnesses were often considered as a humiliation to doctors or physicians, as the doctors and physicians were frequently thought of as failures because they could not treat or cure those individuals with life-threatening illnesses. Many times the doctors or physicians justification as to why patients with incurable illnesses were dying was that there was nothing more that could be done, and that there were countless demands that required the doctors or physicians time. The doctor’s unsympathetic and heartless ways towards the terminally ill was ostracized by a doctor from Switzerland by the name of Elizabeth Kubler-Ross. Thus, she decided to spend time with the patients who were terminally ill to both comfort and study them. This paper will discuss the background of Elizabeth-Kubler-Ross, her theoretical perspective as well as her contributions to the field of psychology. (Chapman, A, 2006). Background Elizabeth Kubler-Ross was born in Zurich, Switzerland, on the 8th day of July in 1926. She was a sister of triplets and a sister to a brother. Elizabeth desperately searched for uniqueness. It was hard enough being a triplet but having a sister who looked exactly the same as her was taking an even bigger toll on her. Since then need to be unique was so bothersome for Elizabeth she would often escape to one of her...

Words: 1514 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

The Emotional Stages of Dying and What They Pertain?

...Emotional Stages of Dying and What They Pertain? When a person is faced with dying there are several stages of emotions that they go through. These emotional stages are something that needs to be explained as it pertains to each of us in life one day. We all will be faced with dying one day and knowing what it means to go through something so dramatic can make a person more aware of their feelings and their emotions. Us becoming aware of our emotions in such a trying time as death or dying is something that we must take hold of in order to stay strong. Becoming aware of these emotions can tear us down or it can make us stronger and diligent in welcoming death. These emotions are a way for us to let our fears and our anger to manifest itself and not to hold and grasp onto that emotion that literally tear us up on the inside. The family or loved ones must feel a variety of emotions as well and my paper will explain all these emotions that we face when death comes knocking at your door. The path that I will follow in seeking this out is websites that pertain to emotions and death or dying. I will incorporate my own feelings I felt towards the death of my oldest son. I will follow each stage of these emotions in detail. The websites that I will be utilizing in my search will be the sites that pertain to death and the emotions that we feel. These are some of the websites I will be using as well as the use of some periodicals that pertain to emotions and death. ...

Words: 2211 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

Research Proposal on Grief

...bereavement (Mallon, 2008). He contributed the idea that grief is not “pathological” and that grief occurs not only for the loss of a loved one but also for things, values, and statuses (Walter & McCoyd, 2009). Since then, the study of grief had been popularized. More experts have specialized in the field and more publications regarding death and grief were released. Kübler-Ross, Doka, Bowlby, and Worden are just few names who had pioneered the study of grief and other related studies. And in fact, a new field of science had been found which includes the study of grief; that is thanatology. Indeed, the study of grief was granted what academic interest it had been lacking before. The sudden spurt of studies in this field has certainly increased people’s understanding of grief in certain aspects. But it is ironic that despite being a subject of thorough research, the experience of grief remains more or less a vague occurrence which people has to go through at some point in their lives. Attempts had been made in defining grief but the definitions given by different theorists still vary to a considerable extent. Even the stages of grief that they proposed, as they admit it, are abstract assumptions which mourners do not necessarily go through in a linear manner. Although there maybe differences among authors and in the theories of grief that they proposed, they seem to agree on one thing: people experience grief differently (Matzo, 2009). These differences reflect...

Words: 3692 - Pages: 15

Premium Essay

Miss

...from high birth rates and death rates to low birth and death rates as a country develops from a pre-industrial to an industrialized economic system. This is typically demonstrated through a demographic transition model. The theory is based on an interpretation of demographic history developed in 1919 by the American demographer Warren Thompson. Thompson observed changes (transitions) in birth and death rates in industrialized societies over the previous 200 years. Most developed countries are in stage 4 of the model; the majority of developing countries have reached stage 3. The major (relative) exceptions are some poor countries, mainly in sub-Saharan Africa and some Middle Eastern countries, which are poor or affected by government policy or civil strife, notably Pakistan, Palestinian Territories, Yemen and Afghanistan. The DTM was first observed in the two centuries preceding 1950 in what are today’s economically developed countries. Prior to this, these developed countries experienced high death rates matched by high birth rates, resulting in a stable population size. But then improving living standards and public health measures, such as the public health acts, caused death rates to drop, followed by a gradual drop in birth rates, which by the 1970s matched the death rates again. Between the decline in the death rates and drop in birth rates, population surged in developed countries, actually quadrupling the population. But the original 4 stages are over, and most developed...

Words: 1882 - Pages: 8

Free Essay

Death and Dying-Lament for a Son

...Introduction The occurrence of death marks the end of the life process for all living beings. It is a devastating event that is all too familiar to those in the healthcare field. For the loved ones that are left behind, grief and mourning are universal emotions that are experienced when coping with a loss of such magnitude (Axelrod, 2014). The writer will address the five stages of grief as experienced throughout Lament for a son, written by Nicholas Wolterstoff, who lost his twenty-five year old son in a mountain climbing accident. The Five Stages of Death Life and death are two aspects of the same reality (Corr & Corr, 2012). Bereavement is the period of mourning and grief that occurs after the death of a loved one. How one expresses their grief is unique to each individual. According to Elisabeth Kubler-Ross (1969), there are five stages of grief as described in her book On Death and Dying. The first stage is denial, which is the response experienced when an individual first learns of the death of their loved one. The second stage is anger, which includes one becoming angry at God and asking Him why did this happen to their loved one. The third stage is bargaining, which can range from the survivor thinking if things went differently, the individual would still be alive to bargaining with God, that if He allowed their dying loved one to live, they would change their ways. The fourth stage is depression, due to despair, the survivor may desire giving up on life because...

Words: 874 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Death, Dying, and Bereavement

...08 Fall Test One, Take Home Test 1,2,3 Jamella Aljumail [JAljumail@mercycollege.edu] Mercy College of Ohio REL 250:01- Death, Dying, and Bereavement Dr. Karen Elliott, C.PP.S. September 15, 2013 Question 1: Chapter 3 discusses the understanding of death in the Native American, African, Mexican, Asian, Celtic, and Hawaiian cultures. Choose ONE of the cultures discussed and state specifically what, in that culture’s understanding of death, is particularly meaningful to you. Explain in detail WHY it is meaningful. Mexican cultures “joked about death and poke fun at it in their art, literature and music”. In early times Aztecs believed in the sacrificial rights. Aztecs believed that a person who was a sacrificial victim was known to be the “divine dead”. Mexicans also believed a way a person lives, that’s the way a person will die. “Tell me how you die and I will tell you who you are” (DeSpelder and Strickland, 2005). Mexicans decorate graves and death is apart of everyday life in the Mexican culture. Mexican cultures have a day to celebrate the dead called El Dia de los Muertos. The celebration begins the evening of November 1st and goes into the next morning. Mexican also believe that “shedding to many tears and excessive grief may make the pathway traveled by the dead slippery” (DeSpelder and Strickland, 2005). In Islam, we follow the Quran and the beliefs that the prophet passed on to us (it states in the hadith). In my Muslim belief that the prophet (peace...

Words: 1288 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

A Child's Perception of Death

...A Child's Perception of Death Lisa Woolfolk Northcentral University Abstract Children do not perceive death is the same way as adults (citation). This paper examines a child’s perception of death and the development changes that children experience when trying to understand death. Articles by psychologists Maria H. Nagy and Sylvia Anthony are compared and contrasted to other scholarly articles on death and bereavement therapy, in particular therapy for children. Researchers Nagy and Anthony’s proposed model of children’s concepts of death shows the developmental changes children experience when trying to understand death. Their research is validated by Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development (citation). Piaget’s model is accepted by professional psychologists as a scholarly index of the cognitive development of children. Piaget’s theory supports articles by Nagy and Anthony (citation). Barbara Kane’s research supports Maria Nagy and Anthony’s developmental model, however Kane’s research disputes Nagy’s suggestion that children tend to personify death (citation). Finally, the research of Gerald P. Koocher is compared and contrasted to Nagy and Anthony’s article. Koocher’s research links Piaget’s developmental model to the development of the children's conceptualizations of death. Koocher’s article also suggests that culture is an important factor that influences the conceptualization of death (citation).   My particular field of...

Words: 1260 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Death and Dying

...Death and Dying How a positive attitude may help us to overcome death with dignity. Agnieszka Schultes North Island College ESL 090 Suzanne Schiller June 21, 2013 TABLE OF CONTENT 1. Introduction 3 2. Definition of Death 4 3. Religious Views of Death 6 4. Psychological Assessment of Death 8 5. Face to Face with Death 10 6. Facing Death with Dignity 12 7. Conclusion 14 8. References List 15 Introduction The human understanding of death and our own mortality seems to change drastically throughout history, as well as the various cognitive and physical developments experienced by different cultures. One can only begin understanding the concept of death clearly however, if they are to encounter an experience that is somehow related with it themselves. According to Frank Rosenzweig, a very famous Jewish theologian as well as scholar, in a study he and his colleagues previously conducted, they found out that: “by the age of 65, about 50% of women and 10% of men have suffered the loss of a spouse at least once…” (as cited in Kesler, 2003, p. 54). So, based on the research given above, one may safely assume that quite a few of us will eventually witness someone dying in a very personal manner; but the real question is, do we truly understand the nature of death? And what does our society, as well as religious beliefs, say about this understanding? Definition of Death In various...

Words: 2106 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

Grief Essay

...Dwyer Grief Essay In this paper I will discuss the five stages of grief which have been identified as: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance (Kubler – Ross, 2014). The stages don’t always come in order and there is no specific time frame, which a person goes thru them (Kubler-Ross, 2014). Kubler Ross explains the five stages as follows: Denial which is usually the first stage, where the person can’t believe that it is happening to them. Anger person may become angry with themselves, family members, network or even God. Holding everyone responsible for their plight (Kubler-Ross, 2014). They begin to bargain/negotiate with God to allow me to make it thru this situation or allow me to stay around long enough to make sure my family will be safe (Kubler-Ross, 2014). They become depressed and despondent giving up hope as well as all sense of positivity (Kubler-Ross, 2014). The last and final stage is acceptance of their fate. They have made peace with God and their inner circle, most importantly with themselves (Kubler-Ross, 2014). Although the Kubler-Ross model is a process for dealing with death, she original wrote it as stages dealing with any form of major personal loss (Larry Menkes). All cultures handle death differently, In Switzerland they accept death as a part of life. They compare it with birth, as a process and people are allowed to die at home surrounded by family and friends...

Words: 873 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Grief Research Paper

...Byron Colbert PSY-100 5/28/16 Kevin Salcido Elisabeth Kubler Ross was a psychiatrist and revolutionizes how people view death and dying. She would listen to dying patients a give them a public form. She came up with five stages of grief. They stages are denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. These stages are used universally. In the first stage that I will discuss is denial. In this stage people may deny the reality of the situation by blocking out the words and hiding from the facts ("5 Stages of Loss & Grief | Psych Central," n.d.-a). For instance, someone could be diagnosed with some form of cancer. That person may not want to know because it might overwhelm them. So they would not want to know the reality of that situation. The second stage would be anger. When denial is no longer working, anger comes into play. People can express anger at a lot of things including themselves ("5 Stages of Loss & Grief | Psych Central," n.d.-b). For example, if someone died unexpectedly and you thought that you could have prevented that death, you could be angry with yourself for not doing all that you could. You could also direct your anger to anyone who could be blamed. The third stage is bargaining. In this stage a person has hope they could have avoided the cause of grief. Sometimes it could be negotiations for an extended life ("Kübler-Ross model explained," n.d.-a). It could be that someone got in a terrible accident and you might think you could have saved...

Words: 1009 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

The Five Stages of Grief

...The Three Stages Of Grief Grief is an emotion that we all experience in one point of our lives. It is sparingly, complex and found hard to overcome. There are three stages to the process of grieving. Each consist of denial, anger, and depression. Individuals say that if you get stuck in one stage you are not done yet the process of grieving. In Alice Sebold’s novel “The Lovely Bones,” characters Lindsey, Jack, and Abigail all go through these stages when Susie Salmon is raped and murdered. The first character who goes through the three stages is Lindsey who has a very distinct way of going through the stages. The next character that proceeds throughout the stages is Jack who grieves immensely. Finally Abigail, who distances herself from her family to complete her process of grieving. In this novel each character proves that after someone dies it is crucial to go through the three stages of grief in order to move on with life. To begin, Lindsey is the first character to experience the three stages of grief. Lindsey suffers a lot and correspondingly goes through the three stages of grief; the first stage being denial. When Lindsey returns to her school her principal Mr.Caden brings her into his office and sympathizes for her situation. Lindsey becomes angry and remarks. “ I wasn’t aware I had lost anything” (Sebold 33). This shows that Lindsey is still in denial. She is still not ready to expect the fact that her sister is now gone forever. However she is now on the road to...

Words: 1559 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Child Grief Research Paper

...that are practiced or naturally developed to help relieve the pain of the hardship. Death is a natural challenge that occurs to all people and everyone reacts and responds to it in a different way. It is an inevitable factor of life, but most children don’t understand that. After going through various developmental stages and experiencing personal events pertaining to death, children form their individual thoughts on how to deal with a loss of something or someone valuable. Children go through different stages in life in which they develop different thoughts pertaining to death....

Words: 1628 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Grief In Adulthood

...Abstract Death is a natural and occurring process throughout life, and grieving on the death of a loved is something that we most always exhibit. There are different types of processes for grieving depending on the person’s stage in life. Most people will have depression, anxiety, loss of appetite and interest in hobbies when someone they love has passed away. Grieving changes throughout adulthood because people go throughout different stages of development at different ages, and depending on the stage that person may grieve independently to that of someone younger or older than them.   Death and Grieving throughout Adulthood Introduction Adulthood as explained by the psychologists is the age just after the individual passes the stage of...

Words: 1186 - Pages: 5