Fall 2021 Post 12 *Images not for the faint of HEART*

And then there was blotting …

Once the body reaches the bloating stage, the critters consuming the body change again.

“That would be four to five days on nice warm summer days,” says Lents. “By then your margin of error is measured in days—even [a] couple of days.” The body bloats as a byproduct of bacterial activity in the organs, leading to an accumulation of gases. Lents is researching how measuring skin bacteria can help investigators get narrow windows weeks after death. Others have homed in on bacteria in the small intestine.

“I’ve used bacteria to get a two-day window, out to about six weeks,” he says. “You’re pretty deep into decomposition by that point.” As of yet, study of bloat-related bacteria isn’t far enough along to be used in investigations, but Lents is optimistic that that will change soon.

Ref:

https://www.aetv.com/real-crime/how-is-time-of-death-determined-for-a-crime-scene-victim-hint-it-usually-involves-maggots