Estimation of the time since death--reconsidering the re-establishment of rigor mortis.
In forensic medicine, there is an undefined data background for the phenomenon of re-establishment of rigor mortis after mechanical loosening, a method used in establishing time since death in forensic casework that is thought to occur up to 8 h post-mortem. Nevertheless, the method is widely described in textbooks on forensic medicine. We examined 314 joints (elbow and knee) of 79 deceased at defined time points up to 21 h post-mortem (hpm). Data were analysed using a random intercept model. Here, we show that re-establishment occurred in 38.5% of joints at 7.5 to 19 hpm. Therefore, the maximum time span for the re-establishment of rigor mortis appears to be 2.5-fold longer than thought so far. These findings have major impact on the estimation of time since death in forensic casework.
Department of Legal Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg Eppendorf, Butenfeld 34, 22529, Hamburg, Germany. s.anders@uke.de
Sven
S
Anders
Michaela
M
Kunz
Axel
A
Gehl
Susanne
S
Sehner
Tobias
T
Raupach
Hans-Peter
HP
Beck-Bornholdt
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004551:Elbow Joint / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D049429:Forensic Pathology; D006801:Humans; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011180:Postmortem Changes; D013997:Time Factors