Determining the time of death is very important in a homicide investigation.
Discuss how changes in the eyes can offer information on time of death.
Determining the time of death is extremely important in homicide cases and is a question almost invariably asked by law-enforcement officers. In cases in which the circumstances of the death suggest that the death was caused by homicide, suicide or accident; determining the time of death is extremely difficult, and accuracy is impossible (Mahoney Criminal Defense Group, 2011).
However, the bulb of the eye, or organ of sight, is contained in the cavity of the orbit, where it is protected from injury; therefore, the eyes are very helpful in determining the time of death in homicide cases. According to Barry A. J. Fisher, “after death, changes become noticeable in the eyes. The cornea becomes dull and the film appears over the eyes. This may appear within several minutes to a few hours depending on whether the eyelid is open or closed, temperature, humidity, and air current” (Fisher, 2004).
Other factor important factors that a medical examiner, pathologist, and coroner should consider when performing autopsy on the deceased include:
The temperature of the body and the rate of cooling
The degree of postmortem lividity (hypostasis)
The degree of rigor mortis
Putrefaction
Insect activity
Analyzing stomach contents
Works Cited
Mahoney Criminal Defense Group. (2011). Retrieved Octomber 20, 2011, from Relentless Defense: http://www.relentlessdefense.com/forensics/autopsy/
Fisher, B. A. (2004). Techniques of Crime Scene Investigation (Seventh Edition). New York: CRC Press.
The terms medical examiner, pathologist, and coroner – although not necessarily synonymous – usually refer to a physician charged with determining the cause of death. The autopsy ideally includes both a thorough external examination of the body and a probing examination of the internal organs of the body. During the external examination, the pathologist combs the body searching for wounds and injuries, noting deformities, absence of limbs, state of nutrition, and unusual features. The
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