Establishing time of death

Name: Date: Assume the people referred to in the following questions were normal, healthy people before death. Normal healthy body temperature is 37.2C. Even though heat, cold and drugs can speed up or slow down processes after a person dies, changes in the body can assist in determining the time of death. The body goes through three stages (see the Forensic science website for information: Stages leading to Rigor Mortis 1. Show all working when answering this question: a) Calculate the body temperature of a man who has been dead for three hours.

b) What is the body temperature of a woman who has been dead for 2 hours and 40 minutes?

c) How long has a child with a body temperature of 35.5C been dead?

d) The body of a 15-year-old boy had a temperature of 33.59C. Approximately how many hours and minutes has he been dead?

e) At 5:00 pm police arrive at a murder scene. The body temperature of the victim was 35.9C. At approximately what time was the victim murdered?

2. When a medical examiner investigated a body, she noticed that the skin was dark red from the collection of red blood cells along the right side of the body. The people who found the body said that it was lying face down when they found it. Had the body been moved after death? Explain your answer.

3. When bushwalkers found a body in a camping ground they noticed that it was cold and partly stiff. Approximately how long had the person been dead? Explain your answer.