Working tools for death investigation: interval estimates, body charting, wound description, remains, logs, specimens and a downloadable case report.
Postmortem interval from a single rectal temperature using Henssge's double-exponential cooling model, with the published 95% limits. Values shown are a sample case.
Potassium in vitreous humor rises steadily after death and stays useful after the body has cooled to ambient. Draw gently from the center of the globe to avoid retinal contamination. Sample value shown.
Lines up every window against the examination time above and shows where they overlap. Uses the Henssge and vitreous results, plus what you record here.
Rigor and livor windows are broad textbook ranges for temperate conditions. A failure to overlap usually means an assumption is wrong (body moved, heat source, unusual temperature at death).
Fill in what you see, then copy the standardized description or add it to the case report. Locate wounds from fixed landmarks: centimeters below the top of the head and right or left of the anterior or posterior midline. Sample values shown.
Typical handgun findings at the entrance wound. Distances vary widely with firearm, ammunition and intervening clothing. Range opinions need test-firing of the same weapon and ammunition. Examine clothing before it is removed.
| Range | Typical Distance | Findings at Entrance |
|---|---|---|
| Contact, Hard | 0 | Soot and seared margins within the wound, muzzle imprint, cherry-red carboxyhemoglobin in tissue. Stellate tearing over bone such as the skull. |
| Contact, Loose / Angled | 0 | Soot around and in the wound; eccentric soot pattern when the muzzle is angled. |
| Near Contact | < 1 cm | Wide zone of seared, blackened skin with soot overlying it; little or no stippling. |
| Intermediate | ~1 cm – 60/100 cm | Powder stippling (punctate abrasions that cannot be wiped off). Soot usually present up to about 20–30 cm. Stippling spreads wider and sparser as distance increases. |
| Distant | beyond stippling range | Round or oval defect with abrasion ring only; no soot or stippling. Cannot distinguish 2 m from 20 m. |
| Exit | — | Usually irregular, slit-like or stellate, no abrasion ring. A shored exit (skin against a firm surface) can show an abrasion margin. |
Trotter and Gleser regression formulas, using maximum bone length. Lower-limb bones are more accurate than upper-limb bones. Modern casework tools such as FORDISC are preferred where available. Sample value shown.
For decomposed remains found on land. Score each region, and the Megyesi et al. (2005) equation converts the total body score to the accumulated degree-days (0 °C base) needed to reach it. Temperatures from the nearest weather station work best, corrected against on-scene readings where possible.
Region descriptions are condensed from the published scoring tables; check the paper for borderline cases. Not validated for burial, water or indoor climate control.
A rough sense of what the oldest insects on a body might mean, for typical blow flies (Calliphoridae) at about 21–25 °C. Development speeds up in heat and slows sharply in cold. Use it to decide whether to call a forensic entomologist, not to report an interval.
| Stage | Approx. Day | Day 0 · 5 · 10 · 15 · 20 | Field Note |
|---|
| # | Time | Item | Where Found | Collected By | Bag / Seal |
|---|
A general autopsy collection guide. Your laboratory's own requirements take precedence. Label every container with the case number, specimen, site, date, time and collector.
| Specimen | Amount | Container | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Femoral (Peripheral) Blood | 2 × 10 mL | Gray top (sodium fluoride / potassium oxalate) | Preferred for drug quantitation; least affected by postmortem redistribution. Tie off or clamp the vessel and draw from the distal side. |
| Heart (Central) Blood | 2 × 10 mL | Gray top, plus one red top | Screening and comparison with femoral levels. Central concentrations can be falsely high. |
| Vitreous Humor | all available, both eyes | Red top or sterile tube, no additive | Alcohol confirmation, electrolytes, glucose, urea, creatinine. Resistant to putrefaction. |
| Urine | all available | Sterile container or gray top | Drug screening and exposure history. |
| Gastric Contents | all; record total volume | Plastic container, no preservative | Recent oral ingestion; note pill fragments and odor. |
| Liver | ~50 g, deep right lobe | Plastic container, no preservative | When blood is unavailable or decomposed; drug accumulation. |
| Bile | all available | Red top or sterile tube | Opiates and some other drugs concentrate here. |
| Hair | pencil-thick lock | Foil or envelope, root end marked | Longer-term drug history; cut close to the scalp at the back of the head. |
| Blood Card | spots on card | Filter paper card, air-dried | DNA and identification; stable at room temperature. |
Under N.C.G.S. 130A-383(a), a death must be reported to the medical examiner when it:
Checked against the statute text, October 2026. Read § 130A-383
Typical onset windows in a temperate indoor setting (about 18–22 °C). Heat, sepsis, obesity and exertion before death speed these up; cold and emaciation slow them. Use for corroboration only.
| Finding | Typical Timing | 0 h · 24 h · 48 h · 72 h+ | Notes |
|---|
Part I is a single causal chain, read upward: each line is due to the line below it. The lowest filled line is the underlying cause, the disease or injury that started the sequence. Part II lists other significant conditions that contributed but are not in the chain.
Sample wording. Interval column shows approximate onset to death.
These are mechanisms or terminal events. They say how someone died, not why. Name the condition that produced them.
Cardiac arrest / cardiopulmonary arrestRespiratory arrest or respiratory failure aloneMultiple organ failure without its causeOld age without a disease processExsanguination without the injury or lesionMI or CHF; write them outFill in the case details, choose which sections to include, and download a PDF built from everything entered across the kit. Case details are saved in this browser only.