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Postmortem Changes of Human Bodies on the Bathyal Sea Floor--Two Cases of Aircraft Accidents Above the Open Sea

NCJ Number
224713
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 53 Issue: 5 Dated: September 2008 Pages: 1049-1052
Author(s)
Thomas K. Dumser Dr.Med.; Michael Turkay Dr.Phil. Nat.
Date Published
September 2008
Length
4 pages
Annotation
Based on data from human remains recovered from two fatal open-sea aircraft accidents (west of Namibia and south of Sicily), this study documented postmortem changes in bodies recovered from a depth of 540-580 m (both cases) after 3 months (Namibia) and 34 days (Sicily).
Abstract
Study findings in these two cases, together with findings of cases in a literature review, suggest that under the conditions of the tropholytic zone of the deep sea, the rate and mode of the decomposition of human remains can vary significantly. Findings show that the degradation of larger biogenic objects, including human bodies, in the sea is not influenced by only ambient parameters and bacterial floras; the speed and time scales are mainly influenced by the specific faunal composition of the necrophageous communities, which scientists are just beginning to understand. Thus, the interpretation of evidence in such cases can only be done by a forensic scientist with oceanographic knowledge. Further, if scavenging is restricted by wreckage structures or the victim’s tight-fitting clothes, the course of decomposition may be similar to that of bodies that have decomposed in lakes or coastal waters. In the Namibia case, fully skeletonized bones were lifted. In the Sicily case, a complete, dressed body was found with a partially skeletonized skull, starting adipocere formation and pink teeth. 24 references