Influence of hypo- and hyperthermia on death time estimation - A simulation study

Area of Science:

• Forensic Science
• Thermodynamics
• Physiology

Background:

• Body core temperature deviations (hypothermia, hyperthermia) can affect post-mortem interval estimations.
• Thermodynamic principles have not been extensively applied to quantify these biases.
• Accurate death time estimation is crucial in forensic investigations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the extent to which hypothermia and hyperthermia bias temperature-based death time estimations.
• To quantify the errors introduced by pre-mortem body core temperatures deviating from normothermia.
• To analyze the temporal dynamics of these estimation errors.

Main Methods:

• Numerical simulations were employed to model post-mortem cooling.
• The study simulated scenarios with initial hypothermic and hyperthermic body core temperatures.
• Thermodynamic principles were applied to analyze heat transfer dynamics.

Main Results:

• Significant errors in death time estimations occur when pre-mortem body core temperatures deviate from normothermia (approx. 37°C).
• The most substantial biases are observed within the first few hours post-mortem.
• As post-mortem time increases and body core temperature decreases, the estimation error diminishes and eventually stabilizes.

Conclusions:

• Pre-mortem body core temperature is a critical factor influencing the accuracy of temperature-based post-mortem interval estimations.
• Thermodynamic modeling demonstrates that hypothermia and hyperthermia introduce predictable errors, especially early after death.
• Forensic practitioners should consider pre-mortem thermal status to improve the reliability of death time estimates.