Feasibility of Total Body Score (TBS) and Accumulated Degree Days (ADD) in the Estimation of Postmortem Interval for Forensic Murder Casework

Abstract

Postmortem interval (PMI) is very important in the crime scene investigation. However, it is very difficult to estimate of the interval since death after a decomposition. Recently, there have been various studies on the postmortem interval since a decomposition. In particular, the total body score (TBS) and accumulated degree days (ADD) used to estimate the postmortem interval after a decomposition. This study was conducted with the aim of applying the TBS and ADD to estimate the postmortem interval in real forensic caseworks. In first murder case, TBS was 12 and ADD value was 132, respectively. An estimated time of PMI was around 23:00 on June 21, and the suspect's statement was 01:20 on June 22. Our estimated interval since death and the suspect's statement for the PMI differ by only 2 hours and 20 minutes. In second forensic case, TBS was 3 and ADD value was 55, respectively, an estimated time of PMI was around 02:26 on September 23. The suspect's statement was 10:30 on September 23. Our estimated time and the suspect's statement for the PMI differ by 8 hours. In these cases, we were able to have confirmed the feasibility of TBS and ADD on the real forensic cases. Overall, our finding suggested that the quantitative method could be used to produce PMI estimates that are accurate to within days or even hours.