Time of Death

AuthorD. P. Lyle
Pages81-97
Time of Death 81
CHAPTER 6
TIME OF DEATH
In homicide cases, the three most important things the ME must deter-
mine are the cause, manner, and time of death. In this chapter we will
consider the time of death and in the next chapter the cause and manner.
Why do the ME and the police invest so much time and effort in deter-
mining the time of death? Why is the time of death often vigorously debated
in court, each side trying to tweak the timeline to its advantage? The rea-
son is that this alone can exonerate or focus suspicion on a suspect, can
substantiate or refute witness and suspect statements, and can literal ly
make or break the case.
Before we look at why this estimation is so important, lets first define
the term “time of death.” Time of death seems to be a simple and straightfor-
ward term that obviously means the exact time that the victim drew her last
breath. It’s not quite that simple. It might surprise you to learn that there
are actually three d ifferent times of death, and they aren’t always in sync:
• The physiological time of death: When the victim’s vital functions
actually ceased.
• The legal time of death: The time recorded on the death certificate.
• The estimated time of death: The time the ME estimates that
death occurred.
82 Time of Death
The only absolutely accurate determination of the time of death is when
the person dies with a physician or other skilled medical professional pres-
ent. Here the physiological, lega l, and estimated time of death are the time
the physician marks in the medical record. Otherwise, it’s impossible to
determine the exact time of death.
You might ask, what about the circumstance where someone witnesses
the fatal blow or gunshot, or what if the event is recorded on a timed sur-
veillance camera? Wouldn’t that be accurate? Maybe, maybe not. If the wit-
nessed event led to immediate death, then the witness would have seen the
actual death. But if the witnessed event is simply the trauma that led to
death, but not the actual moment of death, then the witness’s estimate is
not accurate. People can survive massive and apparently lethal injuries for
hours, even days.
But most deaths are not witnessed. Natural death might come during
sleep, accidental and suicidal deaths often occur when the victim is alone,
and in homicides, the perpetrator is typically the only witness. This means
the ME must estimate the time of death using the various techniques avail-
able to him.
These three times of death can differ by days, weeks, even months, if
the body is not found until well after physiological death has occurred. For
example, if a serial killer ki lls a victim in July, but the body is not discov-
ered until October, the physiologica l death took place in July, but the legal
death is marked as October since that is when the corpse was discovered
and the death was legally noted. The ME’s estimated time of death could
be July, or it could be June or August. It is an estimate, and as we will see,
many factors conspire to confuse this determination. But, it is critically
important for the ME to be as accurate as possible.
The Importance of the Time of Death
Why is the time of death important? Isn’t it more crucia l to determine who
did it than guessing when it happened? The fact is that an accurate esti-
mation of the time of death can eliminate some suspects while focusing
attention on others. Let’s say a husband tells investigators that he left for a
business meeting at 2 p.m. and returned at 8 p.m. to find his wife dead. He
says that he was home all morning and that she was alive and well when he

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