How Do You Determine A Drowning Victims Time Of Death?
Determining the time of death of a drowning victim can be a difficult process. Submersion under water, even for a relatively short period of time, decomposes the body quickly and leads to tissue breakdown that makes it harder to determine a time of death. An autopsy performed on the drowning victim must check a few specific things to determine the victim’s time of death. Check for lividity, or pooling of blood, in the head and neck. Drowning victims assume a position with the head downward while in the water. The level of lividity can help determine how long the body has been underwater. Note the appearance of the victim’s eyes. The eyes of a person who drowned can appear glistening, almost lifelike. This fact helps determine that the victim died in the water and not beforehand, on land, and thus narrow down the time of death. Inspect the drowning victim’s skin condition. A body immersed between one and two hours has a wrinkled appearance. For longer than two hours, the skin starts to
