Wrapping of Bodies as a Forensic Countermeasure to Delay Discovery: A Porcine Pilot Study

Marcus Vimini

doi:10.60867/00000115

The deposition of human remains by perpetrators in waterways is often a forensic countermeasure aiming to hinder identification and destroy evidence. In some cases, remains are wrapped and weighted to delay their discovery. The estimation of post-mortem interval is complex and, in many cases, cannot be reliably determined, given the numerous environmental and physiological factors involved. This is further complicated in cases involving remains in water, where the post-mortem submersion interval (PMSI) is also used to estimate the submersion time of remains. The evaluation of post-mortem autolysis and decomposition is one of several tools that can assist in making these estimations. The effect of wrapping on human remains deposited in waterways requires further study. This study used porcine cadavers to understand the effect of cling wrapping on flotation time and decomposition patterns. Nine porcine cadavers were used as human analogues and divided into three treatment groups (n=3 each); unwrapped control (Group C) to understand the natural decomposition and flotation process, cling wrapped (Group W) to observe the preserving effect of the wrapping; and wrapped and weighted (Group WW) with an additional 10kg weight to observe the effects of additional weight on flotation times. All cadavers were deposited into Intermediate Bulk Container (IBC) tanks containing approximately 950L of water and monitored 24/7 by recorded CCTV. Salinity and pH of the water were controlled, whereas temperature of ambient air and the water was recorded. All the cadavers from group WW had surfaced by day 24 while the cadavers from groups C and W remained on the surface. Qualitative observations of post-mortem autolysis and decomposition between groups were described along with temporal observations of flotation and submersion timepoints. The most prominent post-mortem changes included adipocere, mummification, bacterial biofilm and algal growth on the surfaced region of group C, while maceration was prominent on the submerged regions. Autolysis and hypostasis were observed on the internal organs of all the cadavers, while the cadavers from group WW were notably fresher due to their submerged status.

Wrapping of Bodies as a Forensic Countermeasure to Delay Discovery: A Porcine Pilot Study

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