Rigor Mortis Case Studies

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Bodies that are exposed to the elements break down at an accelerated rate than ones that are kept say, in someone’s freezer or other insulated place, this is not only because of the weather that the body experiences in open environment but more because of the presence of wildlife of all forms from the maggots chewing away at the dead flesh or the crow picking the bones clean. When you die your heart stops, your blood stops circulating, your brain suffocates within three to seven minutes, and the blood begins to pool at the lowest center of gravity. About three hours after death rigor mortis sets in and begins to stiffen all of the muscles. After twelve hours of being dead the body begins to cool, and within twenty-four hours the body loses all internal heat, this is a process known as algor mortis, and after thirty-six to seventy-two hours the body slowly begins to lose the rigidity that it gains from rigor mortis.
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From the scatter of her body it could be assumed that the child was unceremoniously dumped in the wooded area and left open to the elements. From the remote swampy location of Caylee’s body it would have broken down at an accelerate rate because not only was it left open to the elements it was in a swampy area that would fill with water and break down the body twice as fast then top that with the fact that the stagnant swamp water would attract more insects and animals to the decomposing corpse and you don’t have a long wait before there’s nothing but bones, and maybe some hair. The skull fragmenting could have been caused by large animals like young alligators chewing on the bone. The body in its complete condition would have lasted maybe a week at best with the rate of the insect decay combined with the water decay and animal life eating it, then the months until the skull would be

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