Forensic diagnosis of death from cold

Abstract

To clarify the forensic diagnosis of hypothermia, the postmortem changes in the bodies of 211 cases of hypothermia (partly including death from diseases) encountered between January 1990 and January 1999 were studied as follows:i) The rectal temperature had been measured in 83 cases in which the time after death was known relatively clearly, and the rate of decrease in the rectal temperature per hour was evaluated. The rate of decrease in the rectal temperature was 2.3 +/- 1.2 degrees C, 2.7 +/- 1.5 degrees C and 3.6 +/- 1.9 degrees C per hour (mean +/- SD) when the ambient temperature was > or = 0 degrees C, 0 degrees C > to >-10 degrees C and -10 degrees C > or =, respectively. ii) The color of blood collected from the right and left hearts was different in 43 (33.6%) of the 128 cases of death from cold that underwent inquest and in 20 (87.0%) of the 23 cases that underwent forensic autopsy. This color difference was useful for the diagnosis of fatal hypothermia. iii) Gastric or duodenal submucosal bleeding (Wishnewski's spots) was noted in 10 (43.5%) of the 23 cases that underwent forensic autopsy. iv) Paradoxical undressing was observed in 35 (21.3%) of the 164 cases that underwent inquest.