Addressing underrepresented homicide and climate data in forensic science: The case for new human taphonomy facilities in tropical regions

Abstract

This review explores the geographical distribution of human taphonomy facilities (HTFs) in connection to climate and homicide rates from the 50 most impacted cities worldwide. Existing HTFs depict temperate climates, omitting tropical and arid areas. This underrepresentation impairs accurate post-mortem interval (PMI) estimates and limits the applicability of findings to global contexts. A comprehensive review of the status quo and research in existing HTFs and an analysis of climate data were conducted, including their climate classifications, annual temperatures, and precipitation. This was compared with climate data of the 50 cities with the highest homicide rates. Homicides are the most commonly encountered context for which the estimation of PMI is crucial and has close connection to research conducted in HTFs. Several of these cities (54%) are in tropical climates, and 10% are in arid climates, both lacking adequate representation in taphonomic research. To narrow down a list of suitable locations for future HTFs to address the gap, the analysis examines average annual temperature and rainfall. A notable lack of taphonomy studies in regions with high temperatures and significant rainfall was identified. Consequently, this review highlights five cities in South and Southeast Asia-Colombo, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Mumbai, and Singapore-as optimal locations for establishing new HTFs based on high average annual temperatures (26-30 degrees Celsius) and substantial annual precipitation (over 2,000 mm). These represent model conditions for studying the rapid decomposition processes typical of tropical climates. The status of the suggested cities and their suitability for the establishment of a new HTF was discussed and compared with the existing taphonomic facilities in North America, Europe and Australia. Regional, cultural and legal implications were considered as well as available frameworks for body donations in the countries and cities of choice. The establishment of a potential HTF in one of the selected cities and countries would promote the development of taphonomic research in these areas, contribute with new climate datasets and address existing casework problems in these areas and neighbouring countries. By expanding research to include a variety of climate types, it would be possible to develop accurate and region-specific PMI estimation models and improve the reliability of forensic investigations.

Keywords: Body donation; Body farms; Forensic taphonomy; Homicide; PMI; Tropical climate.