Using the postmortem epinecrotic microbiome as a tool for time since death estimations

Abstract

The estimated time since death, or postmortem interval (PMI), is a crucial piece of information in forensic death investigations. Current scientific methods used to estimate this timeframe do not always provide the most accurate predictions and often rely on subjective interpretations. The microbiome has recently been recognized as a large impactor of human decomposition and current research shows its potential to provide additional accuracy to PMI estimations. As bacteria are ubiquitous, persistent, and due to recent advancements in technology genetically identifiable, microbial analysis effectively complements other forensic science approaches. However, this new field of forensic research requires standardization, foundational validity, and research collaboration if it is to be considered reliable for use as evidence in the court of law. This review discusses the potential for forensic microbiology to be used as an additional estimator for the PMI, the advantages of epinecrotic microbiome sampling, and outlines further steps needed for the integration of this discipline into forensic practice.

Keywords: 16S rRNA sequencing; decomposition; epinecrotic microbiome; external necrobiome; postmortem interval estimation; thanatomicrobiome; time since death.