What happens to a corpse in the water?

[paintedveils]

Setting: Present day, southern California

Previous Search Attempts: This Slate article gives a pretty comprehensive answer to the behavior of dead bodies in the water, and includes links to more detailed sources. Super relevant to anyone with questions how to tell whether a body was dead before going into the water or not, how to tell if someone

Comments

[wanderingworlds]

The body will bloat dramatically and the skin turn a deep blue-grey.

I'm not sure if the body would void anything in the intestines before the fish started to feed on the body. If it was bleeding in the ocean, a shark would zero in on it, because they're more often than not scavengers. In fresh water, there's the likelihood an alligator or crocodile would find it and go to town. In such cases, the animal might make a way for the bodily fluids to escape before they're voided. Either way, the stuff will come out and be diluted into the water.

[razzabeth]

I think the water pressure would cause the voiding to happen nigh instantaneously. Think about when you go swimming. Ever done so with a full bladder? It makes you have to pee super bad, same as when you wear tight pants.

That being said, I would like to share a joke that this all reminds me of: Having a smoking section in a public restaurant is like having a peeing section in a public pool.

[paintedveils]

Haha OK, what you said made SO much sense that it absolutely convinced me that YES body voids itself is the only answer. Thank you so much!

What would a body left in the water smell like when retrieved from the water?

[anonymous]

This link might be useful: http://www.dundee.ac.uk/forensicmedicine/notes/water.pdf esp the section on immersion.

In your scenario - fresh water, enclosed, fairly warm - putrefaction would be relatively fast, but I'm not sure it would proceed to the extent that it could be smelt in 6-7 hours.

K

[anonymous]

i don t know if you take the time to reply to questions or not,, but i have