Comments | little_details: Killing to order and subsequent exhumation

rusquen in little_details

Killing to order and subsequent exhumation

Mar 01, 2016 12:29

Setting: Fantasy world; no gunpowder. Continental climate.
Edit: make that humid continental climate, like American Midwest/ Central Canada, or southern Siberia. Also, the soil is supposed to be quite fertile, probably chernozemic.

Situation: Characters exhume a body.

Facts:

1. It’s a body of a formerly athletic white man aged 25-30. He died from ( Read more... )

~forensics (misc), ~medicine: injuries: stab wounds, ~medicine: injuries (misc), ~forensics: corpses, ~funerals

Comments 12

beesandbrews March 2 2016, 13:30:13 UTC

Some soils, due to the mineral and moisture content, tend to be pretty good at preserving corpses. (Also peat bogs, see various peat men). Maybe for the sake of aesthetics, you could go that route.

http://io9.gizmodo.com/corpse-wax-when-dead-bodies-dont-decay-1450550154

(This wasn't what I was thinking of, but it helps make the point all the same.)

kehlen March 2 2016, 14:44:55 UTC

Come to think of it, the same happens in frozen soils above the Polar circle, the bodies almost do not decompose for years there. Any chance of having the story take place in Alaska?

anonymous March 2 2016, 16:41:03 UTC

I second the vote for extreme cold temperatures or anaerobic conditions. Have you read the article about the german ghost ship pilot? He was near mummified after spending months, dead at sea, thought to be a combination of the salty air and the cold temperatures. You could also do a hot sandy terrain with the coffin having collapsed, or perhaps he was buroed in a burlap sack ( ... )

rusquen March 2 2016, 18:08:29 UTC

Thank you everyone who responded!

For various plot reasons, the story has to happen at the end of summer, so I can't realistically freeze the body. Well, I suppose I could move the murder from April to, say, March or February, but it would make it darn hard to dig a grave plus the body will thaw anyway once summer comes ( ... )

rusquen March 2 2016, 23:08:12 UTC

Well, the ones we use in the medical examiner's office are mostly rigid with a little flexibility, i think they're made of fiberglass. Probably best to use a green sappling if you're going to rely on actual sticks. It wont be brittle enough to break.

Fertile soil is likely to decompose a body faster.

rusquen March 3 2016, 13:55:50 UTC

Aha. Will have them find a sappling. Thanks!

beesandbrews March 2 2016, 18:22:27 UTC

I'm on my phone and can't read this book properly, but the keywords highlighted suggests you might find it of interest.
https://books.google.com/books?id=lRKAztCiAIIC&pg=PA62&lpg=PA62&dq=chernozemic+soil+corpse+decomposition&source=bl&ots=iiqmbyHFRn&sig=UK1ROUmLrayJcxGiB8TvPXALGrc&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj0hbL4zqLLAhWElB4KHfqEDrQQ6AEIJTAC#v=onepage&q=chernozemic%20soil%20corpse%20decomposition&f=false

rusquen March 3 2016, 13:56:33 UTC

I'll take a look, thank you!

beesandbrews March 3 2016, 18:35:52 UTC

Good luck!

reggie11 March 3 2016, 07:45:06 UTC

Decomposition Wiki
Decomposition Forensics site

Factors that influence decomp rates

This also has info on slowed rates of decomp.

News article about the discovery of a cemetery where the bodies aren't decomposing ( ... )

rusquen March 3 2016, 14:02:48 UTC

Wow. Thank you so much! Very helpful links, especially the Forensics site and Bones Don't Lie - the latter is just amazing. Thank you!

reggie11 March 3 2016, 14:56:54 UTC

Happy to help! I have a stack of forensics books and number of books relating to what happens to bodies after death at home that probably could have given oodles of the info you needed but I'm out of town at the moment. The Bones Don't Lie website is a great online resource though. It's one of my favourites. I have weird hobbies :D