Question

A body is discovered at 1:25 am and has a definite blue-purple color along the left leg, left arm, and left area of the face. You touch the blue-purple colored skin along the leg with your finger and notice the blue-purple color temporarily disappears every time you push on the leg, but also notice rigor mortis in the face, chest, and partially in the arms? What is the estimated Time of Death of this body according to lividity and riger?

Answer 1

Time of Death is estimated at approximately 3-8 hours prior to when the body was discovered at 1:25 am, based on the presence of non-fixed lividity and the progression of rigor mortis in certain areas of the body.

Step-by-step explanation:

When assessing the estimated Time of Death (ToD) using signs of lividity and rigor mortis, various changes in the body after death offer clues. Lividity refers to the blue-purple coloration that appears due to blood settling in the lowest parts of the body, a process that typically starts 1-2 hours after death and becomes fixed by 6-12 hours. Since the lividity on the left side of the body temporarily disappears when pressed with a finger, it suggests lividity is not yet fully fixed, pointing to a postmortem interval (PMI) of less than 12 hours. Meanwhile, rigor mortis, the stiffening of the muscles after death, begins within 2-6 hours, peaking at around 12 hours and dissipating after 36-48 hours. The presence of rigor mortis in the face, chest, and partially in the arms indicates that death probably occurred between 3 to 8 hours before examination, as during this time frame rigor mortis is developing but not yet completed throughout the body. Considering both lividity and rigor mortis, it is likely that the ToD was approximately 3-8 hours prior to the discovery of the body at 1:25 am.