Algor Mortis

Algor Mortis

Example Scenario 2

A body is found with a temperature of 32.2℃ in an air conditioned apartment.

Steps 2 and 3

Step 1

The Calculation

Determine if the body has been dead for more than 12 hours

If the person has been dead for less than 12 hours, use the following formula:

Because 32.2ºC is not less than 37ºC - 9.36ºC, the body has not been dead for more than 12 hours. Given that the body was found in an air conditioned apartment, there should be relatively no effect on the body from the normal ambient temperature, so it is safe to say the body has been dead less than 12 hours.

(normal body temperature - actual body temperature) / .78ºC per hour

In our case

(37ºC - 32.2ºC) / .78 = 6.15 hours

This number should be fairly accurate since there were few known factors at play that may have altered the temperature of the body

Factors Affecting Algor Mortis

While the body temperature of a corpse is certainly helpful in determining time of death, factors like these can sometimes cause it to be inaccurate

• Changes in ambient temperature
• The amount/thickness of clothing or similar materials
• The temperature and thermal conductivity of the surface the body rests on
• Anything introduced to the body, such as a disease or drug, that raises the temperature of the body at its time of death

What is Algor Mortis?

Example Scenario 1

Algor mortis, sometimes called "The Chill of Death", results in the loss of body heat from a person after they have died.

A body is found with a temperature of 15.3℃ in a freezer.

Important Information:

• Normal body temperature is 37ºC
• The body loses .78ºC per hour during the first 12 hours.
• The body loses .39ºC per hour after the first 12 hours.

Steps 2 and 3

Step 1

Determine if the body has been dead for more than 12 hours

The calculation

If the body has been dead for more than 12 hours, then use the following calculation:

In the first 12 hours of death, the body should lose a total of 9.36ºC.

[(body temp at 12 hours dead - actual body temp) / .39º per hour] + 12 hours

If the corpse's temperature is less than the normal body temperature (37ºC) minus 9.36ºC, then the body has been dead for more than 12 hours.

Report findings

The final step is to report the findings as a time interval.

In our case:

Our corpse's temperature is 15.6ºC, which is less than 36 - 9.36. From this, we can conclude the body has been dead more than 12 hours. However, because the body was found in the freezer, this number may be inacurrate and the body could have been dead for a shorter time due to the accelerated loss of heat.

Since we concluded the body has been dead for more than 12 hours, we would use this calculation: [(27.64ºC - 15.3ºC) / .39ºC] + 12 hours = 43.641 hours dead

However, because the body was found in a freezer, this number is at best an absolute maximum for time of death and the real time is in reality a lower number.