Coroner Stories

Apologies for the delay since my last post. I’ve spent the last couple of weeks trying to catch up on emails and responding to comments. I’ve included one comment in particular (along with my response) that dealt with some issues I haven’t discussed before that may be of interest.

I found this article very interesting. I am looking into the death of my son, who died of an accidental overdose of morphine 2% ug/ml and codeine ug/ml. The corners’ report states he died between 0500 of 9/6 and 1320 9/7.

Liver mortis as positioned fixed; rigor mortis full body. There is as a statement of skin slippage. Dark gray discoloration around his neck.

He checked into a hotel, but had no identification.

There is more information if this would help assist in determining just what happened. You see he died in 1995 with no one in his family being notified. He was not married. And had left my home on 9/1/95 over 1200 miles from where he died.

Thank you for you response.

J

J:

Based on what you included in your email, there are a few basic observations I can make. I’m reluctant to speak with too much authority on the circumstances since obviously I wasn’t involved in the entire investigation. If I did, it would be a gross misrepresentation of my abilities, if not downright fraudulent.

Most coroners rely heavily on the particular amount of a substance in someone’s system when it comes to classifying the manner of death. A level that is classified as accidental is typically a range that is considered by the toxicological professional community as a level that is just above a recreational/therapeutic level. These levels are typically seen in those individuals with an extended history of substance abuse.

Suicidal or homicidal levels are generally considered to be those levels that are much higher than accidental levels. In those cases, the person dispensing the amount of the substance necessary to precipitate death wants to be sure they administer enough to “get the job done.”

As far as the “time of death” is concerned, it’s not uncommon for there to be a very large window of time in which the death is stated to have occurred. I would assume that your son was found at 1320 on 9/7 and last known alive around 0500 on 9/6 when he was last seen by another person or possibly that was the time he checked in. As such, the coroner is only able to state positively that the death occurred within that time frame.

Television dramas tend to give the impression that coroners are able to pinpoint time of death with great accuracy and in reality that simply isn’t the case. The most accurate “time of death” is when a doctor or nurse is present at the exact moment death is pronounced or when someone dies instantly in a witnessed event like a car crash or a shooting. Beyond that, most estimations of time of death are based on observations and experience and become more speculative the longer the person has been deceased. For more on the difficulty of establishing an exact time of death, please refer to my post “Postmortem Interval�?.

The notations of rigor and livor may help narrow this window somewhat, but their value depends on when they were observed. If they are observed at the scene, they are very relevant. If they aren’t observed until the body is seen at the morgue by the coroner, they are of very little value considering it may be the next day or the body may have spent time in the cooler before the coroner sees it. As such, the time lapse and the cooler temperature can affect the relevance of postmortem changes.

I’m afraid I haven’t been much help or added anything worthwhile, but I at least wanted to provide you with some insight. As you continue your search for answers, please keep in mind that autopsy reports are very effective for determining the cause of death but are very ineffective when it comes to answering the “why” and “how” questions that the living desperately seek answers to when coping with the loss of a loved one.

Personally, I haven’t been in the very unfortunate position that you have been placed in. I have however had the opportunity to work with countless family members in your position with questions that are difficult—and in some cases impossible—to answer. Good luck to you.

A Douglas

Shannon writes:

Recently, a man died in the apartment above mine. He was dead for several days - at first we thought his refrigerator died, and contacted our landlord. But, the next day, when blood and bodily fluids started dripping from our bathroom and kitchen ceiling - we telephoned the police.

A Hazmat team is currently working on removing the contaminated bits of the house, while we stay in a hotel.

Once they are finished, how concerned should we be that that awful smell will return - say, when the heat is cranked, or on a hot summer day?

Shannon:

Thanks for sharing your unique experience. I may have stood in pools of body fluids and have been dripped on by the same on numerous occasions, but I can’t imagine how revolting it would be if it happened in my own home.

I’ve always been amazed at how often it happens that someone isn’t discovered dead until the person in the adjoining apartment notices a foul smell. I’m equally amazed at how long that person can tolerate the smell before notifying anyone. I’ve worked scenes where the neighbor had put up with the smell for weeks. From my point of view, it seems to happen all the time. I suppose it’s so common because there are so many single people who live in apartments. It’s been my experience that there are many of these single folk living in relative isolation from the rest of the world. Virtually no one calls them or visits, so no one discovers them until they’ve been dead for quite some time. Ordinarily it’s the apartment manager who discovers them when the neighbors begin to complain.

“Crime Scene�? clean up services and the like will generally remove all of the biohazardous material that is present. Pools of blood and other bodily fluids will be cleaned up. Bloodstains will be washed off of surfaces like walls and floors and those that are soaked into surfaces like carpet, padding, bedding, and furniture will simply be removed from the premises entirely and disposed of.

Of course, not every contaminated article can be removed from the scene. In your case, floor joists and such are likely stained but cannot be removed without great effort and expense. The stains on those will likely just be chemically neutralized so that there is no immediate contact threat.

As for the smell, I wouldn’t expect there to be any down the road unless some of the fluid made it’s way into your heating and air system and went undiscovered during the clean up. The smell might linger even after the offending by-products of human decomposition have been removed, but the only truly effective way to remove smell is time. Exposure to air circulation and scented candles can certainly speed up the process though.

Thanks again for the comment. I hope that answers your question.

A Douglas