The Scene of Death

When a dead body is found outside in the open there may be several reasons for why that person has died. they may have collapsed, died of natural causes, be the victim of hypothermia or they may have taken their own life. Obviously another cause of death may have been murder in which case there will usually be obvious signs as to the cause.

They may not have been killed where they were found. Dead bodies that seem to have been that of a drown or a suicide fall must be reviewed with great care. Did the person fall accidentally or was the fall initiated by another person? You need to ask similar questions if you find corpses after a fire or explosion. You need to decide if these deaths were accidental or was the fire or explosion started by the assailant?

You also need to look at the evidence to see if the dead person was alive or dead before the fire or explosion. All possibilities must be thought about while examining the body ad the area where it was found. The best case scenario sees the police being the first at the scene so that they can straight away seal off the area thus preventing cross-contamination and degradation of the site. A specialist doctor should examine the body without disturbing it as best he can simply to confirm that the person is actually dead. Sometimes it is not that easy!

The doctor should take notes on how the body looks but should not move the body until photographs have been taken of the dead person and the surrounding areas. Once the dead body has been removed from the scene the area should stay sealed until the findings of the autopsy are known.

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