Question

A man's body was found lying in the stream at the back of a factory property. He was dressed in a t-shirt and jeans. His body temperature was determined to be 69.1°F. Ambient air temperature was 80°F. The estimated amount of time since death was calculated to be about 20 hours. The actual time of death of this individual was later determined to be 13 hours before the body was discovered. Create a claim that states what could have accounted for the difference.

Answer 1

Step-by-step explanation:

The most likely cause of this difference would be the stream of water. Usually, a diseased body would decompose at a slower rate when in water but will decompose at an accelerated rate when taken out of the water. Which is what most likely happened with the body found in this scenario. The dead body was most likely dropped in the river and washed up on the shore where decomposition began at a much faster rate. Also since water is able to dissipate the heat from the body and cool it down at a faster rate as well it would also account for the difference in temperature between the body and the ambient air.