Observations

The Forensics Science class period 6/7 collected the evidence today. Hillary S. was our photography once again, thanks Hillary! Again a big change since yesterday, the hot weather is really accelerating the decomposition process.     The corpse has purged leaving only the skin and bones. When the purging occurs, the gases created by the bacteria present in the decomposition mix with blood to make the skin appear green and then black. The  gases build up in the body (bloating) until the pressure gets so great that the gases and fluids leak out of the body or purge. Over the past two years, the investigators have noticed that the hair that was on the deer prior to purging , seem to "explode" away from the body and lay in a pile around the purged corpse. Since our classes only visit the death scene once a day over a 11 day period,  none of us have actually witnessed this phenomenon  first hand. Several investigators have suggested leaving a video camera set up to capture the event on film. During the investigation today , we also looked down at our feet to witness the migration of the prepuparia as they leave the corpse in search of a location in the soil to complete the Blow Fly life cycle. Once the prepuparia have burrowed into the soil, they create a hard case around their body (the puparia ) to undergo metamorphosis into the adult Blow Fly.

Crime Scene Photos by Hillary S..

Go to Day 18 of the investigation

Back to the Susquehanna Township High School Forensic Science Class