Time of Death Estimation in Forensic Pathology: A Brief Assessment of Methods and Reliability

ABSTRACT Determination of time of death (TOD) is often portrayed in popular media as a crucial part of death investigation. However, it is not as straightforward or accurate as is often depicted. Methods for determining the postmortem interval (PMI), or how long an individual has been dead, are subject to innumerable variables that introduce uncertainty. While these methods can provide useful information, they cannot pinpoint an exact moment of death for an individual. Rather, they provide a range of time during which the death may have taken place. Current methods for determining the PMI and thus the TOD, along with some of the factors that affect the accuracy of these methods, are discussed in this article.