A Case of Anomalous evolution of the thanatological Phenomena

The reported case is worthy of reporting because it shows the difficulties encountered in the medico-legal practice in determining of the death time. The Authors highlight the influence of the environmental factors on the thanatological processes and the importance of studying the climatic and microclimate conditions of the environment where the corpse is found. The thanatological phenomena, detected during the crime scene investigation, placed the death time 48–72 hours before the corpse was discovered, while the investigations of the Judicial Police assessed the murder was committed a week before. The anomalous development of the thanatological phenomena was explained as the consequence of the microclimatic conditions, which significantly slowed down the evolution of post-mortal processes, bringing the time of death to a time antecedent to that established. It can be asserted that the earlier the thanatological data are collected in relation to the time of death, the greater is the likelihood of the death time estimate to be correct, as the influence of the environmental factors is reduced.