CATEGORY:
Biohazard / Crime Scene
Summary:
Unattended deaths can be suspicious when foul play is suspected, and law enforcement will use forensic science and investigation techniques to determine the cause and time of death, as well as potential suspects. The first steps in finding an unattended death are crucial, including calling the police, moving away from the area, and securing the scene. The investigation process includes examining the scene, determining the time and cause of death, and interpreting the evidence. An autopsy may be required to determine the cause of death and if foul play was involved. Real-life examples show the importance of investigating unattended deaths thoroughly. After law enforcement has finished their investigation, it is recommended to call unattended death cleanup experts to safely and properly clean up the aftermath.
Some unattended deaths are considered suspicious when foul play is suspected. Law enforcement will use forensic science and investigation techniques to calculate every detail of the victim’s death, including time, place, and potential suspect, if there is one. Unattended deaths happen most commonly with the elderly succumbing to natural causes, but another common reason includes suicides and homicide. If a loved one suffered an alleged unattended death, an investigation and autopsy would likely be administered to give your family answers.
Homicides often go undiscovered for an extended period, as intended by the suspect. It’s law enforcement’s job to determine the who, what, and sometimes, where.
Family members and friends checking on a family member’s wellness usually are the ones to discover their unattended death. If you’re in this situation, the first thing you should always do is call the police.
After calling the police, you need to look out for your health and move away from the area. Do not touch the body or disturb the site as it can impede the investigation. In the last part of this guide, we talked about potential health risks associated with unattended deaths. Lastly, secure the scene by keeping others away and wait for law enforcement to arrive.
Once dispatched to the scene, law enforcement will try to ascertain whether or not foul play was involved.
Investigators from the county coroner’s office will be sent to the location to investigate the scene jointly. Unattended and sudden deaths are treated differently than “expected” deaths meaning most scenes require a sergeant supervisor or above.
Law enforcement will photograph the scene, collect evidence, and take the body away preserving it for an autopsy. Unattended deaths can be for reasons like homicide, suicide, accidental death, and medical conditions.
Death investigations don’t always play out like in Hollywood TV shows and movies. A paramedic does not always witness the death in a last-ditch effort to save the victim. In a clinical setting, supervised deaths allow medical staff and law enforcement to determine the exact time of death.
The body will always tell a skilled investigator when the heart stops beating. The decomposition process is predictable, allowing forensic investigators to determine an approximate time of death.
Along with determining the time of death, investigators will look to determine the cause of death. They’ll look for bruising, cuts, and other signs of physical trauma.
Investigators will look at signs like body temperature, substances in the bloodstream, the degree of rigor mortis, stomach contents, skin condition, and blood pooling inside the body.
Forensic entomology also allows investigators to ascertain the time of death based on the type and amount of bugs around and inside a body.
The process of undertaking a forensic investigation begins at the scene of the body’s discovery. Usually, the first question a coroner will ask is whether the scene is the location of the death itself. If the answer is “no,” then most likely, the death was due to foul play.
A potential homicide investigation is made more difficult because there likely weren’t any witnesses to the death. Every death without a clear cause of death is treated as suspicious.
The three stages of a death investigation are examination, correlation, and interpretation in the examination phase.
There are no federal laws requiring an autopsy for a medically unattended death, although most states require it. If an autopsy is requested, the coroner will attempt to determine the cause of death and its circumstances.
As stated, autopsies allow investigators to know if foul play was involved.
One other important reason for an autopsy is determining if the COD was a dangerous infectious disease that may affect public health.
Here are some real-life examples from recent news:
The investigation and autopsy are completed within 24 hours in most unattended deaths. Waiting any longer can interfere with the results. After the autopsy is completed, the body is released to the next of kin. The county coroner’s office will usually give next of kin 72 hours to arrange transport of the body to a funeral home.
In the first part of this guide, we discussed what to do when faced with the unattended death of a family member. Unfortunately, the local government won’t offer any assistance in cleaning up the aftermath of an unattended death.
You could try to clean up the death site on your own, but that’s not a good idea for two reasons:
After law enforcement has finished their investigation, call unattended death cleanup experts who use OSHA-approved methods and medical-grade disinfectants.
Blood can be a difficult and potentially dangerous substance to clean up. Whether it's due to a medical emergency, crime scene, or an accident, it's important to know how to properly clean and dispose of blood to minimize the risk of harm to yourself and others. In this guide, we'll cover everything you need to know about cleaning up blood, from safety precautions to effective cleaning methods.
Coming into the scene of a suicide can be quite traumatic for anyone, especially family members of the deceased.If someone commits suicide on your property or another location, you will need to clean up the biohazard or remains as law enforcement does not do this. First you will need to call law enforcement to perform a thorough investigation. Once this is complete you should consider hiring biohazard experts as cleaning remains is an extensive job. This requires having safety protective gear, the right chemicals and equipment to clean thoroughly and experts to dispose of decomposition as you cannot just dump it in the trash.
Cleaning can be a tedious, messy, and rather challenging task, especially if you’re dealing with a biohazard environment. Many people take cleaning upon themselves as it seemingly looks simple and straightforward, but rudimentary cleaning knowledge will not suffice if you’re dealing with contaminated areas.
