Evaluation of the floating time of a corpse found in a marine environment using the barnacle Lepas anatifera L. (Crustacea: Cirripedia: Pedunculata)

• Published in: Forensic science international Vol. 247; pp. e6 - e10
• Main Authors: Magni, Paola A., Venn, Cynthia, Aquila, Isabella, Pepe, Francesca, Ricci, Pietrantonio, Di Nunzio, Ciro, Ausania, Francesco, Dadour, Ian R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Ireland Elsevier Ireland Ltd 01.02.2015; Elsevier Limited
• Subjects: Algae; Animals; Aquatic plants; Cirripedia; Crustacea; Decomposition; Floating time; Forensic Pathology; Forensic sciences; Growth rate; Human remains; Humans; Hydrobiology; Italy; Lepas anatifera; Male; Marine environment; Oceans and Seas; Pathology; Pedunculata; Postmortem Changes; Thoracica - growth & development; Time Factors; Italy; Tyrrhenian Sea; MED, Tyrrhenian Sea; MED, Italy; MED, Italy, Calabria; Marine environment; Growth rate; Floating time; Human remains; Lepas anatifera
• ISSN: 0379-0738; 1872-6283; 1872-6283
• DOI: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2014.11.016

•Floating time is an integral part of the post mortem submersion interval.•Barnacles can be a useful tool in forensic investigations regarding the floating time.•Aging barnacles is imprecise due to growth rates vs water temperature.•Organisms associated with a corpse found in water are useful for forensic diagnosis. Human activities involving water may result in a crime scene. Typically, death may be due to natural causes, homicide, or mass disasters. Decomposition in water is a complex process where many factors may interplay. Human remains in water are subject to many potential interactions, depending upon the remains themselves, the type of water and the characteristics of the water. A number of studies are focused on the decomposition process of the corpse in water, on the identification of the post mortem submersion interval (PMSI) and on the diagnosis of drowning, but very few studies consider the fate of floating remains in any aquatic environment. The following case describes a corpse found on a shore of the Tyrrhenian Sea (South West of Italy, Calabria Region). The corpse and the soles of his shoes were colonized by the barnacle Lepas anatifera L. (Crustacea: Cirripedia: Pedunculata). The analyses of the barnacles present on the corpse aided in the evaluation of the floating time of the corpse which assisted in estimating the minimum time since death.