Approaches to time since death estimation

How to develop a more accurate estimation of the time since death in human bodies found decomposed or decomposing has exercised the minds of criminal investigators and others interested in advancing scientific knowledge since the first forensic cases described by Sung Tz'u in 13th century China [1]. When more intense interest in the subject developed in the 19th century, research first focussed on the recognition that the fall in the temperature of a corpse could be of use in determining the time since death in the early stages of decomposition [2], [3], [4], but it was French Army Surgeon and entomologist Jean Pierre Mégnin who recognised that different groups and species of insects were attracted to a decomposing body during the various stages of decomposition [5].