Estimating Time of Death in High-Temperature Environments: Traditional Methods and Emerging Approaches (Review)

Correct time of death (TOD) determination is one of the main tasks of the forensic medical examination, the solution of which is of crucial importance for the investigation. In the daily practice of forensic medical experts, TOD is determined when assessing well-known early or late cadaveric changes, which often leads to a large variation in the time interval being determined. At the same time, more accurate physical, biochemical, and biophysical methods for determining TOD developed by various researchers have not been implemented in forensic medical practice for one reason or another (complexity, high cost, etc.).

In this review, we analyze the current traditional methods for determining the time of death, as well as consider the effectiveness and prospects of using some innovative methods for determining TOD when high temperatures affect cadaveric changes, including the possibility of using laser-induced autofluorescence spectroscopy.