Livor mortis: Hae could not have been buried at 7pm

The new trial transcripts have testimony from the pathologist https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByTc5P7odcLHRXlPbmN3UVdKTGs/view

Starting on page 76, she describes livor mortis, which is the pooling of blood at the body's low spot.

This process of pooling starts fairly soon after death - and the blood will basically move with the body for a number of hours until it becomes fixed.

Susan Simpson has posted a link to a review of times for these things after death (see below for what this means)- https://viewfromll2.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/lividity-timing-lit-review.png

This is ghoulish stuff, but really important for determining time of death and can be a really important piece of physical evidence when the body is moved after death.

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If you find a body on its back, you expect it on her back. If you find a body on her side, you expect it on her side.

Update: Susan Simpson has posted a document https://viewfromll2.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/me2.png stating that Hae's body was found lying on her side, which is consistent with the description of how she was disinterred.

The livor mortis was on her front, which means that some time at least 6-12 hours after death (and most likely 8-10 hours), she was laying flat on her stomach somewhere. Not pretzeled and not on her side like she was buried.

She could not have been buried before 9 pm and probably not before midnight and maybe not for another couple of days.

I don't remember this from first trial (because it was not really mentioned).

This doesn't mean Adnan didn't do it - but it is another nail in the coffin for Kevin Urick's timeline - the one that sent Adnan to prison.

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How to read the chart: Susan Simpson got it from a recent article on livor mortis that included a summary of what previous studies had found. The chart includes the results from a series of studies shortnamed in the first row- the original article will have the bibliography so you can look up the individual studies if you so wish.

The second row is how many hours after death you start seeing small signs of tissue being stained by blood - mottled, punctuate, small patches = a few areas of irregularly dotted skin. The range is 30 minutes - 3 hours, with an hour being the most common time frame.

The third row is how many hours after death you see big patches (think large bruises) of this stuff, based on how the body is positioned. Most of the studies didn't have a specific number - let's say 2 to 4 hours - 5pm to 7pm on the murder timeframe.

The fourth row is the how many hours death this phenomenon is most pronounced and wherever the blood is pooling the skin looks alike. The range given is 4-10 hours, with 6 hours being the most common. This is 7pm -1am, with 9pm being most likely. Even at this point, if the body is moved in the next hour or two, the blood can repool and the lividity will then be located where gravity is making it go.

The fifth row is after how many hours the lividity is fixed- ie you can put the body into a headstand and the tissue staining ain't gonna change. The studies (many of which were based on a particular set of circumstances) find a range for this of 5-15 hrs after death - with a typical number of 8-10 hrs.

Edit: added link to Susan Simpson document, clarified fixed livor vs livor mortis. Edited again to add translation of the document for those who did not waste years in grad school. Edited again to add the link to side burial, specify side burial.