NCJ Number
209755
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 50 Issue: 3 Dated: May 2005 Pages: 633-640
Date Published
May 2005
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This study investigated the nature and composition of adipocere formed in soil from various animal species.
Abstract
Adipocere is a substance that is formed postmortem from fatty tissue in decomposing bodies. The current preliminary study involved the formation of adipocere in soil by the burial of fatty tissue samples from pig, cattle, rabbit, sheep, chicken, and kangaroo. The goal of the study was to determine whether adipocere formations differed between species in an effort to identify a chemical composition that would point toward the origin of unknown remains. Infrared technology provided a lipid profile of the adipocere and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was used to identify fatty acids in the adipocere. Adipocere was observed to form at different rates among the species and did not form at all from the fatty tissue of chicken or kangaroo during the study period. Adipocere specimens did not differ between species in regard to its fundamental chemical composition and appearance. Future research should focus on discovering alternative fatty acids or derivatives of fatty acids that differ from one species to another. Table, figures, references