Decay Lab John Howard SCIE-170
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This lab began in late October. The weather was starting to cool down, with daytime temps running in the high 40’s to low 50’s. The container for the victim was prepared by drilling several ½” diameter holes in the sides and one in the bottom. This was a two gallon paint bucket with a snap on lid. The bucket was filled with about 2” of topsoil, with no other special preparation. The victim, Carl, was placed in an old sock. I have no idea what it is made of, other than not cotton I’m pretty sure. Once the victim was snugly inside his new sweater, the attack began. He was stabbed in the middle part of his body with a Klein awl. It’s not needle sharp, but it still gets the job done. The awl was left in place while he was situated into his final resting place but then ultimately removed, assuming the killer would think better of leaving the weapon at the site. Only later, when he returned home would he realize, it must have fallen out of his pocket as he left the scene. He apparently did not want to risk a return trip to find it.
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Week One - Day One Carl takes one in the rib cage. It’s just a piece of dirt that got stuck on him, but it looks like he’s saying “Oooooooo”. I think the eyes really make the difference. It’s late October and the temps are averaging around 50. Carl’s lifeless body is stuffed into a plastic bucket with a few holes drilled in it to allow the local micro-fauna access, without allowing the local raccoons in. A large rock, probably in the 30 pound range is set on top to keep the lid secure. The dirt is just some topsoil that is probably crawling with life.
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Week Two Carl is already looking a little leathery. Curiously, his little “Ooooo” face is gone, as the dirt was probably knocked off as the lid was opened. Instead a little grin seems to have taken it’s place. It’s faint but you can just make out the light colored crescent shape. The bucket has a slimy kind of sweat accumulating on it’s side walls and it already smells pretty bad.
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Week Two (Cont’d) A closer view of some activity that is already taking place. Some wriggling maggots have appeared right at the site of Carl’s wound. It seems odd that they know right where to go, but this is probably an easy access into the interior regions of the body that may be where they want to go. There were a couple of rainy days this week, so the soil has been able to soak up some moisture, helping the decay process get started. Those maggots must tickle, Carl is still smiling. I’m hearing the Pillsbury Doughboy giggle.
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Week Three Looking even more leathery, Carl is definitely going through some changes this week. The temps have begun to drop, and ranged from 62 to as low as 32 and there were a couple more days of rain. There is a noticeable whitish bulge on the left side of his turtleneck. The clothing is beginning to stick to his skin so I didn’t want to disturb anything to get a better look at it. I have a feeling it will become more obvious in time.
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Week Three (Cont’d) Looking closer at the wound site, the maggots seem to have died off. At least the ones on the surface are not moving like they were last week. Or maybe they just moved in deeper – probably another thing that will reveal itself in time.
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Week Four A new development this week, the white growth, which looks like some type of fungus has begun to sprout on his face and spread onto the dirt around him. It may be coming from the white bulge, which as expected, has now grown in size and looks to be filled with something gross. The wound site remains the same, the remaining dead maggots have begun to dry up. There were a few days of rain, and temps ranged from 57 down to 28. There has to be some preservation benefit to the lower temps.
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Week Four (Cont’d) A closeup view of the white fungus. It has a lacy quality to it and seems very delicate. Carl’s happy little eye looks on as the fungus spreads.
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Week Five Temps again had some big swings from a high of 57 to a low of 12! The weather remained dry this week. The fungus growth appears to have died off for the most part. Some other white deposits have begun to show up, looking almost like some sort of crystal forming. This is noticeable on the right side of the top of his sweater. Then there’s the change to the white bulge – that deserves a closer look. Next slide please…..
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Week Five (Cont’d) A close-up detail of the former white bulge area. A hole is opened up into the body (not the site of the original stab wound) probably just from that swollen lump finally rupturing. There is a gooey light brown substance oozing from the hole. On the right of the hole the white deposits can be seen. I almost wonder if this is something from the sock, some detergent residue left in the fabric that is slowly leaching out.
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Week Six This is the final photo shoot. Carl is about to be pulled from his comfy resting spot of the last six weeks. His facial expression seems to reflect that realization. The weather has been mostly dry with temps ranging from 51 to 27. On the surface, Carl appears almost mummified. His skin is like leather and that brown ooze has turned darker and dried up a bit. Only one thing left to do now – pull him out of there and take a look.
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Autopsy (Cont’d) Body removed from bucket and ready to be inspected. Carl’s head is taking on a weird skeleton look with that white stuff all over it.
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Autopsy (Cont’d) First the shirt was cut down the middle, starting at the top. The gaping hole that was observed earlier was now revealed to be a much larger opening, leading into a semi wet interior. There is still a fair amount of tissue remaining, although it is not in good shape.
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Autopsy (Cont’d) You can see how the shirt added some level of preservation to the body. This is definitely a synthetic fiber, so it is not very quick to break down, as opposed to a cotton sock.
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Autopsy (Cont’d) Close-up view with interest pointed out:
items
of
Red arrow – The site of the puncture wound. Interesting that it is still preserved in the shape of the tool. I could almost take a casting from this if it wasn’t so disgusting. Yellow arrow – So, that’s where the maggots got to. At least one of them.
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Autopsy (Cont’d) With the sock completely removed, the back was revealed, and there’s the gang! I knew they had to have gone somewhere. This is the inside of the back - this was the side on the ground. So they burrowed all the way down to the bottom – but they still look to have all died there. Note the waxy greasy residue on the sock.
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Autopsy (Cont’d) And finally, the back side of the corpse revealing the rest of the maggots in their final resting place. This appears to be the exit site of the original wound, as the path of the awl provided a tunnel for the maggots to crawl through until they hit the back side of the sock which stopped them. Again, the clear line of where the clothing provided some level of preservation to the body is evident.
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Autopsy (Cont’d) A close-up view of the parasitic passengers. Ugh.
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