Factors impacting the effectiveness of burial as a means of disposing of a body:
(1) availability of a suitable burial site
(2) need for a temporary vs permanent solution
(3) need to transport the victim
(4) reason for disposal
Digging a grave for a body is hard work. To do it by hand may take several hours, while to use a back hoe draws attention to the site. Some murderers will make the victim dig the hole, but killing a person on site can be noisy. If the murder is premeditated then it is always better to dig the hole well in advance.
Potential pitfalls:
(1) the grave is too shallow
(2) the digging of the grave was observed
(3) someone has come across a prepared hole
(4) the body or victim needs to be transported to the site
(5) killing a person on site may be observed
(6) the buried person may not be dead
(7) the ground is unsuitable (frozen, rocky, too wet, etc)
(8) the grave has attracted animals
(9) the land changes ownership and someone inadvertently digs at the site
(10) too many people are involved
(11) sufficient tissue or clothing may be preserved to identify the victim
(12) unexpected rain or flooding may expose the body
Criminals will cover a body with a large amount of lye in order to help dissolve the body faster and more completely.
