Rules of Thumb for Using Temperature to Determine Time of Death

Method 1

time since death in hours =

= ((rectal temperature at time of death in °F) - (rectal temperature in °F at time t)) / 1.5

Method 2

time since death in hours =

= ((rectal temperature at time of death in °C) - (rectal temperature in °C at time t)) + 3

Limitations:

• Body temperatures at the time of death that are above or below normal can give misleading results.