Postmortem animal activity by mice

This old man died and was then partially consumed by some mice, no further info.

Postmortem animal interference of human corpses or remains is a well known phenomenon to forensic death investigators, the morphological appearance of these injuries can be misinterpreted by police officers investigating the suspected crime scene or by the consulted medical practitioner.

Determination of rodent species from the morphological appearance of damage to soft tissue and bones is often unreliable. In cases of postmortem rodent interference the appearance of distinct parallel cutaneous lacerations in the margins of damaged skin can be attributed to the animals masticatory apparatus, namely the pair of incisors.

Death investigators should be aware of the following while undertaking a detailed assessment of the scene of questioned cases of postmortem animal interference: damage is primarily caused to the exposed areas of the body, no selfdefense injuries can be found on the deceased’s body, compared to the large defects a relatively small amount of blood or the total absence of bloodstains should be expected at the scene, possibly a spoor deriving from the animal’s paws can be detected in bloodstains, an inquiry of pets living free in the house or wild animals having possible access to the scene should be conducted and a careful look for animal faeces or rodents nests should be made.

Frequently the face, hands and legs are destroyed by postmortem animal interference as they are unclothed and thus easily accessible. However there are cases where such lesions having been noted in other areas of the body which have been covered by the cloths including genitals but they are rare.