Stage 7: Skeletonization

October 1, 2015 — 3 Comments

Partially skeletonized corpse. Decomposing skin remains in some areas.

The 7th and final stage of decomposition, skeletonization, begins when soft tissue has dried and decayed to the point that parts of the skeleton are visible. Skeletonization is complete once all tissue has decomposed and all that is left of the corpse is bone. Remains may become reduced to bone in as little as three weeks but can take up to several years. Factors including temperature and environment determine the timeline of skeletonization. In a tropical climate the body may be reduced to bone in just a few weeks, in tundra, the process will take several years. Skeletonization may never occur if the corpse is in an environment with persistent subzero temperatures as seen in bodies left behind on Mt. Everest.

Body of George Herbert Leigh Mallory on Mt. Everest. Died on British expedition in 1924. His corpse (discovered May 1,1999) remains in pristine condition to this day due to extreme cold. Photo courtesy Atlas Obscura.

Instead of decomposing, remains of climbers who perished have been preserved due to the extreme cold and now act as trail markers up the treacherous mountainside. The bodies of those who die on Mt. Everest usually remain because an attempt to reach and recover the corpse would most likely prove to be unsuccessful, possibly resulting in another fatality. When the corpse is left in a peat bog or salt desert, skeletonization may be delayed, or natural embalming or spontaneous mummification can occur. The body may saponify, or become “adipocere” if left in certain environments, including a peat bog. This is a rare form of spontaneous mummification seen in the Mutter Museum’s “Soap Lady” who saponified in an alkaline, warm environment which was lacking air. While it is not common, it is possible for a corpse to undergo skeletonization in one area of the body, while experiencing some form of natural preservation in another.

The Soap Lady, who died circa 1830 and was

The Soap Lady saponified, causing the corpse to become a soapy, wax-like substance called adipocere. Photo courtesy of the Mutter Museum.

In an area void of scavenging animals, bodies buried in acidic soil will take approximately 20 years to complete skeletonization and for bone to decompose to the point that practically no evidence of the body is left. In soil with a neutral PH level, a corpse can last as long as 100 years before bone has decayed almost completely. There is also a possibility bone may not deteriorate and the skeleton could instead become a fossil or crude oil.

Fully skeletonized corpse. Bones have begun to deteriorate. Photo courtesy Bones Don’t Lie.

Read about the Stages of Decomposition leading up to Skeletonization Stage 1: Pallor Mortis, Stage 2: Algor Mortis, Stage 3: Rigor Mortis, Stage 4: Livor Mortis, Stage 5: Putrefaction, and Stage 6: Biotic Decomposition

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If you enjoyed this article, you may also like Pray the Decay Away: Incorruptible Corpses and Other Forms of Natural Postmortem Preservation, Everybody Poops: The Post-Mortem Edition, Demystifying the Process of Dying and Burying the Dead is Killing the Planet.

Dying with Dignity: One Woman’s Willful Journey into Death

October 1, 2015 — 1 Comment

The following video documents the final days of a woman who opted for physician-assisted suicide in 2010. Seventy-four year old Michele Causse Deriaz, a resident of Toulouse, France traveled to Switzerland with her partner and a friend in order to die on the day of her birth, July 29th. Michele’s story is very intriguing; She speaks bluntly, even joyfully, on the subject of her death and has strong yet simple views on the topic of Dying with Dignity. Michele volunteered for cameras to follow her in the days leading to her scheduled death and to be present as she chose to take a lethal dose of pentobarbital, prescribed by her end of life physician. She hoped that by participating in the documentary, physician-assisted suicide would be a more available option for others like her who wish to end their life. On the day before her death she left a message for viewers, “Let me say before dying that people really cherish life… I have to be really suffering to leave it; I wanted to live just like everyone else… There won’t be crowds of people lining up to die. The few who wish to die will certainly have good reasons.”

Check out the NEW BOOK by The Post-Mortem Post’s Head Writer ‘Horrible History: Mass Suicides’ AVAILABLE NOW on Amazon Kindle!

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If you enjoyed Michele’s story, you might also like Dying with Dignity, Demystifying the Process of Dying, Everybody Poops: The Post-Mortem Edition, Karl Wallenda’s Fatal Tightrope Fall, Possible Relatives: Tina Enghoff Photographs Homes of the Recently Deceased and Joshiah: We are the Creators of Our Universe

Laura Belle Devlin

June 8, 2015 — 1 Comment

Laura Belle Devlin, born September 7, 1874 murdered and dismembered her husband in 1947 at the age of 72.

On January 5, 1947 C.G. Butcher, a postman in Newark, Ohio delivered mail to the Devlin residence at 78 King Avenue. That day, seventy-two year old housewife and avid collector of old lace, Laura Belle Devlin, received a letter from relatives in Philadelphia informing her that her 75-year-old husband, Thomas Devlin, had passed away during a recent visit. Made suspicious by the fact that this letter had no stamp and a postmark which was obviously hand-written, C.G. Butcher took the widow to the local police station. When Mrs. Devlin was questioned, she admitted to having murdered her husband, Thomas, in the parlour of their two-story home.

Emotionless, she described the killing, saying she pounded Thomas Devlin with her bare fists until he was unconscious the attempted to break his bones with a sickle. Afterwards, she dismembered the body with a handsaw and burned parts of him in the stove. She scattered the rest of the pieces of her husband’s body in the backyard.

After being arrested on charges of first degree murder, she told police, “[Thomas Devlin] tried to kill me so many times that I decided to end his life.” then immediately asked, “And now can I go home?”. Mrs. Devlin was temporarily incarcerated at the Licking County Jail where she refused to be fingerprinted because, “That ink will make my hands dirty.”. In another attempt to take the 72-year-old killer’s fingerprints while photographers snapped pictures, she simply asserted, “NO!”. When informed of her incarceration, she just shook her head in disapproval of law enforcement’s decision on the matter and later told reporters she “disliked” jail. Despite her feelings on being locked up, she was described as “mild-mannered” throughout her incarceration. On January 11, 1947 Mrs. Devlin was admitted to the Lima State Hospital for the Criminally Insane for a 30 day observation period. There, she was diagnosed with “Senile Psychosis: Confused Type”, which is more or less an old-timey way of saying “Dementia”.

Sadly, on March 29, 1947 Laura Belle Devlin passed away at the Lima State Hospital from a bout of pneumonia which she had been battling for one week after having had an attack of influenza.