Time of Death

The Time of Death calculator computes the amount of time since a human has died based on the current body temperature and the ambient temperature of the air around the body.

INSTRUCTIONS: Choose units and enter the following:

• (BT) Body Temperature
• (AAT) Ambient Air Temperature

Time Since Death (HD):The calculator return the time since death in hours. 

The Math / Science

The Time of Death calculation is used to estimate the amount of time since the Time of Death for a body based on the temperature.  This is the simple equation where the body temperature and the ambient temperature are used to calculate the numbers of hours a body has been dead.   This equation uses 1.5 degrees per hour cooling factor for cold days (slightly above freezing and colder) and 0.75 degrees for typical results above freezing.

Enter temperature values in degrees.  The result (time since death) will be in hours. Note: if the body temperature is equal or less than the ambient temperature, the time since death is unknown.