Overview on the estimation of post mortem interval in forensic anthropology: review of the literature and practical experience

The determination of the postmortem interval (PMI) is still a crucial issue when dealing with a cadaver in a crime scene. Many methods are used in forensic sciences to estimate the time since death. Alongside with the classical methods few quantitative methods from other disciplines, such as forensic botany, entomology, genetics, microbiology and biochemistry, are also available. In this review of the literature in pubmed and in other sources found checking the references of the selected papers, we have considered numerous methods for estimating the time since death in order to evaluate which was the most reliable. However our analysis showed that all the studies cited need further investigation to be considered as forensic methods.