FBI LAW ENFORCEMENT RESEARCH FILES

DROWNING INVESTIGATION RESEARCH FROM FBI LAW ENFORCEMENT FILES

Eyes A drowning victim's eyes provide a ready, easily accessible, and useful source of information relating to the cause and time of death. As this evidence also is transient in nature, investigators need to note it immediately after recovery. If death occurred on land, a noticeable horizontal line should exist on the eyeball if, as is common the eyelids remained partially open, thereby allowing exposure to air and its drying effects. The line, or border between the clear and cloudy cornea-the raised , usually clear area of the of the eyeball covering the pupil and iris-and the white and discolored sclera--the opaque, normally white portion--will occur only in these instances. Conversely, if the victim drowned and is submerged in water at the time of death, then the eyes will retain a lifelike, glistening appearance. No lines will be present. (14)

Lividity Investigators normally will find postmortem lividity, or blood pooling, on the portion of the body or head lying on the bottom after drowning. For instance, a corpse that ends up face down should have this condition evident on the chest, abdomen, face, or all of those areas. Typically, lividity is most evident in the head or neck because the body normally assumes a position of head down, buttocks up, and extremities dangling downward. Blood pooling not conforming to these patterns should alert authorities to investigate further to determine if death preceded immersion.



Body Posture Corpses normally exhibit a relaxed, often prone, semi fetal position when discovered by divers on the bottom of a body of water. They assume this posture because of the buoyant properties of water; the natural forces exerted by the skeletal muscles, even when relaxed; and the buoyancy of the lungs, which lie nearer the back than the front. In this position, the arms and legs usually are slightly bent at the elbows and knees. The head often tilts slightly forward, and the spine curves slightly. Authorities should see this configuration upon recovery when rigor mortis is developed. Any person who has died on land and remained in a terrestrial environment during the onset of rigor mortis will display a different posture. The head likely will be rotated to one side, a position almost never found in a drowning victim. (17) Hand and Arm Positions Investigators often will find a drowning victim's arms bent with the hands turned toward the face when rigor mortis has developed. In those cases, it appears that individuals tried to cover their mouths to prevent drowning. Often, they clinch their hands in a fist. Sometimes, investigators may find objects in the hands of victims, such as grass from an embankment. If the drowning occurred in relatively shallow water, soil or gravel commonly found on the bottom may be clutched in the hands, indicating that the individual probably entered the water while conscious. (18)
Injuries and Marks Immersion of a body in water for several hours may cause leaching of blood from injuries,