Title
An Improved Equation for TBS and ADD: Establishing a Reliable Postmortem Interval Framework for Casework and Experimental Studies
Source of Publication
Journal of Forensic Sciences
Abstract
© 2016 American Academy of Forensic Sciences. Megyesi et al.'s (J Forensic Sci, 2005, 50, 618) paper was important to forensic anthropology as it introduced a quantitative framework for estimating time since death in human cadavers, based upon physical appearance by way of scoring on a novel scale. However, errors concerning rounding, temperature scale, and incorrect use of a statistical regression model render their predictive formula unusable. Based upon only their more reliable data, a more appropriate regression model to predict accumulated degree days (ADD) from total body score (TBS) is presented. The new model is also a superior fit (r2 = 0.91) and produces markedly narrower confidence intervals than the original, which also allowed impossible, negative ADD values. Explanations of the shortcomings in the original analysis and calculations are presented, which it is hoped will help forensic scientists avoid making similar mistakes.
Document Type
Article
First Page
201
Last Page
207
Publication Date
1-1-2016
DOI
10.1111/1556-4029.12931
Recommended Citation
Moffatt, Colin; Simmons, Tal; and Lynch-Aird, Jeanne, "An Improved Equation for TBS and ADD: Establishing a Reliable Postmortem Interval Framework for Casework and Experimental Studies" (2016). Scopus Indexed Articles. 1631.
https://zuscholars.zu.ac.ae/scopus-indexed-articles/1631