Living with the dead: A case report and review of the literature

Cortellini, Venusia; Brescia, Gloria; Corrêa, Heitor Simões Dutra; Cerri, N.; Bin, Paola; Verzeletti, Andrea

doi:10.1016/j.jflm.2019.02.002

Cited by 5 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Both cases feature men living in socially isolated families and in poor hygienic conditions and, despite having no history of previously known psychiatric illness, both showed at least one pre-existing psychiatric disorder on examination of their mental status. [12] found that the loss of a member of a socially isolated and abnormally mutually dependent couple could cause psychiatric illness and/or personality disorder in the survivor.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…His formal thought proved unstable, and superficial associative connections, persecution, and reference ideas surfaced: A diagnosis of psychotic disorder was made. In this regard, Cortellini et al [12] found that the loss of a member of a socially isolated and abnormally mutually dependent couple could cause psychiatric illness and/or personality disorder in the survivor.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The cases reported may help to point out some peculiar but recurrent characteristics of subjects involved in the “Living with the Dead” phenomenon [12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The mourning process and “living with the dead”: Two case reports and a review of the literature

Bosco

Tattoli

Vella

et al. 2020

Journal of Forensic Sciences

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Nowadays, the finding of a mummified body preserved by chance in a domestic environment is an occasional but not rare event in urban society [1]. Mummification can maintain intact a dead body, or parts of it, in a warm dry environment with an air current, such as in closed apartments [2]. The time of death is often difficult to estimate, requiring a multidisciplinary team of forensic pathologists, geneticists, entomologists, and possibly forensic psychiatrists. Mummification usually occurs in about 12 weeks, and the early stages may involve putrefactive changes. Elderly people are at greater risk of dying suddenly and unnoticed by others [3,4]. Victims' corpses can remain undiscovered in their homes for several months or years after their death, being well preserved if environmental conditions promote their desiccation [5]. The delayed discovery is often explained by the social isolation of the subjects when alive, with limited contact with other people and society. In addition, the absence of family support and poor neighborly relationships can worsen their social living conditions [6,7].

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The mourning process and “living with the dead”: Two case reports and a review of the literature

Bosco

Tattoli

Vella

et al. 2020

Journal of Forensic Sciences

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“…Desiccation is a rather sparsely studied process, especially in a forensic context, with regard to estimation of the post-mortem interval (PMI). Most published studies are case reports describing desiccation of human remains in an indoor setting [1][2][3][4][5][6][7]. Leccia et al [8] presented a retrospective study of 35 mummified cases where the degree of desiccation in each case was estimated, using the "rule of nines" for burns.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Still, it is not fully known how the desiccation process differs between an indoor setting and an outdoor setting. Findings of mummified human remains in an indoor setting are not rare [ 8 ] and are often seen as a sign of social isolation [ 6 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mummification in a forensic context: an observational study of taphonomic changes and the post-mortem interval in an indoor setting

2023

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The objective of this study was to evaluate the presence of mummification in an indoor setting, with an emphasis on the forensic perspective. A dataset of 102 forensic autopsy cases was assessed for distribution of desiccation of skin and soft tissue (i.e., subcutaneous fat and musculature) and for moist decompositional (i.e., putrefactive) changes. Further, possible correlation with the post-mortem interval (PMI) was evaluated, as well as the effects of clothing coverage of the body. The results indicated that yellow to orange parchment-like desiccated skin was found at significantly shorter PMIs than reddish brown to black leathery desiccated skin, even when soft tissue desiccation was included in the comparative analysis. Clothing appeared to have a significant decelerating effect on the extent of desiccation on the legs, but findings in regard to whole body or torso/arms were inconclusive. A large variation in PMIs was evident as regards fully desiccated skin (PMI 18–217 days), indicating difficulties in PMI estimation due to a variable repressive effect on the decompositional process per se in an indoor setting. For the specific case in forensic practice, no definite conclusion can be drawn from the observed desiccation changes to the PMI. One way forward might be creating a systematic and standardized method for describing different desiccation types, as well as other cooccurring decompositional changes and how they relate to the PMI, as a foundation for a future quantification model.

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