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About the Dead Guy Next Door...
Jan. 20th, 2024 10:52 amAll this week I've been thinking, "Wow, it's only been a few days since we found a dead guy in the condo next door." Well, we didn't find him; I was standing 10 feet back from the door assisting the police with their welfare check. They were pretty serious about it. They weren't just going to be, "Well, we knocked on the door and nobody answered, we've done all we can." They were prepared to break a door or window to gain forcible entry to the house and search for the guy. Something or someone told them this was serious. Plus, it wasn't just one officer asking, "Hey, have you seen this guy?" There were four officers at the scene.
I had helped them with ladders so they could climb up and look through windows before forcing their way into the house. They appreciated that. So it was as I stood back after helping them set up a second ladder to climb to the kitchen balcony that I heard an officer call down, "10-55". It turns out that's police code for "Coroner's case." As in, they'd spotted a dead body. And the circumstances evident from a brief visual told them the person was already dead, not lying injured or unconscious and in need of help. I'm sure if they thought there was any chance of the guy being alive but in need of help they would have busted the door down in 2 seconds flat.
Our neighbor was found lifeless on his stairs. The officer who made first visual contact said something about rigor mortis. It wasn't clear whether he said he saw rigor mortis or a body that was post rigor mortis.
...Post rigor mortis? you might ask. Is there such a thing?
Actually, yes. We searched that. And this:
Wow. Talk about things you don't expect to type into a search bar in all seriousness.
We were curious how long our neighbor had been dead in the house. Actually, it's more than just curiosity. We felt creeped out wondering, "How long has our neighbor been dead 15' away from us?"
It turns out rigor mortis takes several hours to set in across the body and then disappears about 24 hours after death. If he was in that condition when found, then he would have died anytime from Monday afternoon back to Sunday evening before. If the body was post rigor mortis then... well, that's where we were wondering, "How long could he have been dead before we'd smell it?"
The smell answer, BTW, depends on a number of environmental factors. Generally a dead body starts to smell noticeably within 24-48 hours, and really reeks within 4-10 days. Being in a climate controlled house pushes things toward the longer end of those ranges. As does the fact that the house was closed up. With door and windows closed, and no shared ventilation, it probably would've been a few weeks before we'd have noticed a smell from our place.
I had helped them with ladders so they could climb up and look through windows before forcing their way into the house. They appreciated that. So it was as I stood back after helping them set up a second ladder to climb to the kitchen balcony that I heard an officer call down, "10-55". It turns out that's police code for "Coroner's case." As in, they'd spotted a dead body. And the circumstances evident from a brief visual told them the person was already dead, not lying injured or unconscious and in need of help. I'm sure if they thought there was any chance of the guy being alive but in need of help they would have busted the door down in 2 seconds flat.
Our neighbor was found lifeless on his stairs. The officer who made first visual contact said something about rigor mortis. It wasn't clear whether he said he saw rigor mortis or a body that was post rigor mortis.
...Post rigor mortis? you might ask. Is there such a thing?
Actually, yes. We searched that. And this:
Wow. Talk about things you don't expect to type into a search bar in all seriousness.
We were curious how long our neighbor had been dead in the house. Actually, it's more than just curiosity. We felt creeped out wondering, "How long has our neighbor been dead 15' away from us?"
It turns out rigor mortis takes several hours to set in across the body and then disappears about 24 hours after death. If he was in that condition when found, then he would have died anytime from Monday afternoon back to Sunday evening before. If the body was post rigor mortis then... well, that's where we were wondering, "How long could he have been dead before we'd smell it?"
The smell answer, BTW, depends on a number of environmental factors. Generally a dead body starts to smell noticeably within 24-48 hours, and really reeks within 4-10 days. Being in a climate controlled house pushes things toward the longer end of those ranges. As does the fact that the house was closed up. With door and windows closed, and no shared ventilation, it probably would've been a few weeks before we'd have noticed a smell from our place.
