[hermantheshocker]

TL;DR - A car containing a male corpse with complete adipocere formation was found at the bottom of a lake in Japan. The deceased had presumably driven into the lake 7 years earlier. The surface of the deceased was unusually hard and firm like a gypsum board, and the entire internal viscera had turned into adipocere. Since the time required for adipocerous changes depends largely on environmental conditions, the key conditions, namely, water temperature, pH, and oxygen content, were considered. In this case, cold, acidic water may have delayed adipocere formation, thus necessitating a long period of time for completeness. On the other hand, anoxic conditions and the peculiar environment of a lake bottom presumably contributed to complete adipocere formation.

Case report
In December of a certain year in Japan, a car was found upside down at the bottom of a lake 40 m below the water surface during water drainage work. There was a corpse in the car that was not identifiable because of adipocere formation. According to the license plate number, the deceased was presumably a man in his fifties who had been missing since August 7 years ago.

DNA analysis of a fragment of the right femur, where bone marrow is well preserved, confirmed his identification at a later date. The lake is next to a side road and the car had no marked damage due to a collision. The police concluded that the deceased had driven into the lake by accident because there was no motive for suicide. To determine the cause of death, a medico-legal autopsy of the deceased was performed.


Fig.1 The external appearance of the deceased. Right lateral view of the adipocere. Nearly the entire body was well preserved.


Fig.2 Back view of the adipocere. The body surface was very hard and firm like a gypsum board.

Autopsy findings
The body was 171 cm (5′7′′) in height and weighed 52.3 kg (115 lbs). The external surface was grayish and very hard and firm like a gypsum board. The impression made by the safety belt was clearly observed from the right shoulder to the left flank region. The scalp and facial soft tissues were avulsed, the skull was exposed, and the facial bone was partially exposed. The mandibular joint was completely disjointed, and the mandibular bone was exposed.

The head and trunk were separated because of the loss of cervical vertebrae. The cervical muscles, trachea, and esophagus were gone. Thyroid cartilage still remained, and obvious fractures were not found. Both forearms were separated from the elbows, and the lower ends of the humeri were exposed, as were all bones in the left leg, right tibia, and right fibula. Both feet were separated at the ankles but in near-perfect condition. Since the damage to the car was not severe and the separations at the joints were bilaterally symmetric, some of the separations were thought to be due to damage incurred during the salvage work.

An electric gypsum cutter was required to open the thoracic cavity and abdominal cavity because of the rigidity of the dead body. The third, fourth, and fifth ribs on the right side were fractured with no signs of bleeding. No other bone fractures in the body were evident. Subcutaneous fat tissues and muscles had completely turned into adipocere. Internal viscera including the heart, lungs, spleen, liver, pancreas, and kidneys had also turned into adipocere and were very firm and grayish. The adrenal glands could not be identified. The brain also appeared grayish and was soft like cheese. No obvious injuries were detected in any organ, and no grossly distinguished internal disease was found.

Cervical organs including the trachea, esophagus, and thyroid were completely decomposed, but no fractures were observed in the hyoid bone or thyroid cartilage. The gastric contents were muddy and did not contain any solid materials. An elution test performed on material from the dura mater failed to identify the blood type. No plankton was found in the lung, liver, or kidney, as evaluated using the diatom test.


Fig.3 Frontal view of the body trunk. The impression made by the safety belt from the right shoulder to the left flank region is clearly seen.


Fig.4 The subcutaneous tissue of the thoracoabdominal wall. Fat and muscles had turned into adipocere.

Discussion
Because of its strong conservation properties, adipocere retains evidence of the cause of death, such as gunshot or strangulation. However, in the present case, only the impression made by the safety belt was observed. Rib fractures were not severe and insufficient to cause death. Although the external surface and internal viscera had completely turned into adipocere and were well preserved, no obvious lesions or injuries were found. A histological examination provided no information, and a diatom test showed no evidence of drowning. Hence, the medico-legal autopsy failed to disclose the cause of death in this case.

Police investigation revealed that the deceased had been submerged for 7 years. A clear postmortem interval in an adipocere case is quite rare. Since the approximate date of death was known, we examined the relationship between complete adipocere formation and water quality. The water in the lake in which the deceased was found has distinct characteristics because of its isolated environment. Characteristics that influence adipocere formation were considered, namely, temperature, pH, and oxygen content.

In conclusion, gradual adipocere formation occurred in a well-preserved body in a quiet lake with a dam. Complete adipocere formation with a hard and firm body surface resulted from the long submersion period and the atypical environment of a lake bottom.

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This post is for educational purposes only and is nonprofit. Under Section 107 of the US Copyright Act of 1976; Allowance is made for "Fair Use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. OP is not a medical expert. No copyright infringement intended. This post does not encourage or glorify violence/harassment. Images might have been upscaled and enhanced. Text might have been shortened and simplified/reorganized for online view.

[Vixənn]

Originally Posted by MrFlibble ↗

Amazing!

Incredible!

[Vixənn]

Originally Posted by MrFlibble ↗

Why thank you, dear

you're welcome!

[Vixənn]

& thank you, herman!

[Brynjar]

Seat belt imprint and all!!

[Karma]

Adipocere. I love that word. :

[morbidinterested]

Fascinating and mysterious... Thanks, Herman.

[Dodger712]

I have no idea what half of the medical / clinical terms you use mean but I have a dictionary and I LOVE your posts. They are very interesting. Thanks!!!

[zeb247]

Looks good.

[REVZZYBAN]

Nice catch, Herman.wall mount trophy material.