Volume 38, Issue 4 (July 1993) A Computer Program for the
Estimation of Time of Death In the 1960s Marshall and Hoare
presented a “Standard Cooling Curve” based on their mathematical
analyses on the postmortem cooling of bodies. Although fairly
accurate under standard conditions, the “curve” or formula is
based on the assumption that the ambience temperature is
constant and that the temperature at death is known. Also,
Marshall and Hoare's formula expresses the temperature as a
function of time, and not vice versa, the latter being the
problem most often encountered by forensic scientists. A simple
BASIC program that enables solving of Marshall and Hoare's
equation for the postmortem cooling of bodies is presented. It
is proposed that by having a computer program that solves the
equation, giving the length of the cooling period in response to
a certain rectal temperature, and which allows easy comparison
of multiple solutions, the uncertainties related to ambience
temperature and temperature at death can be q