Unsuspecting deputy finds decomposing body SITTING UPRIGHT on a chair in remote California town
WALLACE, CALIFORNIA: Authorities found a dead body sitting upright on a chair in a home embedded in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains. They claim the corpse may have been decomposing at the property for several years.
A Calaveras County Sheriff's deputy first found the body sitting on a chair inside the house in Wallace, California, on Sunday, August 14. He was reportedly at the property to try and get in touch with the son of a different deceased man, who was thought to live at that address. It's worth noting that dead bodies begin to decay rapidly after death, going through various stages of decomposition at varying speeds depending on the surrounding environment. Police said the fact that the body was unidentifiable suggests it had been decomposing for many years.
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"Evidence suggested more than three years," Calaveras County Sheriff's spokesperson Lt. Greg Stark told California-based news outlet SFGate. "Due to the condition of the body, the detectives were unable to determine the cause of death or identification of the deceased," he added.
The decomposition of a human body begins approximately four minutes after the death of a person. The body undergoes four stages of decomposition, namely autolysis, bloat, active decay, and skeletonization, according to Aftermath, a crime scene and biohazard cleaning firm.
A sheriff's office spokesperson said it may have been at least three years. https://t.co/O6x7ZKRzLj
— SFGATE (@SFGate) August 17, 2022
The company explains on its website how autolysis begins as the cells start to die and burst, while enzymes digest the tissues. The body then enters 'rigor mortis' — a stiffening of the corpse stemming from calcium build-up in the muscles that peaks around 12 hours after a person dies. Rigor mortis passes after 48 hours, and the body begins to decay further. Skin slippage begins and the body is bloated from gases produced from bacterial decomposition within the gut.
The pressure of the gas building inside eventually ruptures the skin, thereby creating spaces for flies to lay eggs inside besides open cavities such as the mouth, eyes, and genitals. The body enters the active decay stage once the eggs hatch and is fed upon by the maggots and other insects as well as bacteria. This process releases several volatile compounds like putrescine and cadaverine that linger around the site for a while. After the soft tissues are digested and maggots leave, other insects devour the tougher materials like ligaments and cartilage. Eventually, just the bones remain, and they are disintegrated into dust over many years. "The degree of decomposition varies not only from individual to individual but also differs in different body organs," Gulnaz Javan, a forensic scientist at the Alabama State University, told The Guardian. "Spleen, intestine, stomach and pregnant uterus are earlier to decay, but on the other hand kidney, heart and bones are later in the process."
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As mentioned, the speed at which a body decomposes depends on the environment, including factors such as temperature, humidity, soil pH, and oxygen availability. Some dead bodies naturally mummify instead of decaying if they lose water from evaporation or freezing faster than their digestive enzymes can function. Considering, the conditions inside the Wallace property would influence the number of different states the body went through after a few years. The sheriff's offices are yet to disclose the identity of both the body and the original deceased individual. However, Stark said there were no signs of foul play, Newsweek reported.
