Exhumation

Exhumation is the removal of a body from a grave. It is a relatively rare occurrence and can be distressing for relatives. The most common reason for exhumation is need or desire to move the body to a different location. This may happen if a cemetery closing or if the family buys a new burial plot or wishes to re-inter the deceased elsewhere with other family members. However, some cases of exhumation occur because there is a request from a court to carry out or repeat an autopsy to gain new forensic evidence. This is more likely in countries where the autopsy rate is low. With cremation becoming increasingly common, exhumation is less important than in previous years.

Requirements vary from place to place, but it is usually necessary to obtain a license from the local or higher authorities to perform an exhumation. It is also usual to get the permission of the family of the deceased. The procedure is not without risk to public health, so an environmental health officer is usually present. If the body is buried in consecrated ground, it will be also necessary to obtain permission from the church. Obtaining the necessary licenses may sometimes be time-consuming, and it is also very unusual to perform exhumations on people only recently buried.

The environmental health officer, or equivalent, will ensure that the correct grave is opened. If the grave cannot be identified, the exhumation is not carried out and nor is it if the body lies underneath another body which is not to be exhumed. In other words, anything that interferes with the respect due to the body to be exhumed or others buried on the site will be a reason to refuse permission for the exhumation. Proceedings must be carried out in daylight and are planned for a time of day to ensure maximum privacy; the area involved is usually screened. Protective and disposable masks, gowns, and gloves are worn by all involved to protect from any possibility of transmission of disease. Those concerned will take every care to show respect to the corpse. A medical officer should be present and will examine the body before it is moved and take photographs. This is important because bones may become brittle after they have been buried for some time and may break when moved. The body is usually transferred into a new casket made of timber lined with zinc for security. Pieces of the old casket are transferred, along with the body, to the new casket. The area of exhumation is then thoroughly disinfected. The body is then transferred to its destination as quickly as possible.

There may have been some decomposition so any autopsy will need to be performed promptly. The results will rarely be as good as those from an autopsy on a fresh body. However, an autopsy on an exhumed body can still yield some useful information. Although the procedure of performing an autopsy on an exhumed body is basically the same as that for a fresh body, decomposition may mean some modification is necessary. There may be worms or insects present in the corpse, but they should not be sprayed with insecticide or other chemicals as this interferes with tests on the body. There may also be a strong odor when the body is opened, and the investigators might wear gauze masks dipped in potassium permanganate to minimize exposure to particulate matter in the air. Sometimes only bones are left in the grave if the body has been buried for some time. It is the usual practice to boil the bones before autopsy. They can still yield useful information about cause of death. However, autopsy on an exhumed body is generally a task for a skilled and experienced pathologist.

Should poisoning be thought to be a factor in the death of the person involved, samples of soil from above, below, and to the sides of the coffin should be taken and sent for toxicological analysis. A control sample would also be taken from another part of the cemetery. Many exhumation cases have involved investigation of possible arsenic poisoning, a less common cause of murder these days. Arsenic remains in the body for a long time, so it can be detected after burial. For example, it was long held by some historians that the twelfth President of the United States, Zachary Taylor, died from arsenic poisoning rather than by natural causes. Exhumation took place 141 years after his death. Extremely sensitive tests showed that levels of arsenic in his body were normal; poisoning was not involved in his death. Other exhumation cases have, however, proved the opposite. It is particularly important to take soil samples in the case of arsenic poisoning for comparison. Otherwise it is not possible to know if arsenic entered the body from the soil or by poisoning.