In the dissertation, on the basis of modern macroscopic, microscopic, biophysical and statistical research methods, the peculiarities of the development of postmortem changes in the corpses of domestic cats depending on the time elapsed since death were determined and criteria were developed according to which, taking into account these data, the statute of limitations for death can be established.
The statute of limitations is the time elapsed from the moment of death of an animal to the moment of discovery of the corpse and its receipt for forensic veterinary examination. The need to establish the prescription of death of an animal arises when, in the interests of the investigation, there is a need to determine the date and time of death of the animal, to verify the relevance and reliability of the testimony of persons under investigation or participants in the investigation, to verify the reliability of anamnestic data in cases of pathological and anatomical autopsy. A positive answer to the question about the time interval that has passed since the death allows to highlight some of the circumstances of the offense, providing a large amount of objective and reliable information for the investigation.
The study, which is the basis of the dissertation, is aimed at determining and scientifically substantiating the criteria for establishing the statute of limitations for the onset of death in domestic cats.
For the experiments, the cadavers of domestic cats (Felis silvestris catus) were used, which were received for the purpose of conducting research aimed at establishing the statute of limitations for the onset of death from various veterinary medicine clinics in Kyiv after euthanasia on the recommendations of veterinarians and the consent of animal owners. A total of 21 animals were examined. Of these, 18 animals were aged from 1 to 3.5 years, 3 animals were two months old. According to the sex distribution, 19 animals were males, 3 of them were neutered, 2 were females, unsterilized. The weight of kittens was 0.35–0.40 kg, and that of adult animals was 4–7 kg (all were of medium weight).
According to the results of the study of the statute of limitations for the onset of death, the start and end time of the onset of rigor mortis in different groups of skeletal muscles, starting from the moment of death of the animals, were determined by the visual-palpatory method. It was determined that already in the first hour after death, partial rigor mortis of the muscles of the thigh and shoulder was palpably recorded. Starting from 7 hours after death, well-defined, pronounced or partial rigor mortis was observed in all groups of skeletal muscles. Rigor mortis was most pronounced in all skeletal muscle groups at 11–12 hours after death. At 17 hours, rigor mortis was already detected in some skeletal muscle groups, and starting from 19 hours, rigor mortis became complete, and no further signs of rigor mortis were recorded. It has been established that it is advisable to determine the statute of limitations for the onset of death by this method in the postmortem interval lasting 2–20 hours from the moment of death.
According to the results of studies of the statute of limitations for the onset of death by the thermometric method, it was found that the temperature of the corpse, both rectal and liver, in adult cats after 29 hours is completely equal to the ambient temperature (when measured at room temperature), so it is advisable to use thermometry to establish the statute of limitations for the onset of death in cats by temperature no later than 29–30 hours after death.
A new method for determining the statute of limitations for the onset of death in domestic cats, called the «wet spot method», was developed and patented. The peculiarities of the dynamics of changes in the wet spot area in skeletal muscle samples obtained from domestic cats, depending on the time of death, were investigated.
According to the results of the study of the statute of limitations for the onset of death by the wet spot method, it was found that the wet spot area obtained from muscle samples of domestic cats corpses significantly correlates with the time of death in the period from the moment of death to 27 days.
It has been proved that the degree of development of certain changes correlates with the time of death at the postmortem intervals determined for each of the used methods of investigation, which allowed the development of reference tabular values of the relevant indicators that can be used in the practice of forensic veterinary examination.
Thus, for the purpose of forensic veterinary determination of the statute of limitations for the onset of death in a domestic cat, it is necessary to use the above methods both individually and in combination, using the obtained reference values.
