Casey Anthony and decomposition...?

Question

So I've been compulsively following the Casey Anthony case and hope someone can answer my question. Tonight they said air samples proved that there had been decomposition in the trunk of the car.

How long after death does decomposition start? I mean, I know it's immediate, but how long before a dead body starts to smell? I always thought it took a couple of days, but I just can't wrap my head around this mother leaving her dead daughter in a trunk for two days. Odd that I can wrap my head around her killing her (she's obviously a sociopath), but leaving her daughter in the trunk for a couple of days is just monstrous....

Answer 1

I think it usually starts to occur between 24 and 48 hours after death.

I also think she's stalling and waiting for the body to be so decomposed that finding the exact cause of death will be impossible

Answer 2

The rate and timing of decomposition is directly related to the temperature and humidity. In a hot climate, a body can begin to decompose within just a couple of hours. Moisture in the air weighs down on escaping gasses, and can actually promote decomposition because the moisture wears on the skin without the bodies natural sweat gland defenses active. This also keeps the gasses nearer to the skin and causes a form of body erosion, so to speak.

Answer 3

It is really hard to determine a time frame for the odor to become noticeable since there is no way we know the temperature of the car because that would affect the decomp rate

But I am having a really hard time wrapping my head around that too.  But I can't really understand the mother killing her either.  If she can do that, it shouldn't surprise me she'd leave her in the trunk for a couple of days.

Answer 4

I'm not sure how long it takes a body to start to smell, but I do imagine that heat will speed up that process. Florida is extremely hot & humid, so I would imagine that a body would start smelling within a day. Plus, being in a car trunk, it would be even hotter in there than outside.

It looks like justice is finally going to prevail. And I don't want to see this psychopath get any kind of immunity deal. She doesn't deserve it. Find that little girl's remains and throw the book at Casey! This is just so sad. There are so many people in this world who would have loved to had that beautiful little girl as their own. What a waste. God bless you, Caylee.