How long will a morgue take to idnetify the reason of someone's death (murder) , could it take a day ?

Question

don't worry , its just a novel material :D

Answer 1

Only on TV would it take a day.

The reality will depend on where your novel is set and on how badly someone with clout needs this information. Most Coroners Offices have a backlog of several days all the time, and weeks or even months are not unheard of. But if the governor or police commissioner is screaming for results, some (dead) body is going to take cuts in line.

You know, if you phone the Coroner where you novel takes place, explain that you are a writer seeking accurate detail, and have one question which could be answered within a minute or two, they may be able to connect you with someone or have someone call you back. It's pretty cool how many people are eager to lend their expertise to fiction.

Answer 2

Some causes of death are apparent at the crime scene, others take much longer. In our town one famous case was solved when the crime lab was able to match the bruises on the victims face with the killer's portable radio. The killer also went to the Emergency room to have his hand sewn up after striking the victim in the mouth. The ER doc was suspicious and asked if he were in a fight. He replied no, that he cut his hand on a Dumpster. But the wound culture grew out Eichenella corrodens, a germ that inhabits the mouth, but is not found on Dumpsters. Eichenella is slow to grow and a bit difficult to identify, so the police were put off for a week or more. The jury convicted him on that evidence.

Answer 3

Could take longer depending on the COD (cause of death). For example certain drugs or poisons will take longer to discover as toxicollogy tests have to be done and if not found on the first then another has to be done.  Further testing has to be done if nothing found for usual suspect reasons.  It could therefore take over a week to discover the reason and in some cases (due to body decomposition, etc) the COD may not be discovered.  Unlike TV, real world is a little different so things can take awhile.

Answer 4

On the writer's imagination, it could just take a day. But to keep the novel going you'll have to read a lot of pages before the actual identification