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- A Death Investigator is usually a medical examiner or coroner

- Certification from the American Board of Forensic Pathology requires a 5-year residency, along with another year of training in a medical examiner's office

- Cause of death falls into one of 5 categories: Natural, Accidental, Suicide, Homicide, and Undetermined.

- Many deaths are labeled "unattended deaths", usually in cases involving a neglected elderly person.

- A body is generally better preserved when found inside than when found inside.

- DIs must wait until a crime scene is secured until they can enter. They are also able to excercise authority over any forensic evidence.

- PMI stands for Post-Mortem Interval, the official term for time of death.

- While none of the methods for determining PMI is very reliable, when severl of them are used together, a PMI becomes more accurate.

- Signs for determining PMI are: Algor Mortis, Livor Mortis, Rigor Mortis, Ocular Indicators, Food Digestion, and Personal Factors.

- Insects on a body may be used to determine: If a body has been moved, if the body contains any toxins or drugs, what the victim's DNA is like, if an alibi holds up, and what wounds were made to a body.