How long does it take for a body wrapped in synthetic materials to disintegrate in seawater? Is a body lying on the seabed likely to deteriorate faster or slower than one just floating around? I would expect a dead body in seawater would deteriorate to nothing within a year or two but, according to news reports recently, the sharp outlines of such a body are still visible 3 years after death.
Well, there’s a lot of different synthetic materials. We need more specifics to properly gnaw on this question.
So, what’d you wrap him in?
The bodies belong to two people who disappeared on January 1, 1998. In the past the bodies were discussed as having been wrapped in sailcloth and weighted with chains. Last week a sonar search was undertaken and on television a sonar picture was shown that was, in part, a little like a chalk outline drawn at a murder scene. You could clearly see an upper torso and an outstretched arm. News reporters right now don’t discuss sail cloth, canvas or any materials used to wrap the bodies but talk about how the bodies are lying a few feet apart on the ocean floor but linked together with a chain. If you had any interest at all in the story it would probably be because the guy they convicted of the murder is half American. His name is Scott Watson and the bodies’ names are Olivia Hope and Ben Smart. Try Google. I have never been convinced of Scott Watson’s guilt myself.