Question

The body of a woman was found in the woods. some hair fibers found on the body were sent to the crime lab for analysis. the ends of the hair attached to the body were gray, but the tips of the hair showed that it had been dyed. the distance from the root of the hair to the beginning of the dyed area measured 8 mm. investigators determined that the victim's hair had last been dyed on august 1, 2004. assuming the hair grows at the rate of 0.44 mm per day, on approximately what date did the woman die? explain your answer.

Answer 1

The victim's hair had grown 8 mm, which at a rate of 0.44 mm per day means that she was alive 18.18 days after dying her hair. Given the date of hair dying as August 1, 2004, it is likely that the victim was deceased sometime on August 19th, 2004. Time of the day depends on the previous hair dye schedule, which was not provided.