Salt mummification- atypical method of embalming a corpse

It is extremely rare for table salt to be used to preserve a dead body in criminal cases. In the case presented here, after the death of his 85-year-old mother, a son kept her body preserved in table salt for about 2 years to extort social benefits (pension). Before her death, the woman had been hospitalised twice due to chronic diseases. The case has been examined by the multi-disciplinary team. The unusual conditions in which the corpse was stored influenced its good condition (close to mummification), with limited colonisation of the corpse by necrophagous insects and insects involved in soft tissue biolysis (i.e. selected Diptera or Coleoptera). The use of table salt inhibited the growth of most fungi which would normally be present on a corpse stored in ambient conditions, and the corpse's surface was colonised by halophilic fungus (Scopulariopsis brevicaulis).

Automated summary

It is extremely rare for table salt to be used as a preservation method for a dead body in criminal cases. In this particular case, a son preserved his 85-year-old mother's body in table salt for about 2 years in order to extort social benefits. The conditions in which the body was stored were unusual, resulting in limited colonization of the body by necrophagous and biolysis insects. Most fungi, which are normally present on a corpse stored in ambient conditions, were inhibited by the use of table salt, and a halophilic fungus colonized the body's surface.