Sperm's Morphologic Survival After 16 Days in the Vagina of a Dead Body:

Abstract from the Journal of Forensic Sciences backfile:

Sperm's Morphologic Survival After 16 Days in the Vagina of a Dead Body
Wilson, EF
Lane County Assistant Medical Examiner, P.O. Box 369, Eugene, Ore. 97401. Formerly, Deputy Chief Medical Examiner, State of Utah, Utah State Division of Health, and Department of Pathology, University of Utah Medical Center, Salt Lake City, Utah.

In preparation for a murder trial a few years ago, a number of textbooks and the recent English-speaking literature dealing with forensic pathology were reviewed for information concerning length of survival of spermatozoa in the vagina of a dead body. This literature review has been ongoing and has included examination of the most recently published textbook in forensic pathology [1], where it is written, "Even though a definite time scale for the identification of spermatozoa cannot be furnished, it is apparent that a number of days can elapse between the time of death and time of examination with identifiable spermatozoa being present."