Today’s Eerily Well-Preserved Yet Truly Morbid Fact!
From the poisoner’s perspective, arsenic became a risky choice when forensic examiners began to look directly at the body. With the stubborn, solid constitution of any metallic element, it breaks down extremely slowly compared to organic poisons and can be detected decades after death in a victim’s hair and fingernails. Even worse for those who hope to avoid detection, arsenic tends to slow down the natural decomposition of human tissue, often creating eerily well-preserved corpses. Toxicologists refer to this effect as arsenic “mummification.” Forensic chemist Rudolph Witthaus reported that one body, exhumed after fifty-four weeks in the ground, “did not differ from a living person” in appearance except for the patches of mold growing on his face. “The growth of molds is not interfered with by arsenic,” he added austerely.
Culled from: The Poisoner’s Handbook
Hmmmmm… I wonder if Julia Buccola Petta, the “Incorruptible Bride,” was murdered with arsenic?
My first thought when reading this was of “The Italian Bride,” Julia Buccola Petta, and her well-preserved corpse!
Didn’t she die in childbirth, or something like that? Anyway, IIRC arsenic used to be used in embalming fluid precisely because it slowed down decomposition, so it’s entirely possible that she’s (a) full of the stuff, but (b) died from other causes. (The fact that her widower apparently waited several years before remarrying would suggest to me that he genuinely loved her and mourned her loss, or, at the very least, that he wasn’t in any kind of hurry to shove her off this mortal coil…)