Which postmortem change can indicate whether the body was moved after death?

• A. Cadaveric Spasm
• B. Rigor Mortis
• C. Putrefaction
• D. Lividity

Answer: (D)

Lividity shows where blood settles after circulation stops, pulled by gravity. Because it forms in the dependent parts of the body, changing the body's position after death shifts the pattern of lividity. If you observe lividity in areas that wouldn’t be dependent in the body’s current position, or see a pattern that has moved with repositioning, it indicates the body was moved after death. Over time, lividity becomes fixed, so the ability to shift it changes as time passes. The other changes aren’t reliable indicators of movement after death: cadaveric spasm happens at the moment of death, rigor mortis is the subsequent time‑dependent stiffening, and putrefaction is decomposition, not a marker of movement.