Thanks ironmikezeo.
And thank you so much for the extensive answer, Jim, much appreciated.
If I'm reading you correctly, bruising could show on the neck, especially if she were prone to bruising easily? (And yes, it was a face-to-face attempted strangulation.) Bruising WOULD show up on the neck. This area has a fair amount of strength that requires some level of force to interfere with. There's going to be some discoloration of her neck. The only question is the time line from the strangulation to going down the stairs. There's a possibility, not a probability, that if this period is brief enough, and her skin is dark enough, the bruising might not be visible during that time period.
However, there's going to be a few minutes between the strangulation and cardiac death. Blood would leak out of the broken capillaries even after cardiac death, unless the neck is the highest point in the body. With what I'm seeing of your time line, there would be a distinct discoloration on the neck by the time the police view the body. The only reason the police would not notice this is if the police are too stupid to live, or if she is wearing a scarf or something else around the neck.
She is killed instantly by the fall down the stairs.
Well, not exactly. People do not die like a light switch, but as part of a process. In the case of cardiac death, with the type of injury you want, regular heartbeats would cease within thirty seconds of the fall. However, there would be some level of cardiac function, producing marginal blood flow, for up to five to ten minutes after death. This is important to understand because bruising from blood flow will continue at some level for a while.
In this case, you're talking about a fracture in the C1 to C3 range of the spine. You need a complete dislocation of the spine with lateral separation. In other words, the head will no longer be in line with the torso. This is the same type of fracture as a proper hanging will accomplish. At that level, the separation causes a complete termination of any signals from the brain to the heart. This means that the heart will almost immediately stop normal beats, but the heart will continue to function at some level for up to ten minutes. This is why the doctor at executions does not check the victim immediately. Although death can not be avoided at the time of the dislocation, death is not complete for quite a few minutes.
There's no medical examiner at the scene, so no autopsy can be performed for a few days. With a moved body, there's no way this is not a suspicious death. There's no way a medical examiner will not go to the scene. The body doesn't care how long it waits, the cops are paid by the hour, no one is in a rush. Don't confuse a medical examiner going to the scene with an autopsy. The medical examiner is going to want to view the body in situ to determine how the post mortem lividity will operate. There's no way pictures will tell the medical examiner exactly what he or she needs to know. Further read Weasel's post.
The body is moved by other people in the house because it's lying in the middle of the foyer. So, as such, wouldn't raise any suspicion. Balls. Cops would have to be too stupid to live to not be suspicious.
I have 2 police officers arrive 2-3 hours later and want them to be suspicious. Hoping the marks on the throat would be enough. Originally, I thought maybe she would have bruises on her back from being pushed, but I'm guessing that may be asking too much? Best case I know of for a push showing up was the guy's hands had oil on them. Left great marks on the victim's shirt. For bruising to occur, capillaries have to be broken, which means there has to be resistance. Often in pushing there's no resistance so there's no bruising.
Again, thanks for the help.