Low Down

Some pathologists, usually those not normally concerned with criminal and litigious cases, claim that an autopsy report should be a bare recitation of the physical findings, with no discussion or interpretation of the significance of those findings. This is an abdication of the pathologist's responsibility because, especially in criminal deaths, it is these condusions that are of most interest and use to che investigating officers, lawyers and courts. After the detailed description of the external and internal appearances, a short resume should be offered of the major positive findings and their relationship to the cause of death. In many cases this will be obvious, as in a gunshot wound of the head. Matters such as the probable type of weapon, the range, the direction and the likely rapidity of death, however, should also be discussed. When the findings are less clear cut, or are multiple, then the alternatives should be discussed, giving a differential diagnosis of the cause of d...

The use of insects in medico-criminal investigations enjoys a long practice. The oldest reported case dates to 1235 A.D. in China when a local “Death   Investigator” determined that the presence of adult flies on the washed sickle   confirmed the guilt of a murder suspect, who subsequently confessed to the   crime. Generally, among law enforcement practitioners, maggots and other   insects have traditionally been regarded as unpalatable byproducts of the   decomposition process. The sights and smells of a heavily infested corpse can   be very disturbing, and these invaders are often looked upon as pests. These   pests are often washed down the autopsy table with little regard to their   evidentiary value. The challenge to investigators is to realize that insects can   be our partners in solving crime. Their presence on a corpse can provide   valuable information not attainable from any other source. Insects are the life blood of our wo...