Dark Side: Dollars to Dounoughts

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 world. They are the largest group of animals  on the planet, and many taxonomists estimate that at least three quarters of  a million species have been described, with as many as three million species  yet to be identified. As Holden pointed out, “bugs are not going to inherit the  earth…they own it now.” With this in mind, it should come as no surprise  that some insects are important to man. Their importance may be economical,  agricultural, medical, and even forensic in nature.

The forensic entomologists may offer a variety of analyses in both criminal and civil matters, they are most often called upon to examine insects  recovered from deceased individuals. Following death, a corpse can be quickly  colonized by a variety of necrophagous and saprophagous arthropods, especially insects.

As each species of insect arrives and feeds on the body, they invariably change the corpse, thereby making it attractive to the next group of insects. The lines separating these successional waves are far from distinct, as environ￾mental and biological systems vary from location to location.

During warm months, flies (Diptera) are the main decomposers, and are  the major invertebrate fauna on carrion. Adult flies of the families Calliphoridae (blow flies) and Sarcophagidae (flesh flies) may arrive within a few  minutes after death. After locating on a corpse, gravid females will then lay  their eggs (Calliphoridae) or larvae (Sarcophagidae). Usually these species  favor the natural orifices but may also be preferentially attracted to sites of  trauma such as gunshot injuries, sharp force, and blunt force trauma. These flies undergo what is known as holometabolous, or complete, metamorphosis. There are three larval growth stages called instars which are each separated by a molting. This is followed by a wandering phase and then the pre-pupal and pupal stage. The pupal stage is easily recognized as the outer skin darkens to a reddish brown to black color with the developing pupa inside. These pupae can be found in the soil, adjacent leaf litter, or clothing of the victim. The pupae are immobile and assume a barrel shape, similar in appearance to rodent droppings. After development, the adult fly will emerge, leaving the durable puparium behind.

The stage of development of the larvae (maggots) of these flies is the  most reliable indicator for estimating what has traditionally been referred to  as the time since death, or post mortem interval. Entomologists have been  studying these rates of development for different species and have established  reliable data on how quickly each stage develops under varying temperatures.  For example, once the adult female fly deposits her clutch, a kind of biological  stop watch is started. Once the species and the stage of development is  established, the entomologist can then review the temperature data from the  crime scene and determine how long it would have taken the maggots to  reach the observed stage of development.

While flies may locate on a corpse immediately following death — often  within minutes — and begin oviposition or larviposition, there are a variety  of biological, situational, and environmental factors which could hinder the  arrival of adult flies. Temperature and humidity are by far the most influential  environmental factors. Generally, adult flies will not be active in flight when  ambient air temperatures fall below 10°C. It follows that a corpse dumped  in a field during a period of cold temperatures will not immediately be colonized by these species — even though death has occurred. Likewise,  concealment (temporary or prolonged) of the corpse by means of burial or  placement in a location inaccessible to adult insects (e.g., metal drum, car  trunk, water) will also retard or prevent this “clock” from starting. Additionally, once the corpse is physically accessible by adult flies, it may have  advanced to a stage of decomposition that is unattractive to adult flies and  unsuitable for maggot development. The degree to which these factors influ￾ence a particular analysis must be determined on a case by case basis. Failure  to consider these factors could lead to a serious error in the estimate of time  since colonization.

Forensic entomologists are sometimes asked to examine maggots recovered  from living subjects who are victims of abuse or neglect. These victims are  often among the elderly and infancypopulations. Some individuals in these  populations are physically unable to adequately care for themselves and  depend on others to properly manage their hygiene. When this care is neglect or absent, adult flies may oviposit in areas such as bed sores or dirty diapers.

 

A clothed human male corpse in advanced stages of decomposition

The case where the knowledge and experince of putting all pices together lead to a horrory found - In November 1996, a deceased adult white male was found along a rural dirt road in eastern Arapahoe County, Colorado. No vehicle was found at the scene. The victim was fully clothed and laying in a drainage wash-out which was covered by a mattress. The victim was in a supine position with his legs bent at the knees.

 

Clothed body of an adult white male found laying in a drainage  washout covered by a mattress

Numerous second and third install larvae of  the black blow fly P. regina (Meigen) and Calliphora terraenovae (Macquart)  were recovered from the victim at autopsy. Autopsy finding revealed that the  victim died of natural causes associated with severe alcohol abuse. These  findings were supported by subsequent investigation and reports from family  and friends of the victim, who confirmed his heavy drinking.

After weather data was examined, it was determined  that the victim had been dumped in the location and colonized 9 to 10 days  prior to discovery. Law enforcement investigators had located a witness who claimed to have  seen the victim in the same position two weeks prior to the discovery date.  The witness had been in the area target shooting and was adamant about the  sighting. The author was contacted about this discrepancy and responded  that the witness must be mistaken, as the victim could not have been in the  location 14 days prior to discovery. It was suggested that investigators put a  day planner in front of the witness and make him account for every day of  the two week period. After this meeting, the witness confirmed that he was  in fact mistaken and that he had been in the area 10 days prior to the discovery  of the victim.

Once the victim was identified, it was determined through the investigation that his vehicle, wallet, and credit cards were missing from his Denver residence. A review of the victim’s credit card charges and an examination of  the signatures by a questioned document examiner revealed that the victim had driven to Texas about three weeks prior to his discovery. Shortly after his arrival in Texas, the victim’s signature changed on his receipts. Several  days later the victim’s vehicle was stopped by Texas authorities and another man was found to be driving and using the victim’s identity. The victim was not in the vehicle at the time of the stop. The unidentified suspect was not arrested or identified by Texas authorities, but was later identified by Colorado investigators as an acquaintance of the victim’s.

On returning to the vehicle the subject found the victim dead. He panicked and drove the victim back to Colorado. After returning the victim to Colorado, the subject immediately returned to Texas (apparently to finalize a drug deal) and it was then that he was stopped by the Texas authorities. The subject would not elaborate as to where the victim was placed for the few days he was absent, however, investigators believe that the victim was placed inside an outbuilding belonging to an acquaintance of the subject. The subject returned from Texas for the second time  and stated that he dumped the victim at the scene nine days prior to the discovery of the victim. A credit card receipt from the victim’s card (signed by the subject) confirmed that it was used to purchase gasoline at a station approximately 3 km from the scene on the same day. Investigators have yet to determine the location of the victim prior to his dumping, as all parties continue to be uncooperative.

All in all a vital criminal intelligence system involves more than compiling data that  is used primarily to react to immediate investigative needs. Lack of a fully  developed strategic and tactical intelligence capability seriously hinders the ability of a law enforcement agency to accurately measure and prevent organized, serious crime within its jurisdiction, or to anticipate crime threats that can significantly affect the jurisdiction from without. This, in turn, has been a stumbling block in the development of scientific crime control strategy that would have a measurable impact on the effects of crime.

 

Acknowledgements:

www.politie.nl  Politiekorpschef  @Janny Knol©

www.aived.nl    AIVD – @Erik Akerboom ©

www.politie.nl WEB Politie - @Henk van Essen©

https://www.police-nationale.interieur.gouv.fr/ @ Stephane Folcher ©

 

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