Burgess, R. L. (2023). What is Forensic Entomology? QFSA.
Despite what you might believe, police, firefighters and medical personnel aren't the quickest to respond to a crime scene… it's actually…
BUGS.
Forensic entomology in Canada has multiple purposes and many relate to the use of lab studies on animals. However, forensic entomology is also, unsurprisingly, used as a type of evidence. Some that come to mind are poaching and animal cruelty. While it may be a difficult field, forensic entomology helps with identifying potential injuries on animals that may have been abused, identify signs and time periods of neglect neglected, or to see if the body has been moved. Historically, in 1995, a noteworthy female entomologist named Dr. Gail Anderson entered the field and become a leading expert in forensic entomology - and she was Canadian! Some accomplishments Dr. Anderson did throughout her career was the collection of evidence that lead to successfully convicting two poachers killing bears out in Manitoba. This early success and ability to get jail time as a conviction set a legal precedent against poachers not yet been seen before in Canada.
Notable Canadian cases from Canadian scientists have helped convict and prove the innocence of people charged with crimes. Going back to Dr. Anderson, in a conviction case, she provided evidence that helped the prosecution convict the person responsible for second-degree murder of a teenage girl in Manitoba. On the other side of the coin, Dr. Anderson helped to prove the innocence of Kristin Labato, a case of wrongful conviction leading to 17 years for a murder she was innocent of. How’d she do it? Dr. Anderson noticed a complete lack of blowflies on the corpse of the man, thus proving that the initial time of death recorded was incorrect and that Labato was innocent. Other Canadian forensic entomologists proved people’s innocence and had their convictions discarded - a famous one being Steven Truscott a minor who was falsely convicted and given the death poorly supported evidence that he brutally assault and murdered his friend, 12-year Lynn Harper. Despite the time that had passed, looking at photos of the larvae present on the victim's body demonstrated the determination of the time of death was wrong and that Truscott was found not guilty. Please go to https://www.innocencecanada.com/exonerations/steven-truscott/ to read about Steven's case.
ENTOMOLOGY & TIME OF DEATH DETERMINATION
Several things can influence what forensic entomologists have to do every day on the job and whether they stop or slow down the beginning stages of insect colonization of decomposing remains in important. Temperature is a major facto to consider also – those that fall below freezing in additional to other extreme environmental factors like the amount of wind and/or rain, the amount of sunlight (of lack thereof) and factors that have to deal with the wrapping, cover, and concealment, of the evidence are all considerations that forensic entomologists can have difficulties with performing their investigations. These factors can either delay or stop altogether the colonization of insects. The time delay associated with these factors are numerous and not always within an entomologist’s ability can estimate using complete certainty. Most times, entomological estimations utilize data collected and sampled from the scene during discovery and data extrapolation for historical meteorological records. This helps entomologists analyze what insects may be present on the victim’s body and what are the relevant timeframes the insects may have begun initial colonization of the remains under the conditions the victim was found. It's important to appreciate that the time the victim has died - but insect colonization has not begun - is subject to a wide degree of variability and proves difficult for entomologists when trying to provide conclusive statements during what’s called the “pre-colonization interval” and thus conclude a broader postmortem interval estimation.
2 Primary Methods of Estimating Time of Colonization (TOC):
Insect succession: This provides estimations through assessing whether certain insects are present or absent particularly ones know to be associated with certain stages of the decomposition - process.
Rates of Insect Development: This is sampled, collected and then analyzed from crime scene evidence. Analysis is conducted using knowledge of temperature-dependent development of insects into a portion of the postmortem interval.
Keeping proper documentation is crucial for evidence collection. Types of evidence include photos as well as written materials so all details of the scene can be used for a thorough analysis. Of particular importance is noting the life cycles of any insect(s) found at the scene, such as eggs, larvae, pupae, or flies. Additionally, making notes on whether there are several species of insects, just a few, only one, or none at all, and what types of insects they are also important.Below is sample of what an forensic entomology form may look like for recording evidence, but you’d be better off asking a professional!
FIGURES 2 & 3: Death scene reference; specimen collection reference.
FIGURE 4: An example of a forensic entomology data form for use on a death scene.
Byrd, J. (n.d.) Retrieved 01-30-2024, from www.forensic-entomology.com
References
Byrd, J., & Sutton, L. (2020). Forensic entomology for the investigator. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Forensic Science, 2(4), e1370.
Joseph, I., Mathew, D. G., Sathyan, P., & Vargheese, G. (2011). The use of insects in forensic investigations: An overview on the scope of forensic entomology. Journal of forensic dental sciences, 3(2), 89–91. https://doi.org/10.4103/0975-1475.92154
McGillivray, L. (2021). Forensic Entomology in Canada: How bugs solve crime. VPMA Site. https://www.vancouverpolicemuseum.ca/post/forensic-entomology-in-canada-how-bugs-solve-crime
Byrd, J. (n.d.) Forensic entomology. https://www.forensic-entomology.com/
