NCJ Number
132517
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 36 Issue: 5 Dated: (September 1991) Pages: 1395-1414
Date Published
1991
Length
10 pages
Annotation
An experimental field protocol for determining postmortem interval is proposed using an immigration emergence trap for insects and using human and pig cadavers. This protocol can provide useful baseline data regarding medicolegal considerations of causes, manner, and time of death.
Abstract
This protocol is achieved through a multidisciplinary approach encompassing forensic entomology, pathology and anthropology with the apparatus and collecting methods described. Simultaneous information is obtained regarding the sequential arrival and variety of insects in the decay process, the character and manner of soft tissue decomposition, the sequence and nature of bone exposure and order of disarticulation of skeletal remains, and the influence of climate and season on decay rates and anthropod successional trends. The central feature of this protocol is the construction and use of this dual function trap that captures both arriving and emerging insects while the process of decomposition proceeds uninterrupted on the cadaver. Field procedures and results of trap microclimate tests in an arid climate in 1990 are presented together with preliminary arthropod data collected from field- exposed pig carcasses. 14 figures, 1 table, and 42 references (Author abstract modified)