NCJ Number
228521
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 54 Issue: 5 Dated: September 2009 Pages: 1105-1112
Date Published
September 2009
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This South African study examined the influence of clothing and wrapping on pig carcass decomposition and arthropod succession in order to estimate postmortem interval in homicide investigations.
Abstract
One of the most significant findings in terms of postmortem interval estimation was that oviposition by the adult female flies was recorded simultaneously at all the carcasses regardless of whether the carcass was wrapped or not, for both seasons (autumn and summer in South Africa). All of the carcasses in all sample groups showed maggots of the same age and, in most cases, of the same species during the first 13 days. This was contrary to the research published by Goff, who estimated a 2.5-day delay on wrapped remains. In Goff's study, however, the remains were wrapped in two layers of blankets and securely tied. In the current study, the carcasses were only wrapped in a sheet and were not tied. The flies were observed to push through the smallest gaps and folds of the sheet to the point of damaging their wings. Dead flies were sometimes found on the wrapped carcasses after they were unable to find a way out of the sheet. Thus, in a criminal investigation in which a body has been wrapped and has not been secured in any way, it can be assumed that there was no delay in oviposition by adult Chrysomya marginalis and Chrysomya albiceps during the autumn and summer seasons in the region of South Africa where this study was conducted. All of the carcasses remained fresh for only 1 day at most, which was shorter than reported elsewhere. The bloat stage lasted only 3 days in autumn and less than 1 day in summer. Time differences in the decomposition process can be expected due to geographic and climatic differences. 1 table, 3 figures, and 36 references