Insect Larvae Used to Detect Cocaine Poisoning in a Decomposed Body

• NCJ Number: 138356
• Journal: Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 37 Issue: 4 Dated: (July 1992) Pages: 1179-1185
• Author(s): K B Nolte; R D Pinder; W D Lord
• Date Published: 1992
• Length: 7 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Technical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Paper presented at the 43d Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, 1991, Anaheim, California

Annotation

Insect larvae are often found on human remains long after the disappearance of usual toxicological specimens, and this study involved the extraction of cocaine and benzoylecgonine from Calliphorid larvae found on a badly decomposed body of a man in Connecticut who had been missing for 5 months.

Abstract

The remains were identified as a 29-year-old male intravenous drug abuser who had been reported missing. The body was found prone, lightly covered with snow, and partially embedded in frozen earth in a densely wooded area less than a mile from where he was last seen. At autopsy, the clothing had no unusual cuts, tears, or holes. Skeletal muscle from the legs, fly larvae, and pupal cases were collected at autopsy and frozen. Initial screening for cocaine and benzoylecgonine was performed using radioimmunoassay. Both muscle and larvae were homogenized with approximately three times their weight of deionized water. Confirmation of the presence of cocaine in muscle was accomplished by full spectrum gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Quantitative evaluation of cocaine in muscle and larval specimens was performed with gas chromatography using a nitrogen-phosphorus detector. Benzoylecgonine was determined using an automated quantitation program. Findings indicated that no ethanol or other volatile hydrocarbons were presented in muscle screened by gas chromatography. Further, no opiates, benzodiazepines, or barbiturates were detected in muscle screened by radioimmunoassay. Cocaine, lidocaine, and caffeine were qualitatively identified in muscle analyzed by GC/MS. Toxicological information obtained from insect larvae, combined with autopsy findings and circumstances of death and disappearance, was essential in determining cocaine poisoning as the cause of death. It is suggested that forensic pathologists and toxicologists need to recognize the potential of insect larvae specimens when routine specimens are not available. 15 references, 1 table, and 2 figures