NCJ Number
217668
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 52 Issue: 2 Dated: March 2007 Pages: 453-458
Date Published
March 2007
Length
6 pages
Annotation
In order to determine the effects of storage in a morgue cooler on the temperature of maggot masses and consequent estimates of the time of death, temperatures inside and outside of body bags that contained a human cadaver and pig cadavers were measured during storage.
Abstract
The study found that temperatures remained significantly higher inside of the body bags relative to the cooler temperature, and they remained at levels sufficient for maggot feeding and development. This means that estimates of time of death made at autopsy after the body has been stored in a body bag in a morgue cooler must take into account any insect development during the storage period. If the forensic entomologist assumes that no insect development has occurred during preautopsy refrigeration, error rates in estimating time of death will range between 8.6 to 12.8 percent. The potential for blow fly larvae to undergo significant development while a body is stored in a body bag in the morgue is a possibility that forensic entomologists should consider during sample collection at an autopsy. Case and experimental evidence also show that substantial tissue loss can occur from maggot feeding during morgue storage. During the course of a 2003 homicide investigation, researchers were able to track the temperatures experienced by the insects associated with the victim from the time the body was removed from the scene until the autopsy. During the intervening time, the body was kept in a standard morgue cooler. Subsequent experiments were conducted with decomposing pigs to confirm observations on maggot development in a morgue cooler and to establish the level of temperature differences. 20 references