A Mesa, Ariz., court this week turned to forensic entomology to estimate the time of death of a shooting victim killed in 1992. Bug evidence appears to support the defendant's claim of innocence.
UAB forensic entomologist Jeff Wells, Ph.D., who's not involved with the case, says that when a victim has been dead more than a couple of days, insects are often the best evidence available for estimating the time of death. "That's because the physical changes in a corpse are difficult to quantify, making it hard to design a standard method for determining the time between death and discovery of the victim." But the presence, size and age of maggots on a corpse helps experts estimate the probable time interval between death and discovery.
Contact Gail Short, Media Relations, 205-934-8931 or [email protected].
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