Critter Clues Help Investigators Crack Real-Life Murder Mysteries

By Barry Murray
Spokesperson, Truly Nolen of America

They can help solve murders by pinpointing the time and location of death, the month a crime was committed and chemicals ingested in a body. They also can help determine if there was abuse and even the circumstances of automobile accidents. Meet the newest brigade of crime fighters: insects.

Forensic entomology has been in existence for centuries; however, it has only in the past decade gained widespread application toward criminal investigations. The use of insects in murder cases and other crimes is becoming quite significant — with police, FBI and other crime investigators now being trained in this area.

The most forensically important insects are those that undergo incremental growth in larval form, such as the blow fly and beetle.

Dr. Ke Chung Kim, a certified forensic entomologist and curator of Penn State University’s Frost Entomological Museum, is one of America’s leading forensic entomology experts. He began his study of forensic entomology more than two decades ago, at a time when the nation was seeing a substantial increase in homicide cases, many of which lacked sufficient evidence to assist investigators.

“Utilizing insect evidence is important because of what it can reveal”, says Kim. “Bugs frequently can help determine time of death, cause of death and whether a corpse was disturbed or moved after the crime. These details can point investigators to possible suspects.”

Dr. Kim explained why insects provide a level of objectivity to an investigation that should not be overlooked.

“Often, entomology is more accurate than what pathologists or coroners can do alone, because they must make approximations only on visual decomposition,” says Kim. “In my opinion, insects are the only entirely objective way to determine the time of death, often within a range of two hours. Knowing that information can lead to who could have committed the crime.”

Insects are usually the first to arrive to the scene of a murder crime – sometimes as early as minutes after a person’s death, said entomologist Fred Baxendale from The Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources forensic entomology team. Within 30 minutes, insects begin to lay eggs.

The growth and reproduction of cold-blooded insects correlates with temperatures in their surroundings. By observing the stage of insect development and matching temperatures with the weather station nearest the crime scene, forensic entomologists can very closely estimate the time of death. The accuracy of the forensic entomologist is very important as a difference in even three degrees in temperature could cause a variation of three or four days.

Insects can also help determine where someone was killed or if a body was moved after death, according to M. Lee Goff, entomologist and author of A Fly for the Prosecution: How Insect Evidence Helps Solve Crimes. Different species of bugs are native to certain areas of the country, and some are characteristic to specific areas within a region.

“If you find evidence of ‘city’ bugs in a person found in the country, you know the body was moved,” said Goff.

Goff has helped solve cases where the blood inside an insect matched that of a rape suspect and has used maggots to detect nursing home abuse.

“A severely infested sore can reveal how long an elderly person was ignored in a nursing home,” adds Goff.

Forensic entomologists have also been called onto the scenes of automobile accidents where the presence of bee stings or wasps have been suspected of cause and in perplexing accidents, remains of bugs impacted on parts of cars have been examined to determine location and direction of travel.

It’s only a matter of time before there’s a reality television show devoted to forensic entomology!

About Truly Nolen
As national spokesperson for Truly Nolen of America, Barry “The Bug Guy” Murray has over 20years of experience in the pest control industry. Barry brings an informative as well as unique and entertaining perspective to consumers’ pest problems in the 21st Century. Founded in 1938, Tucson, Arizona-based Truly Nolen of America is one of the largest family owned pest control companies in the United States. Truly Nolen has 69 branch offices in Arizona, California, Florida, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas and Utah. The company also has independently owned and operated franchises in an ever-growing number of territories including California, Delaware, Florida, Iowa, Kentucky, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas and Utah as well as Puerto Rico. For more information or to Ask the Expert a question about insects and insect prevention, please visit www.trulynolen.com.