Revista de Ciencias Animales y Producción Ganadera Acceso abierto

Abstracto

Application of Forensic Entomology to Estimating Time since Death

V. Agrawal1*, G. Das2, H.K. Mehta3, M. Shakya4 , A. K. Jayraw5, and G.P. Jatav6

Forensic entomology relates primarily to determination of time (time since death or post mortem interval) or site of human death and possible criminal misuse of insects. Estimation of time since death is the length of time between death and corpse recovery. Post mortem determination becomes more difficult for pathologist with the elapsed of time. Insect life cycles act as precise clocks which begin within minutes of death. They can be used to closely determine the time of death, especially useful when other methods are useless. They can also show if a body has been moved after death. The time of death, can usually be determined using insect evidence gathered from and around a corpse. One of the first groups of insects that arrive on a dead body is the blowflies (Diptera: Calliphoridae). However, after three days, insect evidence is often the most accurate and sometimes the only method of determining elapsed time since death. Therefore they are used as evidence in a criminal investigation to determine postmortem interval (PMI). The use of insects to investigate cases of wrongful deaths has increased dramatically in the recent years globally but unfortunately in India it has not received much attention as investigative tool. Based on literature it can be concluded that, the field of Forensic entomology plays a vital role in determination of PMI and thus, we cannot leave such an important perspective.