Dedpanman;
My opinion on the above is as follows;
Forensic Entomology is still a relatively new field, while it has been studied for centuries it has only recently taken off in the last twenty years. Canada only has 2 Forensic Entomologists right now in 2012. Dr. Sherah VanLaerhoven of the University of Windsor and her mentor Gail Anderson of Simon Fraiser University. Gail Anderson did not start working on homicides until 1988 and VanLaerhoven started in the early nineties. John Ferris, while his credentials are extensive and impressive he is a medical doctor who specialized in forensic pathology which by and large deals with cause of death and not entomology. There was no schooling for Entomology when he was practicing and while I accept the fact that he had overseen 600plus autopsies his specialty was in determining cause of death. Given the degree of issues during the autopsy and the lack of effort in the police investigation I am not convinced that the detectives reported properly on the forensic evidence and in their defense it was a small town and homicide especially that of a child was almost unheard of. Scientific Forensics did not play a huge part in Canadian crime solving at that point in time. That said I also have scientific reasons for my opinion.
-A wound absent of maggots or other necrophagous insects is most likely a postmortem wound.
- If the insect cycle is disturbed, it may suggest that the killer returned to the scene of the crime. The entomologist may be able to estimate the date of death and possibly the date of the return of the killer.
-Forensic entomology relies on insect abundance. In winter, there are fewer insects and entomology's use is limited.
- Treatments (like freezing, wind, burial or wrapping) that exclude insects and can affect estimates
- Non-carrion insects that commonly arrive at remains in dry decay are centipedes, millipedes, isopods, snails and cockroaches prefer moist dark places NOTE: centipedes, millipedes, isopods, snails and cockroaches generally go indoors during the winter.
- Low temperatures generally slow down the activity of blow-flies and their colonization of a body. Higher temperatures in the summer favor large maggot masses on the carrion.
- Dry and windy environments can dehydrate a corpse, leading to mummification. Dryness causes cessation in bacterial growth since there are no nutrients present to feed on. (CJ was "skeletonized" nothing left to feed on, except for her head which was covered/wrapped)
- Most insects are not active in the winter
- In temperate regions dead bodies often appear in spring, after the snow is gone. The forensic entomologist and the forensic pathologist must then try to determine whether the death occurred during the winter or before the snow set in. If the death occurred before November, it is possible to find dead insects in and on the body...ie; frozen maggots (maggots being one of the first to inhabit the body)
- The insects found underneath the body will also vary with the length of time the body has been at the scene, providing more evidence of both time of death and whether the body may have been moved -movement can be caused by animals as well.
- When insects invade human remains, they begin to feed on blood or exposed flesh on the body surface
- During Canadian winters, a forensic entomologist has difficulty predicting the time since death because insects are not active during this cold season. As well, a body dumped before the winter or during the winter is often covered by snow and not found until the snow has melted in the spring. Then, a forensic entomologist may try to determine whether the death occurred during the winter or before the winter. A death has likely occurred before the winter when dead insect eggs, larvae, pupae, or adults are found in or on the body. By analyzing these dead insects and estimating when they died using meteorological records, time since death can be estimated. Absence of signs of insect infestation likely indicates that the victim's body was deposited during the winter.
My opinion on the above is as follows;
Forensic Entomology is still a relatively new field, while it has been studied for centuries it has only recently taken off in the last twenty years. Canada only has 2 Forensic Entomologists right now in 2012. Dr. Sherah VanLaerhoven of the University of Windsor and her mentor Gail Anderson of Simon Fraiser University. Gail Anderson did not start working on homicides until 1988 and VanLaerhoven started in the early nineties. John Ferris, while his credentials are extensive and impressive he is a medical doctor who specialized in forensic pathology which by and large deals with cause of death and not entomology. There was no schooling for Entomology when he was practicing and while I accept the fact that he had overseen 600plus autopsies his specialty was in determining cause of death. Given the degree of issues during the autopsy and the lack of effort in the police investigation I am not convinced that the detectives reported properly on the forensic evidence and in their defense it was a small town and homicide especially that of a child was almost unheard of. Scientific Forensics did not play a huge part in Canadian crime solving at that point in time. That said I also have scientific reasons for my opinion.
-A wound absent of maggots or other necrophagous insects is most likely a postmortem wound.
- If the insect cycle is disturbed, it may suggest that the killer returned to the scene of the crime. The entomologist may be able to estimate the date of death and possibly the date of the return of the killer.
-Forensic entomology relies on insect abundance. In winter, there are fewer insects and entomology's use is limited.
- Treatments (like freezing, wind, burial or wrapping) that exclude insects and can affect estimates
- Non-carrion insects that commonly arrive at remains in dry decay are centipedes, millipedes, isopods, snails and cockroaches prefer moist dark places NOTE: centipedes, millipedes, isopods, snails and cockroaches generally go indoors during the winter.
- Low temperatures generally slow down the activity of blow-flies and their colonization of a body. Higher temperatures in the summer favor large maggot masses on the carrion.
- Dry and windy environments can dehydrate a corpse, leading to mummification. Dryness causes cessation in bacterial growth since there are no nutrients present to feed on. (CJ was "skeletonized" nothing left to feed on, except for her head which was covered/wrapped)
- Most insects are not active in the winter
- In temperate regions dead bodies often appear in spring, after the snow is gone. The forensic entomologist and the forensic pathologist must then try to determine whether the death occurred during the winter or before the snow set in. If the death occurred before November, it is possible to find dead insects in and on the body...ie; frozen maggots (maggots being one of the first to inhabit the body)
- The insects found underneath the body will also vary with the length of time the body has been at the scene, providing more evidence of both time of death and whether the body may have been moved -movement can be caused by animals as well.
- When insects invade human remains, they begin to feed on blood or exposed flesh on the body surface
- During Canadian winters, a forensic entomologist has difficulty predicting the time since death because insects are not active during this cold season. As well, a body dumped before the winter or during the winter is often covered by snow and not found until the snow has melted in the spring. Then, a forensic entomologist may try to determine whether the death occurred during the winter or before the winter. A death has likely occurred before the winter when dead insect eggs, larvae, pupae, or adults are found in or on the body. By analyzing these dead insects and estimating when they died using meteorological records, time since death can be estimated. Absence of signs of insect infestation likely indicates that the victim's body was deposited during the winter.
