SYLLABUS:  EFB 496/696 FORENSIC ENTOMOLOGY

blowfly.gifINSTRUCTOR: DR. DYLAN PARRY

OFFICE 109 ILLICK HALL (ESF Campus)

PHONE 470-6753

E-MAIL: dparry@esf.edu

Office Hours 9:30-12:-00 Tuesday – other times by appt.

 

Course Overview

Forensic entomology is the study of insects and any aspect of their interaction with the law.  The focus of this course will be on the field of medico-criminal entomology, a science where insects are used to estimate the time and place of human death.  I will focus on the utility of arthropods (mostly insects) in crime scene investigation and how we can use these organisms to make critical inferences about the post-mortem interval.  There is both a classroom and a significant practical, hands-on, laboratory component to this course and you will be required to conduct actual field investigations of staged ÔhomicidesÕ using pig surrogates. These exercises will allow you to apply classroom knowledge to real-world scenarios and expose you to the utility, and also some of the difficulty, in using insects as forensic evidence.

 

Objectives

á    Identify the major groups of insects associated with cadavers and what their ecological roles are in the decomposition process.

á    Understand and apply appropriate sampling techniques for different groups of forensically important insects.

á    Determine post-mortem intervals (PMI) using insects collected at crime scene

á    Become familiar with factors that can alter or complicate PMI estimation.

Textbook

No textbook is required. I do highly recommend the following books:

(1) Byrd and Castner. Forensic Entomology: The Utility of Arthropods in Legal Investigations, 2nd Edition, 2009 (currently $123 on Amazon.com).

(2) Haskell and Williams. 2008. Entomology and Death, A Procedural Guide, 2nd Edition ($45 at BioQuip.com)

 

Topics (Actual sequence is weather dependent and may vary)

(PDF copies of lectures will be posted below as the course progresses through the semester)

á      Introduction and overview of course 

á      Insect and Arthropod basics

á      Forensic Flies – The blowflies

á      Larval Identification

á      Calculating PMI

á      Factors altering PMI Estimates

á      Beyond homicide: Myiasis, Insects and Post-Mortem Artifacts

á      Forensic Entomology in Aquatic Systems

á      Mock Court Room and Presentations (FYI Expert _Testimony Chapter)

 

Projects:

(1) Collection and identification of insects associated with carrion

- Collect, preserve, and properly identify the entomological fauna associated with carrion/cadavers in CNY.

 

(2) ÔHomicideÕ investigation and courtroom presentation

- At some point in the semester, I will guide you to a crime scene where you will see a ÔcadaverÕ.  Each of you will be assigned to an investigation team.  Using the techniques and protocols that we will learn over the next week, you will process the crime scene, documenting (in writing and photographically) everything that you think will be useful to your investigation.

-You will also sample all relevant entomological evidence following protocols discussed in class and reviewed in the text.  Some evidence should be preserved in the appropriate manner (labeled glass vials (provided) for maggots and other soft bodied organisms), other evidence will need to be reared in the maggot-motels until development is finished.

-Using the identification keys and growth charts, you will need to determine the species, and then use the growth charts to determine the age of the maggots or other forensically important insects.

I will provide accurate weather data for the time period surrounding the homicide.  You will need to use the relevant evidence to estimate post-mortem interval.

-One member of each group will present the group findings and PMI estimate in a mock courtroom with Judge Dylan Parry presiding. Be prepared to answer detailed questions about how you reached your conclusions and the validity of your estimate.   

 

The unique nature of this class entails a few important caveats that you need to consider.

 

(1)  For much of the semester, you will be part of an investigative team.  Functioning in a group environment requires a commitment from you to be an equal participant.  I leave it up to individual groups on how to distribute the workloads.  If someone is not pulling their weight, I want to know, and if it is not rectified, the consequences will not be kind.

(2)  The nature of decomposition is time and temperature dependent.  You MUST be willing and able to devote time outside of formal class hours to documenting and recording the necessary information required in your reports.  I try to balance this time out by having shorter classes on some days and even no formal class on a few scheduled days.

(3)  A significant portion of the class occurs in off-campus field sites, particularly the SUNY-ESF Lafayette Road Field Station.

a.    For fieldwork, I HIGHLY recommend sturdy foot wear (i.e., no flip-flops, sandals, etc) as rough terrain, poison ivy, and other natural hazards are part of the environment.

b.    blowfly.gifYou are responsible for your own transportation to and from field sites.  I highly recommend car-pooling with other class members as I have minimal capacity in my personal vehicle.  I will begin class at 2:20 on field days so as to allow ample time for students to get there.

 

 GRADING:

Entomological Report (Crime Scene 1)                                                       25%

-       includes prepared descriptive report

-       Properly collated, preserved, and identified specimens of insects relevant to the case

-       Relevant meteorological and climatological data

-       Digital photographic record of the decompositional process                                                                                                                        

Entomological Report (crime Scene 2)                                                        45%

-       Includes all of the components in Report 1

-       AND, the results of your groupÕs ÔhomicideÕ investigation and solution for the unknown post-mortem interval

-       Presentation of your findings (expert testimony) in a mock courtroom setting.                                                                                                           

Final Exam (Take home, Open Book)                                                          20%                                                                                                                          

Participation and Interactivity                                                                       10%

Total                                                                                                             100%