SYLLABUS: FSC462/662 FORENSIC ENTOMOLOGY 2015
INSTRUCTOR: DR. DYLAN PARRY
OFFICE 109 ILLICK HALL (ESF Campus)
PHONE 470-6753
E-MAIL: dparry@esf.edu
Office Hours 9:30-12:30 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 the sub-discipline of medico-criminal entomology, a
science where insects are used to estimate the time and place of human death and
occasionally other crimes. 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, the elapsed time between discovery and
time of death. 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 ‘homicides’ 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
· Identify the major groups of insects associated with cadavers and describe
their ecological roles in the decomposition process.
·
Understand and apply appropriate sampling techniques for different groups
of forensically important insects.
·
Determine post-mortem intervals (PMI) using insects collected at crime
scene
·
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) but a fair
number of used copies are floating around..
(2) Haskell and Williams. 2008. Entomology and Death, A Procedural Guide,
2nd Edition ($45 at BioQuip.com)
Lectures
I’m not a big fan of Blackboard. All course material will be hosted online at
www.esf.edu/efb/parry/fsc 462_662_home.htm
A link to downloadable PDF copies of lectures will be posted within a day or two
following each lecture at this site, as will be any other relevant material.
Projects:
(1) Collection and identification of insects associated with carrion
- Collect, preserve, and properly identify the entomological fauna associated with
carrion/cadavers in CNY. The class will use a demonstration ‘victim’ placed in the field
early in the semester to sample and document the full decompositional process. You
will need to record and collect the data necessary for doing the calculations to validate a
post-mortem interval. This part is critical as it prepares you for dealing with victims with
an unknown PMI.
(2) ‘Homicide’ investigation and courtroom presentation
- At some point in the semester, I will assign you to a crime scene where you will see a
‘cadaver’ that has been in situ for an unknown period of time. Each of you will be
assigned to an investigation team. Using the techniques and protocols learned in the
course, 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 ‘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. Be prepared to answer detailed questions (i.e. cross-examined) 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. The class is ‘hands-on’ and deals with subject matter that some may
find gruesome. For the uninitiated, objectionable smells and sights accompany
decomposition.
(1) For much of the semester, you will be part of an investigative team as
you would be in most workplace environments (e.g. a CSI unit or medical
examiners office). 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.
Although this has happened only a few times previously, this is a
critical point: If someone is not pulling their weight, I want to know. If
you cannot or are unwilling to do your part in your group, you’ll be asked
to drop the class or take a failing grade.
(2) The nature of decomposition is time and temperature dependent. Insects
develop according to physiological time, not chronological. 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. I use both the
classroom as well as the forest property for much of the first 6 weeks of
the course.
a. For fieldwork, I HIGHLY recommend sturdy foot wear (i.e., no flipflops, sandals, etc) as rough terrain, poison ivy, and other natural
hazards are part of the environment.
b. You 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 and often I am
at the demonstration site hours before class begins. I will start
class at 2:15 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 group’s ‘homicide’ 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)
Participation and Interactivity
Total
20%
10%
100%