Forensic Entomology: Case Studies

There are many synanthropic flies that have little or no relevance as forensic indicators. Infrequently encountered in my experience are species of Drosophila, Muscina, and Ophyra Stomoxys calcitrans torments the living not the dead. Most important for estimating post-mortem interval are the carrion or sarcosaprophagous flies, with calliphorids first and sarcophagids second. In some situations these flies can provide clues not only to time or season but also to place (e.g. rural or urban, endophily or exophily, and even geography). Endophily is a little tricky because exophilic flies will enter buildings, under the powerful olfactory stimulus of a decomposing body; in one case, in Waukegan, Ill. in June 1984, Phormia regina gained access to a dark bathroom with the door closed.