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Decompositional processes depend on temperature, humidity, and light, as well as on animals that can access the body. In low-level cases, suicides, or cases of self-neglect especially, these factors are not always taken into consideration because a full investigation may not have taken place. Misinterpretations of environmental factors can put crime scene investigators on the wrong track, and natural causes of missing tissue may be wrongly interpreted as violence or wounds. Here, we give some examples for the influence of invertebrate land animals on corpses.

Insect artifacts are a result of insect activity after the blood from a violent event has been exposed to the environment. The inability to consistently and reliably distinguish insect artifacts from human bloodstains and body fluids represents a serious deficiency when addressing entomological contaminants at crime scenes. Bloodstain pattern documentation follows the same rules as general scene photography in that the photographer will focus on overall photographs first, then midrange and establishing photographs, and finally, close-up photographs. Bloodstain pattern documentation follows the same rules as general scene photography in that the photographer will focus on overall photographs first, then midrange and establishing photographs, and finally, close-up photographs. Flies also will produce medium to large droplets due to their natural feeding behavior and digestive habits. Movement of a person or object through pooled blood may cause the blood to project, which is characterized by a large volume of blood with spines.

In his recent discussion on the taphonomy of ichthyosaurs, van Loon (2013) supported—at least partially—the view of Reisdorf et al. (2012) and emphasized that explosion of vertebrate carcasses on the sea floor should not be considered as a taphonomically reasonable scenario. Carcass explosion is thus not a process that can be used to explain both the disarticulation of certain ichthyosaur skeletons and the displacement of their bones in the geological record. Van Loon (2013), however, did suggest that, as an alternative hypothesis, implosion could have led to the displacement of bones on the sea floor. Van Loon (2013) focussed his explanation of the implosion hypothesis on the example of a maternal ichthyosaur having embryonic ichthyosaurs around and within its body cavity (Staatliches Museum fur Naturkunde Stuttgart, specimen number SMNS 50 007). Reisdorf et al. (2012) outlined that

What happens after the death of a marine tetrapod in seawater? Palaeontologists and neontologists have claimed that large lung-breathing marine tetrapods such as ichthyosaurs had a lower density than seawater, implying that their carcasses floated at the surface after death and sank subsequently after leakage of putrefaction gases (or ‘‘carcass explosions’’). Such explosions would thus account for the skeletal disarticulation observed frequently in the fossil record. We examined the taphonomy and sedimentary environment of numerous ichthyosaur skeletons and compared them to living marine tetrapods, principally cetaceans, and measured abdominal pressures in human carcasses. Our data and a review of the literature demonstrate that carcasses sink and do not explode (and spread skeletal elements). We argue that the normally slightly negatively buoyant carcasses of ichthyosaurs would have sunk to the sea floor and risen to the surface only when they remained in shallow water above a certain temperature and at a low scavenging rate. Once surfaced, prolonged floating may have occurred and a carcass have decomposed gradually. Our conclusions are of significance to the understanding of the inclusion of carcasses of lung-breathing vertebrates in marine nutrient recycling. The postmortem fate has essential implications for the interpretation of vertebrate fossil preservation (the existence of complete, disarticulated fossil skeletons is not explained by previous hypotheses), palaeobathymetry, the physiology of modern marine lung-breathing tetrapods and their conservation, and the recovery of human bodies from seawater.

Con miras a la detección y cuantificación del Propoxur en insectos de importancia forense y a la búsqueda de indicadores entomotoxicológicos, se utilizó la técnica de HPLC (Cromatografía Líquida de Alta Eficiencia) con ejemplares colectados durante la sucesión ecológica asociada a los cadáveres de conejos. Tres conejos fueron sacrificados con una sobredosis de Propoxur y contando con un cuarto conejo control fue sacrificado por dislocamiento cervical. Los conejos fueron monitoreados durante 28 días, tres veces al día (7, 13 y 18 horas). Durante este periodo se colectaron insectos inmaduros y adultos, y se midió la temperatura ambiental, la temperatura corporal y la pérdida de peso. Del material colectado, se seleccionaron 73 individuos entre inmaduros (larva I, II, III, pupas) y adultos de los órdenes Diptera y Coleoptera, en los que se evaluó el analito de interés por HPLC. Hubo un resultado positivo en el 56% de las muestras desde larva I hasta adulto y en todos los estados sucesionales de la descomposición. Esta técnica permitió una alta sensibilidad a partir de 0,1g o menos por cada muestra, para la cuantificación de residuos de Propoxur en larvas y adultos. En Diptera se cuantificó a partir de muestras con un peso de 0,0029 g y para Coleoptera en muestras con un peso de 0,002 g. La concentración mínima detectada (0,671 ppm) se encontró en larvas en estadio II de dípteros Calliphoridae y Muscidae y la concentración máxima cuantificada (229,7121 ppm) se encontró en larvas en estadio III de Lucilia eximia (Diptera: Calliphoridae), con porcentajes de 0,04 y 0,34 respectivamente.

Wounds of living persons are a potential target for the same flies that live, or feed early on corpses. This can lead to complications in estimation of PMI but also allows to determine additional information that might be valuable in a trial, or during the investigations [e.g., M. Benecke, R. Lessig, Child neglect and forensic entomology, Forensic Sci. Int. 120 (2001) 155–159]. With forensic entomology, and forensic entomologists being more and more present, even lower profile cases like the neglect of elderly people (without violence being used against them; i.e., natural death) comes to our attention. Furthermore, much more people grow older than in the past years which leads to increased awareness of malpractice of caregivers in the professional, and personal environment [DPA (German Press Agency), Studie an 17000 Leichen: Jeder Siebte vor Tod falsch gepflegt (Every seventh elderly person not cared for sufficiently), German Press Agency dpa # 051402, Jan 3, Jan 5, 2003] . We briefly sketch three cases in which forensic entomology helped to better understand the circumstances of death, and the type and intensity of neglect before death.

Forensic scientists may encounter blood spatter at a scene which may be pure or a mixture of fly artifacts and human bloodstains. It is important to be able to make an informed identification, or at least advanced documentation of such stains since the mechanics of production of fly artifacts are not determinable to the crime scene reconstructionist from regular police forces. We describe three cases in which experiments and crime scene reconstruction led to additional information. Case 1: Above the position of a victim, numerous blood stains of the low-high-velocity type were found. Exclusion of these stains being caused by force (but instead caused by the activity of adult blow flies) by use of the following observations that were confirmed in experiments: (a) sperm-/tadpole-like structure with length > width, (b) random directionality, and (c) mixture of round symmetrical and teardrop shaped stains. Case 2: A reddish spatter field was found on a fan chain two rooms away from the place where a dead woman was found. Localization of the spatter on the bottom end of the surface hinted strongly towards fly activity. Case 3: Double homicide; submillimeter stains were found on a lamp between the two corpses. Activity of flies was less likely compared to alternative scenario of moving lampshade and violent stabbing.

We examined the mitochondrial (mt) loci nt00073 and nt16519 which show a considerable variability among European populations. These polymorphisms are easily detectable by means of PCR-based RFLP analysis. The study was also aimed at establishing the Light Cycler™ technique for application to forensic mt analysis. In analysing the loci nt00073 and nt16519, both methods provide very easy access and yield compatible results. We found that nt00073 is highly variable in German and Syrian populations and fairly homogeneous among Vietnamese, Japanese, Peruvians and Cameroonians. Locus nt16519 is highly variable in all populations investigated. However, in contrast to nt00073, its contribution to the mitochondrial potential for discriminating between various ethnic populations is rather negligible.

Close co-operation between forensic scientists, medico-legal doctors, and police forces made it possible to estimate not only the post-mortem interval but also the time since a child was neglected. On the skin surface under the diaper (anal-genital area), third instar larvae of the false stable fly Muscina stabulans FALLEN, and the lesser house fly Fannia canicularis L. were found. F. canicularis adults are attracted to both feces and urine. From the face, larvae of the bluebottle fly Calliphora vomitoria L. were collected. C. vomitoria maggots are typical early inhabitants of corpses. From the developmental times of the flies, it was estimated that the anal-genital area of the child had not been cleaned for about 14 days (7–21 day range), and that death occurred only 6–8 days prior to discovery of the body. This is the first report where an examination of the maggot fauna on a person illustrated neglect that had occurred prior to death.

As part of her current lifestyle, a 28-year-old Caucasian woman routinely injures and allows subsequent healing of her skin and other tissues. Her body modifications include a "split tongue" (a tongue split to the base), which does not interfere with speaking and eating. Other modifications include large scarification patterns produced by branding and cutting. This woman has been known to eat parts of her skin that were previously cut out of her body. She also performs "needle play" by allowing medical syringe needles to be lodged temporarily under her skin. The patient had a normal childhood, is currently employed full-time as an office manager, and is psychologically stable. Although one other case of self-induced penoscrotal hypospadias is known, this is the only report of extensive, nonpsychotic, autodestructive behavior. However, this may not be the case in the future as an increasing number of young individuals have become interested in body modifications.

Since 1985 DNA typing of biological material has become one of the most powerful tools for personal identification in forensic medicine and in criminal investigations [1-6]. Classical DNA "fingerprinting" is increasingly being replaced by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based technology which detects very short polymorphic stretches of DNA [7-15]. DNA loci which forensic scientists study do not code for proteins, and they are spread over the whole genome [16, 17]. These loci are neutral, and few provide any information about individuals except for their identity. Minute amounts of biological material are sufficient for DNA typing. Many European countries are beginning to establish databases to store DNA profiles of crime scenes and known offenders. A brief overview is given of past and present DNA typing and the establishment of forensic DNA databases in Europe.

Recent DNA typing methods (RFLP, STR, RAPD; e.g., [ Naturwissenschaften 84 (1997) 181] [3] ) do not allow discrimination of monozygotic twins. To overcome this restriction, we suggest the use of variable DNA sequences of bone-marrow-derived memory B lymphocytes that are likely to be different even in monozygotic twins. Since memory B cells are transported in the blood stream, they can be found in blood stains on crime scenes and checked for a match to the cells of a living twin pair of twins.

Systematic variation of blood droplet volume, the distance fallen and the surface (paper, wood, plastics, tiles) led to the conclusion that the size and the shape of the stains ("fingers", satellites) allowed to deduce the distance fallen but only if the actual surface structure was known. We found that detailed photography at the crime scene was necessary, yet experiments have to be performed due to the extreme influence of the actual surface texture on all characteristics (size, spines, peripheral spatter) of the blood stains.

Two cases from the Ruhr Area in Western Germany are presented. In each case, the deceased had been wrapped in plastic bags and placed inside a large compost bin in the backyard of the property. In both cases, the relatives claimed that the decedent had died from a natural cause and that they had concealed the body to ensure the further payment of the nursing care and pension benefits. In the first case, the responsible person stated that the body had been inside the bin for three years; in case 2 the postmortem interval indicated was 6 months. In spite of the closed lid of the bin the insect infestation was extensive and rich in species: Empty pupal cases of several blowfly species were collected as well as histerids and pupal cases of Fannia scalaris in the first case. In case 2, phorids and larval skins of dermestids were also found.

Der Artikel gibt eine kurze Ubersicht uber die Geschichte der Methode. – Wahrend insektenkundliche Beweise in den Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika bereits von Gerichten anerkannt werden, sind in Europa nur wenige Experten mit der rechtsmedizinisch-kriminalistischen Arthropodenkunde vertraut. Besonders im franko-belgischen Raum, England und Skandinavien wurde die Methode jedoch aufrechterhalten und in den letzten hundert Jahren zur praktischen Anwendung gebracht. Frankreich mus als in dieser Hinsicht fortschrittlichstes Land gelten, u. a., weil in Rosny-sous-bois ein polizeiliches Routinelabor fur Insektenuntersuchungen besteht. Neuere Entwicklungen lassen nun auch im deutschsprachigen Raum darauf hoffen, das die Untersuchung von Gliedertieren ihren festen Platz im Repertoire der rechtsmedizinischen Praxis findet.

Um die statistische Ausschluswahrscheinlichkeit der PCR-gestutzten DNA-Typisierung durch zusatzliche STR-Systeme weiter zu erhohen, stellen wir die zwei Genorte D8S306 und PKLR vor. Besonders das hochsensitive System D8S306 sollte bei der Bearbeitung von geringen DNA-Mengen aus Spurenmaterial hilfreich sein. Die von uns gewonnenen Populationsdaten aus dem Rheinland in und um Koln stehen fur beide Systeme weitgehend in Einklang mit den Daten der Originalveroffentlichungen; der Exact Test bestatigt, das die Allelverteilung fur. D8S306 im Hardy-Weinberg-Gleichgewicht ist. Die discriminating power liegt fur D8S306 bei 0,96 und fur PKLR bei 0,94, die exclusion chance fur Vaterschaften bei 0,68 fur D8S306 und 0,54 fur PKLR. Folgt der DNA-Amplifikation mittels der Perkin Elmer 2400-Maschine eine Auftrennung der Produkte auf dem A.L.F.-Sequenziergerat (Pharmacia), ist die komplette DNA-Typisierung innerhalb eines Tages moglich.

The determination of the colonization interval of a corpse (“postmortem interval”) has been the major topic of forensic entomologists since the 19th century. The method is based on the link of developmental stages of arthropods, especially of blowfly larvae, to their age. The major advantage against the standard methods for the determination of the early postmortem interval (by the classical forensic pathological methods such as body temperature, postmortem lividity and rigidity, and chemical investigations) is that arthropods can represent an accurate measure even in later stages of the postmortem interval when the classical forensic pathological methods fail. Apart from estimating the colonization interval, there are numerous other ways to use arthropods as forensic evidence. Recently, artifacts produced by arthropods as well as the proof of neglect of elderly persons and children have become a special focus of interest. This chapter deals with the broad range of possible applications of entomology, including case examples and practical guidelines that relate to history, classical applications, DNA typing, blood-spatter artifacts, estimation of the postmortem interval, cases of neglect, and entomotoxicology. Special reference is given to different arthropod species as an investigative and criminalistic tool.

The hypervariable tetranucleotide STR polymorphism DXS10011 is a powerful marker for forensic purposes. Investigation of this STR led to an allele nomenclature which is in consensus with the ISFG recommendations. DXS10011 is located at Xq28 and genetically closely linked to DXS7423 and DXS8377 but is unlinked to HPRTB and more distant X-chromosomal STRs. DXS10011 is a very complex marker exhibiting some structural variants within alleles of identical length. Two types of repeat structure (regular and inter-alleles) are known and described as types A and B. Two SNPs which are in strong linkage disequilibrium to the different sequence types were found in the repeat flanking region. The type A sequence consists of a long stretch of uninterrupted homogenous repeats which is highly susceptible to slippage mutation during male meiosis.

For several years Y-chromosomal microsatellites (short tandem repeats, STRs) have been well established in forensic practice. In this context, the genetic characteristics of the Y chromosome (i.e. its paternal inheritance and lack of recombination) render STRs particularly powerful. However, genetic differences between male populations appear to be larger for Y-STRs than for autosomal STRs, a fact that is most likely due to the higher sensitivity of Y-chromosomal lineages to genetic drift (Forensic Sci Int 118 (2001) 153). The assessment of probabilities for matches between haplotyped male persons or traces/persons requires the typing of a large number of haplotypes in the appropriate reference populations. The haplotype data of a large number of European as well as South and North American populations have been collected and are continuously published online (Y-STR Haplotype Reference Database--YHRD; http://www.ystr.org). The most recent multicentric effort has led to the establishment of an Asian YHRD (http://www.ystr.org/asia) which has been available since January 2002. All databases are maintained and curated at the Institute of Legal Medicine, Humboldt-University, Berlin and will soon be fused to a global repository including populations from all continents.

This is the first scientific report on the crimes of the homosexual paedophile sadist Luis Alfredo Garavito Cubillos, based on a research stay of the authors in Columbia, and including discussions with the investigators, and the offender. Between 1992 and 1999, Garavito killed more than 200 children in the core age span between 8 and 13 years (as an exception, 6 to 16 years). His modus operandi remained stable. During daytime, he lured children of a lower social status out of crowded parts of the city into hidden areas that were overgrown with high plants. Garavito promised either payment for easy work, or drugs, or made other socially believable offers. The children were tied up, tortured, raped, and killed by at least one cut in the lateral part of the neck, or by decapitation. During the killings, Garavito was drunk. Even after his arrest (for attempted sexual abuse under a wrong identity) it was not immediately possible to track his crimes since Garavito had frequently changed his places of stay and his jobs. He also grew different hairdos and used wrong names. During his still ongoing confessions, he directs the investigators correctly to all scenes of crime spread over large parts of Columbia. In our report, we give an overview over the course of investigations, hint to similarities in the cases of the German serial killer Denke (1920's) and homosexual paedophile serial killer Jürgen Bartsch (1960's), and give preliminary impressions on the offender's personality. Furthermore, the violent environment and juridical peculiarities in Columbia are discussed. In spite of a total penalty of 2600 years in prison, it is formally well possible that Garavito will be released out of prison within the next 10 to 20 years, i.e. even before the maximum sentence of 40 years will be over.

The movie genre "snuff" appeared in the late 70s and shows the allegedly real, often cruel killing of people. More recently, a growing number of short video clips have been distributed via the internet, which also belong into this category and were clearly recognized as fictional on the basis of technical details by two study groups at the 80th Annual Meeting of the German Society of Legal Medicine held in Interlaken from 25 to 29 September 2001 (Schyma/Seidl). By means of a brief review of film history the article shows that "snuff movies" originated from a certain prevailing trend, examples of which are the murder of the actress Sharon Tate by the group around Charles Manson, the development of B horror movies, a promotional campaign for a film which flopped in 1971 (renamed several times by the distribution company from "American Cannibal" to "Snuff" to "Big Snuff") and elements of urban legends. Retrospectively there are no clues that Snuff films--i.e. movies openly distributed and actually available to the public, which were not private documentations found by the police at the homes of killers during investigations of homicides (such as in the murder series of the couple Bernardo/Homolka)--show real killings.

In an apartment, bone fragments were found in a fireplace. Furthermore, a varnished skull was found elsewhere in the same apartment. The tenant confessed to a murder and stated that the head of a victim, a girl, was boiled for 12 hours. He stated that the soft tissue was then removed and the skull was varnished. Other parts of the body were burned to ashes in an open field. Comparison of loci D19S252, CD4, CYAR04, TII01, F13A01, F13B, and D6S366 from the skull and the bone remains to loci of the mother of a missing girl showed that the skull came from that missing child. Biological maternity was calculated as 99.99%. The bone pieces were DNA typed as male and did not share alleles with the mother in several systems. Therefore, they belonged to a different (human) victim.

Apart from an early case report from China (13th century) and later artistic contributions, the first observations on insects and other arthropods as forensic indicators were documented in Germany and France during mass exhumations in the late 1880s by Reinhard and Hofmann, whom we propose recognizing as co-founders of the discipline. After the French publication of Megnin's popular book on the applied aspects of forensic entomology, the concept quickly spread to Canada and the US. At the time, researchers recognized that the lack of systematic observations of forensically important insects stood in the way of their use as indicators of postmortem interval. General advances in insect taxonomy, and ecology helped close this gap over the following decades. Many early case reports dealt with alleged child homicides, including the suspected use of sulphuric acid. In this context, it was shown that ants, cockroaches, and freshwater arthropods could produce postmortem artifacts suggestive of child abuse. After the World Wars, few forensic entomology cases entered the scientific literature. From the 1960s to the 1980s, Leclecq and Nuorteva were primarily responsible for maintaining the method in Central Europe, with a focus on case work. Since then, basic research in the US, Russia and Canada has opened the way to the routine use of entomology in forensic investigations. The following article gives a brief overview of historic developments in the field. A major focus is on the work done between 1850 and 1950. Since sources from that time remain difficult to track down, the article also includes a historic bibliographical overview on forensic entomology of that era.

Die Hieroglyphen wurden nicht von den Agyptern erfunden. Dieses Verdienst gebuhrt vielmehr dem mikroskopischen Fadenwurm Caenorhabditis elegans. Heute ist dieses bescheidene Geschopf vor allem deshalb bekannt, weil es in entwicklungsbiologischen und genetischen Untersuchungen eine bedeutende Rolle spielt.1,2 Im Labor zeigt C. elegans eine breite Palette von Verhaltensweisen. Meine Forschungsarbeit weist nach, das diese Palette noch viel breiter ist, als wir bislang geahnt hatten.

Applied DNA typing in medico-legal investigations, in criminalistic practice, and in paternity cases often relies on high inclusion and exclusion probabilities. For that reason, the short autosomal tandem repeat locus D8D306 was validated for forensic use and incorporated into a nonoverlapping multiplex reaction with HUMDHFRP2 and HUMCD4: The allele frequencies of D8S306 in four different regions of Germany (n = 1220 alleles) were determined for use in a population database; the allele distributions did not significantly deviate from each other. The hererozygosity of D8S306 is 83%, expected exclusion chance in stain cases is 96% (paternity cases: 69%), the lowest amount of successfully amplified DNA was 30 pg. The alleles are in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium.