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A Forensic Entomological Analysis Can Yield an Estimate of Postmortem Interval, and Not Just a Minimum Postmortem Interval: An Explanation and Illustration Using a Case
Author(s) -
Wells Jeffrey D.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of forensic sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.715
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1556-4029
pISSN - 0022-1198
DOI - 10.1111/1556-4029.13912
Subject(s) - forensic science , forensic entomology , homicide , interval (graph theory) , interval estimation , carrion , statistics , forensic anthropology , biology , poison control , mathematics , confidence interval , medicine , geography , zoology , injury prevention , veterinary medicine , archaeology , medical emergency , combinatorics
Several authors claimed that a forensic entomological analysis can never be interpreted as the postmortem interval ( PMI ), but that it can be interpreted as a minimum postmortem interval ( PMI min ), or dead for not less than X amount of time. Because in most instances, a PMI estimate should be a range, that is, the set of values from maximum postmortem interval ( PMI max ) to PMI min , objections to PMI estimation are objections to PMI max estimation. The arguments for this position did not address the substantial body of literature describing estimation of both PMI max and PMI min using insect succession analysis. This report reviews the scientific issues and presents a recent homicide investigation in which several forensic entomology experts used the absence of carrion insects on the corpse, a kind of succession analysis, to estimate PMI or PMI max .