This week, Hamilton County Deputy Coroner Ashley Taylor attended a two-day Forensic Entomology class.
Taylor
Forensic Entomology is the study of arthropods, specifically insects, and how their development relates to determining a time of death in a death investigation. The class was put on by world-renowned Forensic Entomologist Dr. Neal Haskell and several of his colleagues. Dr. Haskell has used Forensic Entomology in more than 450 murder cases, most notably the Casey Anthony case.
A deceased body will attract insects in a reliable and predictable sequence that allows investigators who are trained in this field to closely estimate a date and time of death.
“Entomology is important to our field in determining an accurate date of death in a deceased person who may have been a victim of a violent crime or one who has died and not been found for some time,” Deputy Coroner Taylor said.
The Coroner and the Deputy Coroners of Hamilton County attend as much additional training as possible throughout the year to further their understanding of the complexities that go along with death investigations.
According to Taylor, Forensic Entomology is an invaluable tool that “can be used in court trials to accurately determine a date or time of death in criminal cases.”