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Abstract

Post mortem interval (PMI) estimations are important in criminal investigations to determine a time frame of when the death occurred. When accurate time frames are provided to authorities, it can assist greatly in investigations by narrowing the number of suspects and the period of time needed to be investigated. There are many methods of PMI estimation, however one that is commonly used is forensic entomology which uses insect evidence to determine the PMI. One of the most important factors when using insect evidence is scene temperatures. There has been ongoing research into the best methods of temperature collection in order to improve the validity of forensic entomology evidence. This research aimed to investigate how temperatures can vary in shaded and unshaded condition and comparing different methods of temperature collection. This was achieved by depositing two cadavers in shaded and unshaded conditions duration of 15 days. Data loggers were left with the cadavers to record temperatures hourly and visits were made twice a day to collect temperatures with an infrared thermometer. The results found a significant difference between data logger placement in all conditions. There were significant differences between the shaded data logger and all methods of temperature collection used. However, there were no significant differences between the shaded and unshaded Infrared thermometer temperatures when compared to the unshaded datalogger. When the results were applied to larval age estimation, there was a difference of 1.4 days depending on the method of temperature collection used. There was a difference of up to 1.9 in ADD calculations. This study has outlined important differences in temperatures in shaded and unshaded conditions and highlighted areas for further research into temperature collection for forensic entomology practice.

Course: Criminology and Forensic Studies - BSc (Hons) - C2039F

Date Deposited: 2020-10-26

URI/permalink: https://library.port.ac.uk/dissert/dis13581.html