On June 28, 2009, a 70-year-old male corpse was found in his house in Pisa. He was lying on the floor, between the bed and the sofa. He was wearing a shirt, undershirt, blue jeans, and underpants. Doors and windows were closed, and the house was described as messy and dirty.
The body was in active decay stage. External examination of the body showed large areas of skin slippage on the thorax and on the upper limbs. The head and the neck presented black/brown discoloration areas. No sign of injury was observed. The cause of death was natural and was defined, on histological evidence, as an ischemia on sclerotic myocardium.
Entomological evidence was collected during the autopsy. Fly eggs and larvae were present on the neck area and inside the oral cavity. Maggots were also present in the right armpit. The deceased male lived alone and was known to be an alcohol abuser who did not often have interactions with his family. He had not been seen for 6 days.
Fig.1 Diptera larvae collected from the ocular cavity of a cadaver in active decay.
The entomological evidence estimates the beginning of the colonization to be 4–5 days. This result is in agreement with other evidence obtained later by the investigator indicating a PMI (postmortem interval) of 5–6 days. The difference between this information and the colonization time is 1 day. The colonization time does not take into account the time required for flies to reach the body, in this specific case, the time is 1 day and can be explained by the sealed condition of the environment in which the body was found.
Insects or their remains can be found both at crime scenes and in archaeological contexts. If properly collected and analysed, insects act as a relevant tool in the reconstruction of past events, whether they are forensic or archaeological. The most important information that insects can provide about the circumstances surrounding death is the PMI and the season of death. Moreover, insects can provide information about body displacement, presence of drugs, pre-burial exposure and body concealment. A close interaction between all the specialists working at the crime scene or involved in archaeological research, is the ‘conditio sine qua non’ (indispensable/absolutely necessary) for a better understanding and reconstruction of past events.
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