Analysis of insects colonised on human corpses during autopsy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

AbstractIn medicolegal cases, an analysis of the presence of insects on human bodies may have potential legal significance. This study investigates the presence of insects on human bodies during autopsies in legal medicine. It was implemented in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Nine cadavers were examined, respectively, from four cases of homicide, two cases of burning, one suicide, one accident and one case of neglect. Insects associated with the human corpses were carefully collected and identified using valid taxonomic keys. Three of the cadavers were of children with ages ranging from seven months to nine years. In seven cases decomposition had occurred outdoors while in two cases it was indoors. Overall, eleven different species of insects were identified. Six of the cases exhibited species from five families within Diptera (Calliphoridae, Muscidae, Ulidiidae, Tachinidae and Sarcophagidae), specifically Chrysomya albiceps (Wiedemann), Musca domestica (Linnaeus), Tachinidae sp. (Bigot), Physiphora alceae (Preyssler) and Sarcophaga dux (Thompson). Six of the cadavers hosted beetles, which were identified as Dermestes maculatus (DeGeer), D. frischii (Kugelann), Necrobia rufipes (Fabricius), Nitidula bipunctata (Linnaeus), Pimelia interjecta (Solier) and Latridiidae sp. (Erichson). Moreover, the suicide corpse was colonised by more fly species than the other corpses, while the beetles colonised the homicide and accident corpses more than the other corpses. Analysis of the diversity of insects on human corpses may lead to advances in the understanding of forensic entomology and more sophisticated estimates of the minimum post‐mortem interval.