Forensic Entomology in the Medical Examiner's Office

Abstract

The application of forensic entomology to medicolegal death investigations has clear benefits to the role of the medical examiner's office (MEO) in evaluating insect activity as it relates to not only cause and manner of death but in the investigative role of the medical examiner as a resource to law enforcement. Until recently, applied forensic entomology in the MEO has been conducted by consulting forensic entomologists removed from the context of the investigation. The addition of a forensic entomologist to the staff of a MEO has provided an opportunity to explore the benefits and challenges of having the forensic entomologist involved at every step of the death investigation. In this study, data are provided on the types and variety of cases that the forensic entomologist has reported on for the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences in Houston, TX, over the first two years of the program. Case types, trends in colonization and insects involved in forensic entomology casework in this setting are highlighted, as well as the remaining challenges that forensic entomology must overcome on its path to standardization in the United States.