Role of entomological evidence in criminal investigations

Abstract

Domestic and foreign literary sources on the use of necrotic fauna in forensics are analyzed. The purpose of this article is to emphasize the importance of necrotic fauna research for practical forensics and highlight the influence of necrotic entomophiles on the time of death of a living object (depending on its species and environmental conditions) which biological and general scientific methods are applied for. A comparative analysis of the activity of necrotic fauna representatives is given. The need to use necrofauna in the systematic work of forensic biologists has been updated. The main application of forensic entomology as a branch of applied entomology is the study of the faunal complex of necrobiont arthropods on a discovered corpse to meet the needs of the investigation and the court. Entomological knowledge makes it possible to successfully perform classification, identification and diagnostic tasks that appear in forensic expert practice. Since the processes of corpse decay and the types of necrotic insects on it differ depending on the type of corpse and the type of biogeocenosis where this corpse was located, each of these features affects further forensic investigations. Obtained entomological data are a reliable source of information for finding out objective truth during pre-trial investigation and subsequent legal proceedings. At the same time, determining the time of death by cadaveric fauna can have only auxiliary value, since the appearance and development of insects is very variable. Prospects for further research are formulated, including improvement of entomological research methods (in particular, in different environmental conditions), the need for development of forensic biology as an integral component of forensic science is proven.