Forensic Entomology's Role in the Investigation and Reconstruction of Crimes - Paper Example

discuss in what way it could be considered a good/bad experiment by modern standards

if categorised as a bad experiment explain if or how it could be altered to improve it ORif categorised as a good experiment explain what aspects of it make it a good experiment even by today's standards

Introduction

The scientific study of insects to analyze and determine the time of death using the growing stages of various species of arthropods is one of the necessary and reliable methods utilized in the investigation of criminal cases, such as homicide. This approach is suitable for application in cases where the dead body is discovered after at least 72 hours from death, as most of the physical and biological evidence on the corpse is severely contaminated and are no longer considered as the useful evidence in the investigation and reconstruction of crimes (Anderson, 2004; Henssgeet al. 1995). For examples, the types of arthropods found on the dead body will enable the investigator to determine if the body has been relocated to another site by the perpetrator and whether the cause of death was due to homicide or suicide (SFU Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, 2010)

This paper looks at the experiments conducted by Sung Tz'u, Jean Baptiste van Helmont, and Francesco Redi during the Medieval and Renaissance period, in which their discoveries have formed a strong foundation for the field of forensic entomology.

Sung Tzu, China, 1247-Outline of Experiment

In a book, "The Washing Away of Wrongs" by Sung Tzu, a well-known district judge during the Sung Dynasty, he mentioned that the reaction of insects caused by the environmental factor could be used to determine the time of death. He illustrated a stunning homicide case which occurred in 1235 A.D., where a body of a dead man was discovered on the road near a rice field which was covered with multiple slashes, but no one knows who the murder was (Cruz, 2006; Smith, 1986; Whittington, 2017).

Experimental Method:

Sung Tzu was called upon to the crime scene to investigate the case. He studied the slashing wounds carefully and concluded that the deadly wounds were caused by some kinds of farming equipment which was most probably used for harvesting rice (Cruz, 2006; Smith, 1986; Whittington, 2017).

All the farmers in the village brought along their sickles and assembled at the grass field to assist in the investigation. Sung Tzu examined all the sickles, but could not find anything amiss on the sickles to determine the murderer, as all the sickles were well cleaned up. Sung Tzu then tested his hypothesis with an experiment. He requested the farmers to place their sickles on the grass, and numerous flies started to gather onto one of the sickles due to the presence of blood stain on the uneven surface of the sickle, which was hardly noticeable with naked eyes. The perpetrator finally confessed to the crime which he had committed (Cruz, 2006; Smith, 1986; Whittington, 2017).

Conclusion:

Sung Tzu further explained on the developmental stages of maggots to flies, and why the infestation of flies occurred on the wounds and other orifices (e.g., eyes, nose and mouth) of the dead body, which could be used to determine the time of death (Whittington, 2017).

Jean Baptiste van Helmont (1577-1644), Belgium - Outline of Experiment

In the seventeenth century, a physician and chemist called Jean Baptiste van Helmont who was a firm believer of the theory of spontaneous generation experimented to determine if the mouse were breed from the wheat grains that were in contact with human sweat for 21 days (Simon, 2014; Whittington, 2017).

Experimental Method:

Jean Batiste van Helmont placed some wheat grains in a vessel and covered up the opening with a dirty shirt that was in contact with sweat (Simon, 2014; Whittington, 2017).

Conclusion:

Jean Batiste van Helmont concluded that after three weeks, the wheat grains would eventually transform into a mouse due to the perception of spontaneous generation which claimed that static sources could be developed into living things (Simon, 2014; Whittington, 2017).

Francesco Redi, Italy, 1668 - Outline of Experiment

In 1668, a biologist and physician called Francesco Redi carried out a controlled experiment to prove his disapproval of the theory of spontaneous generation, which stated that static sources would eventually be developed into living things (Cruz, 2006; Guiart, 1898; Reville, 1996; Sant, 2017).

He noticed that when a dead body exposed under an environmental condition, the infestation of flies and maggots developed increasingly as the time passed, and this would eventually cause the decomposition of the dead body (Reville, 1996). Hence, Redi believed that there was a connection between flies and maggots, in which the activity of flies would lead to the putrefaction of flesh (Cruz, 2006; Guiart, 1898; Reville, 1996; Sant, 2017).

Experimental Method:

Redi took three containers and placed a piece of fresh meat into each container (Figure 1), in which he had fully sealed up the opening of the first container, covering up the opening of the second container with a gauze, but left the opening of the third container uncovered (Reville, 1996).

Conclusion:

In the first container, the presence of maggots and flies was not observed. Whereas, in the second container, the presence of maggots, flies and some fly eggs was found on the gauze, but not in contact with the meat. Lastly in the third container, numerous flies, maggots and fly eggs were found in the meat which gradually leads to the putrefaction of flesh (Reville, 1996).

Discuss in what way it could be considered a good/bad experiment by modern standards

The purpose of conducting a scientific experiment is to determine the reliability of ones hypothesis through the use of experimental results to justify the reasoning in a logical manner (Parks, 2017).

According to the Forensic Entomology lecture, two methods that include Inductivism and Hypothetico-Deductive play crucial roles in verifying whether an experiment belongs to a well-conducted or poorly experimented (Whittington, 2017). Notably, it is important to indicate the purpose and procedures of the research in a precise and straightforward manner, and conclude if the experimental results have proven the hypothesis to be true or false (Whittington, 2017).

1. Even though the experiment conducted by Sung Tzu was simple and does not have any proven principle or laws behind his justification, it can still be considered as a real experiment based on some of his logical thoughts and explanations to show his finding. For example, he was able to demonstrate that there is a connection between flies and maggots, the reasons behind which caused the infestation of flies happened on the orifices of the dead bodies, and how the life cycle of the fly could be used to calculate the time of death (Whittington, 2017).

2. An experiment conducted by Jean Baptiste van Helmont is categorized as a poorly experimented due to his groundless and illogical presumption which claimed that fermented wheat grains would gradually breed a mouse, in which he failed to mention any logical relationship between the wheat grains and mouse (Whittington, 2017).

3. Francesco Redis controlled experiment can be considered as a real experiment based on some of his logical thoughts and explanations to prove his finding. For example, he was able to show that maggots were part of the life cycle of flies and under the exposure of environmental condition, the development of flies and maggots increases (Whittington, 2017).

If categorised as a bad experiment explain if or how it could be altered to improve it OR if categorised as a good experiment explain what aspects of it make it a good experiment even by today's standards

The aspects which make the experiments of Sung Tzu and Francesco Redi classified as a well-designed experiment are:

a. procedures of the tests are well-defined and detailed,

b. Experimental results are logical to interpret its relationship with the uncertainties, and hence the conclusions are more reliable (Snee et al., 1992).

c. Whereas, the experiment of Jean Baptiste van Helmont is classified as a wrongly experimented with no alternative for improvement, as there are no coherent links between the presumption and finding.

Conclusion

In this paper, list of experiments conducted by Sung Tzu and Francesco Redi have shown that forensic entomology plays a crucial role in the investigation and reconstruction of crimes, which would enable the forensic expertise to determine the time of death despite how badly the corpse has been decomposed

References

Anderson, G.S. (2004) Determining time of death using blow fly eggs in the early postmortem interval,International Journal of Legal Medicine, 118(4), pp. 240-241.

Cruz, A.M. (2006)Crime Scene Intelligence: An Experiment in Forensic Entomology. Washington, DC. National Defense Intelligence College Press. Available at: http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a476638.pdf (Accessed: 22 Aug 2017).

Guiart, J. (1898) Notices Biographiques II: Francisco Redi 1628-1698, Archives De Parisitologie1(1898): 420.

Henssge, C., Madea, B., Knight, B., Nokes, L., Krompecher, T. (1995) The estimation of the time since death in the early postmortem interval. 2nd edn. London: Arnold.

Parks, N. (2017) 10 Characteristics of a Science Experiment, Leaf Group Ltd, 24 April. Available at: http://sciencing.com/10-characteristics-science-experiment-8690894.html (Accessed: 26 Aug 2017).

Reville, W. (1996) Old myths exploded on road to antiseptic surgery, The IrishTimes, 30 Sept. Available at: http://www.irishtimes.com/news/old-myths-exploded-on-road-to-antiseptic-surgery-1.90798 (Accessed: 25 Aug 2017).

Sant, J. (2017) Francesco Redi and Controlled Experiments. Available at:

http://www.scientus.org/Redi-Galileo.html(Accessed: 23 Aug 2017).

SFU Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology (2010) Forensic Entomology or the use of insects in death investigations. Available at:http://www.sfu.museum/forensics/eng/pg_media-media_pg/entomologie-entomology (Accessed: 22 Aug 2017).

Simon, M. (2014) Fantastically Wrong: Why People Once Thought Mice Grew Out of Wheat and Sweaty Shirts. Available at: https://www.wired.com/2014/06/fantastically-wrong-how-to-grow-a-mouse-out-of-wheat-and-sweaty-shirts/ (Accessed: 24 Aug 2017).

Smith, K.G.V. (1986) A Manual of Forensic Entomology. New York: Cornell University Press.

Snee, R.D., Hare, L.B., Hoaglin, D.C. and Moore, D.S. (eds.) (1992) Ch. 5: The Statistical Approach to Design of Experiments, Perspectives on Contemporary Statistics, MAA Notes and Reports Series, pp. 71-91.

Warmflash, D. and Lents, N.H. (2000-2017) Origins of Life I: Early Ideas and Experiments,Visionlearning, Inc. Available at:http://www.visionlearning.com/es/library/Biologia/2/Origins-of-Life-I/226 (Accessed: 23 Aug 2017).

Whittington, A. (2017) Death and the Historical Development of Forensic Entomology. PHA6935: Forensic Entomology. Available at: https://ufl.instructure.com/courses/341584/files/33482808?module_item_id=6560717 (Accessed: 21 Aug 2017).

Whittington, A. (2017) Scientific Investigation. PHA6935: Forensic Entomology. Available at: https://ufl.instructure.com/courses/341584/files/33482701?module_item_id=6560719(Accessed: 21 Aug 2017).