Professional Documents
Culture Documents
11 Anthropology Entomology
11 Anthropology Entomology
Anthropology and
Entomology
11
I. Introduction
This chapter addresses the significant contributions made to the criminal
justice system by the academic disciplines of anthropology and entomology.
The theory and methods developed by scholars in these two fields have
provided consistent and ongoing aid in the identification of the remains of
homicide victims and in narrowing the range of time-of-death determina-
tions.1 The analysis of human remains to reveal our cultural antecedents can
also reveal much about the identity or general profiles of unidentified remains.
The close study of the universe of insect species can be narrowed to species
that consistently accompany the deterioration of the human body and pro-
vide investigative timelines of often decisive value to the state and defendant
alike. The principles and practice of these two academic subjects are used in
the fields of forensic anthropology and forensic entomology on a regular
basis in the investigation and trial of criminal cases.
477
478 Forensic Evidence: Science and the Criminal Law, Second Edition
prosecutor served to strengthen the courts conclusion that the trial was
unfair.
The Commonwealth also introduced the single hair found in the inden-
tation in the hallway wall. Although the jury knew, from the defendants trial
counsels vigorous questioning of the Commonwealths forensic chemist, that
the hair had not been determined to be from Dymitris head, the prosecutor
strongly suggested otherwise in her closing comments to the jury:
Ladies and gentlemen, this wall has the defendants signature all
over it. There is the first punch in the middle and theres the
overlaying impression that Doctor Mires spoke of, the overlaying
indentation consistent with the size, the shape, the dimensions of
Baby Dymitris head, this wall that held the tiny hair, the human
hair that was imbedded in the plaster, this wall that right under-
neath there was fresh plaster in the carpet.12
The court noted that the single hair was the only physical evidence used
by the Commonwealth to link Dymitris to the indentations in the wallboard.
The reports and affidavit submitted in support of the defendants motion for
a new trial indicated that, had the defendants trial counsel retained an expert
to examine the hair:
A microscopic examination of the hair (which would not have con-
sumed the hair) would have had the defendants trial counsel retained
an expert to examine the hair.
A microscopic examination of the hair (which would not have con-
sumed the hair) would have revealed that its likely source was not a
human head at all, but a human limb.
Mitochondrial DNA analysis would have determined that the hair
had not belonged to Dymitris.13
Dr. Peter R. DeForest, a forensic crime scene reconstructionist, and Dr. Terry
Melton, a DNA specialist, participated in the investigation. Dr. DeForest exam-
ined the impressions of the indentations in the walls of the living room and
hallway and the plaster skull replica of Dymitris head used by the Common-
wealth at trial and concluded that, contrary to the testimony of Dr. Mires, there
was no evidence either wall had been impacted by Dymitris head. Also, after
examining the single hair found in the wall under a microscope, Dr. DeForest
said it was more likely that the hair was a limb hair from the defendant than
a head hair from [Dymitris]. Dr. Melton conducted mitochondrial DNA testing
on the hair and concluded that the hair did not belong to Dymitris.
The court concluded that the defendant was entitled to a new trial, where
the prosecutions pretrial position was that the prosecution would not present
evidence at trial that the size and shape of the indentations in the wallboard
Forensic Anthropology and Entomology 481
of the defendants apartment were consistent with the dimensions of his sons
head, but prosecution did present such evidence at trial, and defense counsel,
after learning that prosecution would present such evidence, did not request
a continuance so that defendant could once again seek funds for an experts
thorough evaluation of the wallboard evidence.
The court also ruled that defendants trial counsel was ineffective where
trial counsel made no attempt to determine the accuracy of the findings and
conclusions of Commonwealths forensic, medical, or scientific experts
regarding the single hair found in the indentation in the wallboard in defen-
dants apartment, which prosecutors asserted during closing arguments was
a hair from the sons head, and counsel made no attempt to determine
whether other available tests might have excluded the child as the source of
hair or what risks those tests entailed.14
In the 2003 Louisiana decision in State v. Wright,15 the defendant was
convicted of second-degree murder of young woman. In April 1998, Rosalind
Greenhouse, a 17-year-old female, was reported missing. Two years later,
human remains found under a house were believed to be hers. DNA testing
supported this assumption, although it was not conclusive. Rosalind was last
seen entering an apartment where Mr. Wright resided. Defendant alleged
that the state failed to establish that the victim was Rosalind Greenhouse,
thus failing in their basic duty to establish the corpus delecti.
The court initially noted that independent proof necessary to satisfy
corpus delicti may be either direct or circumstantial and does not have to go
to every element of the offense; it need only establish the commission of a
criminal act:
Mr. Wright claimed the state failed to establish corpus delicti. In other
words, the states only proof that Rosalind died from a criminal act was
Mr. Wrights own uncorroborated confessions. However, the independent
proof necessary to satisfy corpus delecti may be either direct or circumstantial
and does not have to go to every element of the offense; it need only establish
the commission of a criminal act.16 Here, however, the court observed, all of
the forensic evidence pointed to Rosalind Greenhouse.
Dr. Pat Wojtkiewicz, qualified as an expert in the field of DNA analysis,
testified that his lab tested a tooth, an arm bone, and a reference sample
Rosalinds mother provided. The latter was used to determine, through mito-
chondrial DNA, whether the bones could belong to a maternal relative of
Mrs. Greenhouse. Mitochondrial DNA is not highly individual between per-
sons; rather, as Dr. Wojtkiewicz testified:
Its only passed from the mother to the children. And this is
primarily the type of DNA thats used to type skeletal remains or
bones from ancient sites and so forth. And its type is used for
482 Forensic Evidence: Science and the Criminal Law, Second Edition
height, and weight, and informed them that the victim was an Asian female.
After the Highway Patrol published the photograph, it received a phone call
stating that the photograph resembled defendants wife, Bunchee Nyhuis.
The state offered the skeletal remains to illustrate the wounds and to
demonstrate how the victim was identified. The cause of death, the nature
of the victims wound, and the identity of the victim were all at issue. The
skull and bones helped to illuminate these issues and were thus probative.
The appellate court ruled that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in
admitting the skeletal remains.19
In State v. Bondurant,20 defendant was convicted of murder and arson.
An excavation revealed burned human cranial fragments mixed with charcoal
and burned soil. Dr. Bass, a forensic anthropologist, found seven cranial bone
fragments that were large enough to make positive identifications. While
the other bone fragments were too small to positively identify the area of the
skull they came from, he was certain that they were human skull fragments.
From studying the larger fragments, Dr. Bass testified that the bones appeared
to have been broken before being burned, and that the irregular broken edges
suggested that blunt trauma had occurred. He was more than 50% certain
that some force had been applied to the skull before it was burned. Moreover,
based on the thickness of six larger fragments that could be measured,
Dr. Bass was 75% certain that the bones were from a human male, and he
was 90% certain that the bones had been there one to 15 years. Id. at 7.
On occasion, human remains are subject to examination by forensic
anthropologists long after death or burial has occurred, and nonetheless
yielded dispositive information as to the existence of criminal agency. In State
v. Delgros,21 defendant was convicted of a double murder. On January 3, 1978,
a fire broke out at the residence of appellant and Donald D. Morris, her
husband. They lived in a mobile home with Christopher Styles, John Styles,
and Edward Bridge, appellants children from two previous marriages.
Donald Morris and Christopher Styles were found dead, and the other two
children were seriously burned, but they ultimately recovered from their
injuries. Appellant did not suffer any injuries. After the blaze, questions were
raised concerning the cause of the fire, but the County Coroner determined
that because both bodies had been severely burned as a result of the fire, the
deaths were accidental. The file was reopened in 1993.
Another witness noted that when he had viewed the bodies in the morgue,
Morris appeared to be missing an ear. Even though the body had been severely
burned, he noted the charred remnants of one ear but not the other.
Edward Bridge, Sr., who had a lengthy criminal record and who was
confined to prison in Pennsylvania stemming from a rape conviction, was
contacted by police and stated that he had witnessed defendant strike Morris
484 Forensic Evidence: Science and the Criminal Law, Second Edition
on the head, knocking him to the floor. According to Bridge, she then
obtained a knife, stabbed Morris four or five times, poured some liquid by
the furnace, and then set fire to the trailer.22
On the basis of this information, the bodies of the decedents were
exhumed. The state of Ohio contacted Summit County Coroner, Dr. Samuel
Cox, and Dr. Douglas Owsley, a forensic anthropologist employed by the
Smithsonian Institute, who conducted independent examinations of the
remains. They both concluded that Morris had sustained multiple stab
wounds to the back prior to the fire. Owsley examined the body and presented
testimony using the actual bones during his presentation. However, at the
conclusion of states case, the prosecutor requested that the court admit the
slides in evidence in place of the actual bones. After hearing the objection,
and conducting an in camera inspection of the slides and the witness pro-
posed testimony, the court allowed the substitution. The court ruled that the
substitution was appropriate, holding that the slides would be a better sub-
stitution than the actual bones themselves.23
On occasion, the use of statistics is combined with the tools of forensic
anthropology to establish or assist in the identification of human remains.
In State v. Klindt,24 the defendant was convicted of murdering his wife and
using a chainsaw to dismember the body. Joyce Klindt disappeared from her
Davenport, Iowa, home on March 18, 1983, and on April 16, 1983, fishermen
found a female torso lodged against a bank of the Mississippi River. The torso
had been severed just above the navel and just below the hips. A pathologist
testified that a mechanical saw, probably a chain saw, had been used to cut
up the body. The state was faced with the task of identifying the torso as that
of defendants wife Joyce.
A statistician testified that the torso found in the river was more likely
to be that of Joyce Klindt than any other person who had been reported
missing in the area. Investigating officers had developed a list of all the white
females who had been reported missing in a four-state area around Daven-
port as of April 16, 1983, the date the torso was discovered. This list, originally
containing data on 17 women, was narrowed by eliminating those who had
obvious identifying characteristics such as scars. Four missing women
remained on the list, including Joyce Klindt.
Dr. Russell Lenth testified that, as a statistical analyst, he takes data or
facts that are known and attempts to determine what is likely to be true by
applying the mathematical laws of probability. He testified that he was fur-
nished with data on the torso, including race, sex, age range, and blood type.
He also considered the fact that the torso had borne a child, had had an
episiotomy (a surgical procedure in connection with childbirth), and that it
had not been surgically sterilized. Evidence showed Joyce Klindt fell within
Forensic Anthropology and Entomology 485
all of these categories. From other sources, Lenth obtained information con-
cerning some of these conditions with respect to the other three missing
women and determined the frequency of certain of these conditions among
the general female population. Based upon the likelihood of the concurrence
of those factors among the missing women, Lenth testified that the proba-
bilities were over 99% that the torso was Joyce Klindts rather than any of
the other three. The court concluded that the statistical evidence utilized to
identify the body was properly admitted.
V. Individual Identifications
use of such photography is normally limited to visual support for the labo-
ratory or field examination opinion proffered at trial. However, on occasion
forensic anthropologists are asked to examine photographs of a suspects face
or other body part to effect an identification of such person as the perpetrator
of a crime.
In United States v. Dorsey,33 defendant was convicted of bank robbery
arising out of two robberies of two institutions allegedly robbed by defendant.
In both cases surveillance photos were available. The FBI showed a bank clerk
a photo array containing photographs of Dorsey and five other black males.
Initially, she was unable to decide which of two of the six photographs
portrayed the robber, at which point Special Agent Lane Betts asked her if
viewing the bank surveillance photographs would refresh her recollection.
After indicating that it would, bank clerk Habersack identified Dorsey as the
man who robbed her. On the same day, the photo spread was also shown to
Keeley, another eyewitness, who, after viewing the surveillance pictures, also
identified Dorsey as the man who robbed the Signet Bank. At trial, both
victim tellers made positive in-court identifications of Dorsey as the man
who robbed them. The jury was shown both the photo arrays shown to the
tellers, and numerous surveillance photographs depicting each of the two
robberies in progress.
At trial, Dorsey presented a defense of mistaken identity, and in support
of that defense, Dorsey sought to introduce the testimony of two forensic
anthropologists who would testify that Dorsey was not the individual
depicted in the Bank of Baltimore surveillance photographs. He argued that
the district court committed reversible error by excluding the testimony of
these two defense witnesses. Spencer Jay Turkel and James Vandigriff Taylor,
both forensic anthropologists, were hired to compare the surveillance pho-
tographs of the bank robberies to recent photographs of Dorsey and photo-
graphs of the boots that were seized from Dorseys house. Their report
concluded that the person depicted in the Bank of Baltimore surveillance
videos was not Dorsey. The district court ruled to exclude the evidence,
stating:
The appeals court ruled that it was clear that the testimony to be pre-
sented by the two forensic anthropologists in the instant case did not plainly
satisfy the first prong of Daubert that is, that the evidence to be presented
by the experts amounted to scientific knowledge.
However, the use of photographs by experts in forensic anthropology
was accepted in the Supreme Court of Illinois 1988 decision in People v.
Hebel,35 where defendant was convicted of aggravated criminal sexual assault
and aggravated criminal sexual abuse. The defendant was accused of molest-
ing and taking illicit nude photographs of overnight guests of his minor
daughter. He was arrested after a photograph development store called police.
Defendant argued that his conviction should be reversed because the
only substantive evidence against him was a photograph. The photograph in
question (Peoples Exhibit No. 15) was found in a search of defendants home.
It shows a hand spreading apart a minor females sex organ. The victims
parents identified her as the female in the photograph, based on identifying
marks.
The victims father testified that to his knowledge his daughter spent the
night at the Hebel residence only once in the summer of 1984. He stated that
the victim has identifying moles, freckles, or brown spots on her right buttock
and on her right thigh. He identified Peoples Exhibits Nos. 5 and 6 as
photographs of his daughter asleep in a bed, Peoples Exhibits Nos. 12, 13,
and 14, as photographs of her buttocks and vagina, and Peoples Exhibit No.
15 as a photograph showing a hand opening her vaginal cavity. Number 17
was an enlargement of No. 15.36
Gerald Richards, an FBI agent specializing in forensic photography, tes-
tified as an expert witness in the area of forensic photography. Richards did
a side-by-side comparison of Peoples Exhibit No. 15 with known photo-
graphs, looking for folds or creases of the hand, scars, marks, and general
characteristics. He found a number of fairly unique characteristics in com-
mon; however, he was not able to positively identify both hands to the
exclusion of all other people in the world. Richards did find numerous
characteristic that strongly suggest the hands in the photographs are the
same hand. He did not observe any differences that would suggest they are
not the same hand. He said the hands in the photographs appeared to be
those of a male.
Forensic Anthropology and Entomology 489
blind rage and it was in that state of mind that he acted. The trial court
excluded any testimony that Haque went into a rage.
The court also excluded all testimony by the defense expert, Dr. Caughey,
a cultural anthropologist with an interest in psychological anthropology, who
had conducted research into the experience of immigrants to the United
States and how people manage multiple cultural traditions:
During voir dire, Caughey discussed the various factors that affect
an individuals transition between two different cultures and how
those factors were relevant to Haques experience in the United
States. Caughey also discussed gender relationships in traditional
Muslim India and how an understanding of that topic would help
explain Haques relationship with Taylor. According to Caughey,
in traditional Muslim India there is no dating and relationships
are expected to last for life. Caughey testified that given Haques
traditional Muslim upbringing, the on-again-off-again quality
of his relationship with Taylor must have been extremely dif-
ficult to manage.44
Haque contended that the trial court erred in excluding Caugheys tes-
timony on cultural transitions because the testimony would have assisted the
jury in determining whether Haque had the requisite state of mind to be
guilty of murder. The court recognized that a cultural anthropologist or other
expert in cultural norms may very well possess specialized knowledge that
can assist the trier of fact in setting requiring in depth knowledge of foreign
cultures and the impact of living in a new country.45 However, the court
stated, any such testimony must be relevant. Here, the experts testimony had
nothing to do with the important issue of the defendants mental state:
The court concluded that the one area here where the testimony of the
cultural anthropologist might be relevant would be the affirmative defense
of adequate provocation, which might reduce murder to manslaughter, if
492 Forensic Evidence: Science and the Criminal Law, Second Edition
the defendant demonstrates that he caused the death while under the influ-
ence of extreme anger or extreme fear brought about by adequate provoca-
tion.47 Here, however, the court observed that the events that Haque
contended provoked his extreme anger were Taylors refusal to marry him,
her desire to terminate their relationship, and her statement that we are just
too different. As mere words that ended a romantic relationship, they failed
to so qualify.48
a roadside. Prosecutors claim she was killed within the first couple days of
her abduction. Westerfields lawyers alleged that the state of her remains
indicated that the defendant was already under police surveillance when she
was killed and, therefore, he could not be the perpetrator. The defense called
a pair of forensic entomologists who said insect evidence supported that
theory. Prosecutors fought back with their own time-of-death experts. This
case received extended attention from the media and spawned several Web
sites tracking the entomological aspects of the testimony.
Court TVs extensive coverage of this trial, centered in time-of-death
issues debated by rival forensic entomologists, can be viewed at
http://www.courttv. com/trials/westerfield/. This Court TV special coverage
in their Court TV Trial series is an excellent and fascinating look at the actual
work of forensic entomologists on the crucial time of death issue. Coverage
extends from investigation, trial, and sentencing. It is a unique opportunity
to view testimony and photographs in this tragic case.53
Forensic entomologists David Faulkner, Dr. Neal Haskell, Dr. William C.
Rodriguesz, III, Dr. Madison Lee Goff, and Dr. Robert Hall provided prose-
cution and defense testimony on the entomological bases for determining
the time of the childs death, crucial to defendant Westerfields alibi.54
She concluded that within reasonable medical probability, the time span
between the victims death and the delivery of his body to the medical exam-
iners office on June 24 was between two and four days. Wayne Lord, a forensic
entomologist who had been consulted by the Office of the Chief Medical
Examiner, concluded that the victims death occurred sometime between the
late afternoon of June 19 and the early afternoon of June 21.56
The defendant claimed in the trial court that there was newly discovered
evidence regarding, generally, developments in the field of forensic entomol-
ogy, and specifically, alleged changes in the opinion of expert Lord, who had
testified as a witness for the state in the original trial. As the present trial
court, (t)he focus of (the petitioners) claim as newly discovered evidence
is that Lords testimony at the (criminal) trial was crucial in establishing the
time of death of (the victim) to be late morning or early afternoon of Friday,
June 20, 1980, (that is, before the petitioner had left the Waterford area), but,
since that testimony in 1986, he has given (an) opinion in subsequent homi-
cide cases which differs entomologically from the opinion expressed in that
testimony.57
In support of this assertion, the defendant offered in evidence two dep-
ositions of Lord, taken on September 7, 1990, and on June 9, 1992, as well
as two scientific papers through the testimony of William Kriniski. One of
the papers was entitled Nocturnal Oviposition Behavior of Blow Flies, by
Bernard Greenberg, published in 1990,58 wherein Greenberg reports observ-
ing nocturnal oviposition, or laying of eggs, by blow flies. The trial court
stated:
The trial court found, however, that the petitioners evidence did not indicate
any material change in Lords opinion.
Forensic Anthropology and Entomology 495
The trial court had apparently found that Lord still disagreed with Green-
berg, noting that, when asked about Greenbergs study at his deposition, Lord
had commented, if Greenberg said he saw oviposition at night, he believed
it, and that Lord further testified that no other scientist had been able to
duplicate such observations and that another prominent entomologist had
found to the contrary. On the basis of those findings, the trial court concluded
that the petitioner had failed to offer any new entomological evidence. Rather,
in the courts view, insofar as the evidence indicated that the opinions of
Lord, Greenberg, and Kriniski had not changed, the evidence was essentially
the same as, and cumulative to, the evidence offered at the criminal trial.
In addition, the appeals court noted that the trial court had ruled that
Lords opinion given in 1986 was not, as claimed, crucial in establishing the
time of death. After carefully reviewing the record regarding this issue, the
appellate tribunal found nothing in the record to suggest that the trial courts
findings and conclusions were incorrect and concluded that the trial court
did not abuse its discretion in denying certification to appeal with respect to
this issue.60
In State v. Thibodeaux,61 defendant was convicted of first-degree murder.
On Friday, July 19, 1996, the victim, 14-year-old Crystal Champagne, left her
home at the Tanglewood apartments in Westwego at about 5:15 p.m. to walk
a short distance to a nearby supermarket. Defendant was related to the
Champagnes through his mothers previous marriage to Dawns brother.
Crystal was Defendants step-cousin. After a search, Crystals corpse was
found on a concrete slab. She was naked, with her shirt and bra pulled up
to her shoulders, revealing a red wire ligature wrapped around her neck. Her
shorts and panties were pulled down around her ankles. Crystals mother
recalled that she had washed the clothes Crystal had on the previous morning
before she took her home. Maggots and ants had invaded her body. Crystals
mother went and called the police, who arrived on the scene at 7:47 p.m.
Dr. Fraser MacKenzie of the Jefferson Parish coroners office performed
the autopsy on Crystal. He attributed the cause of death to asphyxiation by
ligature strangulation.
Dr. Lamar Leek, professor of Entomology at Louisiana State University,
testified as an expert in the field of forensic entomology. He examined the
insect samples taken from Crystals body and testified that flies will lay eggs
on a carcass within a couple of hours, but will not lay eggs after dark. There-
fore, he determined that the eggs were laid before nightfall on July 19, 1996,
and calculated the age of the fly larvae (maggots) to be between 2428 hours
old at discovery.62
In Commonwealth v. Auker,63 the court focused on the possible prejudice
to defendants by the exhibition of maggots and other insects on the body of
the deceased in conjunction with the testimony of forensic entomologists. In
496 Forensic Evidence: Science and the Criminal Law, Second Edition
Dr. Kim identified samples of the insects found on the victim. He was
also shown autopsy photographs depicting a mass of insects on the body and
in the body bag. Dr. Kim concluded that accounting for the average mean
temperature during the time the corpse had been missing, the maturity of
the various insects present and the stages of decomposition at which certain
insects would be present, the body had been decaying 1925 days.65
The corpse was identified as Lori Auker through dental records. Lori had
been missing since May 24, 1989, and was last seen wearing clothing like that
found on the corpse. Nineteen days had elapsed from the date of her disap-
pearance until the discovery of her body on June 12, 1989. Defendant was
connected to the crime by the May 24 film from an automated teller machine
video camera and through strands of human and cat hair.66
Defendant alleged error in the exhibition to the jury of inflammatory
photographs of the victim covered with insects. Both color and black-and-
white photographs taken at the scene of discovery and at the autopsy were
presented at trial. Seven black-and-white photographs of the body at the
Forensic Anthropology and Entomology 497
scene were presented to show the jury the unnatural position of the body in
a secluded wooded area on a steep ravine and in a decomposing state. The
autopsy photographs included color and black-and-white photographs. Thir-
teen color photographs of the stained, knifed clothing and one small color
photograph of the insects in the body bag without the body were presented.
Two black-and-white photographs of the insects on the body were also pre-
sented. The first black-and-white photograph was of a totally jeans-clad lower
body from below the knees down to the sneakers. The other was of the body
from the position of the sneakers so that the decomposition of the upper
body was not clearly visible.67
The court found no error in the presentation of such photographs
because they were necessary to support Dr. Kims opinion on the implications
of the presence and condition of the insects:
The photographs of the body with insects were all black and white.
They were presented to assist the jury in understanding Dr. Kims
scientific testimony about the presence of various insects and the
use of entomology in determining the relative date of death of the
victim.68 As Dr. Kim testified, the approximate date of death could
be determined by the presence of certain types of insects on the
skeletal remains at that specific site and climate. Thus, the pictures
helped the jury to understand and evaluate that testimony.
he may not use them to appeal to the jurors emotions. The prosecutors use
of the photos, in this instance, the court concluded, further encouraged the
jury to react emotionally and convict on matters not before the court.
Defendant argued that the trial court erred in admitting seven photo-
graphs into evidence. He claimed that the graphic photographic depictions
of the decomposed and fly-ravaged body of Steffin were so gruesome, inflam-
matory, and repetitive as to influence the jury unfairly. The court ruled that
the trial court properly admitted a number of photographs of the victims
body. The court also excluded at least six photographs of the corpse. Only
four of the photographs assigned as error were admitted over objection. The
photographs that were admitted were relevant, not cumulative, and were used
to illustrate the coroners testimony and the testimony of expert witness Stein.
X. Conclusion
Endnotes
1. See, Stewart H. James and John J. Nordby: Forensic Science: An Introduction
to Scientific and Investigative Techniques (2d edition, CRC Press, 2005), Chap-
ter 7, Marcella H. Sorg, Forensic Anthropology; Chapter 8, William D.
Haglund, Forensic Taphonomy; Chapter 9, Gail S. Anderson. Forensic Ento-
mology. This 2005 text has excellent overview articles, bibliographies, pho-
tographs and graphics.
2. See, Pickering and Bachman: The Use of Forensic Anthropology (CRC Press,
1997), at Chapter 3, What a Forensic Anthropologist Can and Cannot Do,
p.15. Also see, Geberth: Practical Homicide Investigation (CRC Press, 3d ed.,
1996), at 253; Fisher: Techniques of Crime Scene Investigation (CRC Press, 5th
ed 1993), at 128. See also, Komar, D.A., Twenty-seven years of forensic anthro-
pology casework in New Mexico, 48 JFS (3) (2003). A review of anthropo-
logical consult cases for the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator
was conducted for the years 1974 through 2000. A total of 596 cases are
summarized and information is presented on the sex and age of the individ-
uals, season of recovery, depositional environment, body covering, time since
death, perimortem trauma, postmortem animal activity, and skeletal element
Forensic Anthropology and Entomology 499
recovery. Data presented in this study may prove useful in supporting expert
witness testimony and generating future research models.
3. Pickering and Bachman, Chapter 5, Ten Key Questions, at 69.
4. See, Iscan, M.Y. and Kennedy, K.A.: Reconstruction of Life From the Skeleton
(Alan R. Liss, New York 1989). Also see, Smith, S.L., Throckmorton, G.S., A
New Technique for Three Dimensional Ultrasound Scanning of Facial Tissue,
49 J. Forensic Sci. (3) (2004). The authors report the development of an
ultrasonic facial scanning technique that allows for the visualization of con-
tinuous contours without deforming surface tissues. Reliability of repeat
measurements at landmarks is reported good, and individual tissues (skin,
subcutaneous, muscle) can be distinguished. The authors conclude that the
method is simple, reliable, less expensive and less time consuming than
alternatives such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). It is applicable in
both research and clinical contexts.
5. Pickering and Bachman: The Use of Forensic Anthropology (CRC Press, 1997).
See their bibliography at pages 145-146.; Mehmet Yasar Iscan and Susan R.
Loth, The Scope of Forensic Anthropology, Eckert (ed.): Introduction to Forensic
Sciences (CRC Press, 2d ed., 1997); Geberth: Practical Homicide Investigation
(CRC Press, 3rd ed., 1996), at 253; Reichs and Bass (eds.): Forensic Osteology:
Advances in the Identification of Human Remains (Charles C. Thomas, 2d ed.,
1998); Human Skeletal Remains: Excavation, Analysis, Interpretation-Manuals
of Archaeology Series No. 2 (Taraxacun, 2d ed., 1989); Burns: The Forensic
Anthropology Training Manual (Prentice Hall, 1999); Haas, Buikstra,
Ubelaker: Standards for Data Collection from Human Skeletal Remains: Pro-
ceedings of a Seminar at the Field Museum of Natural History (1994).
6. See, e.g., Smith: Mostly Murder (David McKay Company, 1959) [The famous
autobiography of Sir Sydney Smith, relating his work as a forensic specialist
in numerous prominent cases in Egypt and England during the early years
of the 20th century.]; Maples and Browning: Dead Men Do Tell Tales (Dou-
bleday, 1994); Manhein: The Bone Lady: Life as a Forensic Anthropologist
(Louisiana State University Press, 1999); Bone Voyage: A Journey in Forensic
Anthropology (University of New Mexico Press, 1998); Jackson and Fellen-
baum: The Bone Detectives: How Forensic Anthropologists Solve Crimes and
Uncover Mysteries of the Dead (Little, Brown & Co., 1996).
7. See, e.g., http://www.physanth.org/
The American Association of Physical Anthropologists
The AAPA is the worlds leading professional organization for physical
anthropologists. Formed by 83 charter members in 1930, the AAPA now has
an international membership of over 1700. The Associations annual meetings
draw more than a thousand scientists and students from all over the world.
American Journal of Physical Anthropology
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/jhome/28130
OSTEOINTERACTIVE:
500 Forensic Evidence: Science and the Criminal Law, Second Edition
http://medstat.med.utah.edu/kw/osteo/index2.html
[Human Osteology, Forensic Anthropology, Paleopathology, Histology] This
important site also lists the sites and topics of upcoming conferences of
interest to lawyers involved with forensic issues, such as the British Associa-
tion for Human Identification (BAHID) http://www.bahid.org/; The Forensic
Science Society, http://www.forensic-science-society.org/; International Asso-
ciation for Identification, http://www.theiai.org/; American Academy of
Forensic Sciences, http://www.aafs.org. The site also lists the most recent
articles published in leading jornals that focus on anthropological issues. See
also, Odontology and Anthropology Examinations, F.B.I. Handbook of Forensic
Services (1999), located at http://www.fbi.gov/programs/lab/handbook/
examodon.htm.; American Board of Forensic Anthropology, located at
http://www.csuchico.edu/anth/ABFA [AFBA Diplomate information and list-
ing]; Universia di Pavia website, located at http://www.unipv.it/webbio/
homepag1.htm [excellent and very extensive links to world anthropology and
related sites].
8. 440 Mass. 519, 800 N.E.2d 267 (2003).
9. The prosecutor made this assertion, without any prompting, in response to
the judges question (directed at the defendants trial counsel) whether a
mechanical engineer was indeed necessary. The prosecutor also informed the
judge that [w]e are not retaining mechanical experts in this area, and [w]e
are not alleging that the wall is the murder weapon in this case. There are all
sorts of holes in the apartment. One of them could or could not be consistent
with the shape of the babys head. But thats not the key to this case by any
means. Ibid. at 525.
10. In his findings and order denying the defendants motion for a new trial, the
judge expressly rejected that portion of the defendants trial counsels affidavit
in which he claimed surprise. The judge determined that the defendants
representation was not in any way ineffective or incompetent and character-
ized the defendants trial counsels performance as effective as it could be.
11. Baker, at 528.
12. Baker at 800 N.E.2d 267, 276.
13. Baker at 800 N.E.2d 267, 276.
14. 839 So.2d 1112 (La.App 2003).
15. 839 So.2d 1112 (La.App 2003), at 1118.
16. Wright at 1117.
17. 906 S.W.2d 405 (Missouri Ct. App. 1995).
18. 906 S.W.2d 405 (Missouri Ct. App. 1995), at 408.
19. 1998 WL 120291 (Tenn.Crim.App. 1998).
20. 104 Ohio App.3d 531, 662 N.E.2d 858 (1995).
21. 104 Ohio App.3d 531, 662 N.E.2d 858 (1995), at 533.
Forensic Anthropology and Entomology 501
22. 104 Ohio App.3d 531, 662 N.E.2d 858 (1995), at 533, at 536. Also see,
Armstrong v. State, 958 S.W.2d 278 (Ct. Appeals, Amarillo, Texas 1997) where
there was extensive testimony by forensic anthropologists as to whether the
victim was stabbed with a knife. Two of these witnesses, Drs. Harold Gill-
King and Randall Frost, testified for the State. The other, Dr. Steven A. Symes,
testified for the defense. Doctor Gill-King is an expert in anthropology and
forensic pathology and director of the Laboratory for Human Identification
and Forensic Anthropology at the University of North Texas Health Science
Center. Doctor Frost is a forensic pathologist with the Lubbock County
Medical Examiners Office. Doctor Symes is a forensic anthropologist and is
an instructor at the University of Tennessee Medical School and is an Assistant
Director of the Regional Forensic Center in Memphis, Tennessee.
23. 389 N.W.2d 670 (Sp. Ct. Iowa 1986).
24. See, Buck, T.J., A proposed method for the identification of race in sub-adult
skeletons: a geometric morphometric analysis of mandibular morphology,
49 JFS (6) (2004).
Abstract: The identification of biological race (ancestry) in skeletal material
is an important aspect of forensic investigations. Results showed significant
morphological differences between the samples and obtained cross-validation
results of over 70% accuracy in identification of unknown individuals using
the complete mandible. It is suggested that these techniques could provide a
method for the identification of race in sub-adult individuals.
25. See, Pickering and Bachman: The Use of Forensic Anthropology (CRC Press,
1997), at 80.
26. 1997 WL 749441 (Tenn.Crim.App. 1997) [Not officially reported].
27. See, See, Rebecca Tsosie, Privileging Claims to the Past: Ancient Human
Remains and Contemporary Cultural Values, 31 Arizona St.L.J. 583 (1999);
C. Loring Brace, Region Does Not Mean Race Reality Versus Convention
in Forensic Anthropology, 40 J. Forensic Sci. 171 (1995).
28. 866 P.2d 417 (Ct. Crim. App. Ok. 1994).
29. 866 P.2d 417 (Ct. Crim. App. Ok. 1994), at 428-429.
30. 1999 WL 1076958 (Tenn.Crim.App.).
31. 1999 WL 1076958 (Tenn.Crim.App.) at *5.
32. 45 F.3d 809 (4th Cir. Ct. App. 1995).
33. 45 F.3d 809 (4th Cir. Ct. App. 1995), at 812.
34. 174 Ill.App.3d 1, 527 N.E.2d 1362 (1988).
35. 174 Ill.App.3d 1, 527 N.E.2d 1362 (1988), at 1375.
36. 174 Ill.App.3d 1, 527 N.E.2d 1362 (1988), at 1376.
37. 174 Ill.App.3d 1, 527 N.E.2d 1362 (1988), at 31.
38. See, Steadman, D.W., Haglund, W.D., The scope of anthropological contri-
butions to human rights investigations, 50 JFS(1) (2004). This paper exam-
502 Forensic Evidence: Science and the Criminal Law, Second Edition
autopsy, the States expert concluded that the colonization of maggots found
on the body occurred on May 9, 1997, during the hottest part of the day, or
between 12 and 4 p.m. Death preceded the colonization. Defendants expert
concluded that the colonization could have occurred as late as May 12, 1997.
54. 246 Conn. 514, 717 A.2d 1161 (1998).
55. 246 Conn. 514, 717 A.2d 1161 (1998), at 656-59, 557 A.2d 93.
56. 246 Conn. 514, 717 A.2d 1161 (1998).
57. B. Greenberg, Nocturnal Oviposition Behavior of Blow Flies, 27 J. Med. Ento-
mol. 797, 808 (1990).
58. B. Greenberg, Nocturnal Oviposition Behavior of Blow Flies, 27 J. Med. Ento-
mol. 797, 808 (1990), at 1173.
59. Also see, People v. Reynolds, 257 Ill.App.3d 792, 629 N.E.2d 559 (1994), where
defendant, who claimed an alibi, was convicted of first-degree murder for
the killing of his mother, Lealer Reynolds. Defendants case consisted solely
of the expert testimony of Dr. Bernard Greenberg, who was a consultant in
the field of forensic entomology and had been studying maggots for 40 years.
Based on his experience and a photograph of a maggot taken from the victims
body, Dr. Greenberg opined that the time of death was 1 p.m. on June 2,
1989, at which time defendant claimed an alibi.
60. 1999 WL 694726 (La.).
61. Also see, Commonwealth v. Copenhefer, 719 A.2d 242 (Pa. 1998), where a
Commonwealth entomologist testified as to the victims time of death. The
defendants expert gave conflicting testimony. Trial counsel eventually agreed
to the Commonwealths estimate because the defendant had an alibi for that
time, therefore trial counsel was not unreasonable in basing the alibi argu-
ment on the Commonwealths time of death.
62. 545 Pa. 521, 681 A.2d 1305 (1996).
63. 545 Pa. 521, 681 A.2d 1305 (1996), at 1311.
64. 545 Pa. 521, 681 A.2d 1305 (1996), at 533.
65. Human hairs later found in the Celebritys upper door seal and from the door
jamb were similar to those of Lori Auker. Hairs presumably on Loris body
from Loris cats were found in the trunk and on appellants Velcro splint.
66. 545 Pa. 521, 681 A.2d 1305 (1996), at 545.
67. 545 Pa. 521, 681 A.2d 1305 (1996), at 546.
68. 94 Ohio App.3d 665, 641 N.E.2d 755 (1994).
69. 94 Ohio App.3d 665, 641 N.E.2d 755 (1994), at 764. Also see, Coe v. Bell, 161
F.3d 320 (6th Cir. 1998), where defendant was convicted of a rape and murder.
The court ruled that the entomological evidence that defendant now mar-
shaled (refuting the prosecutions asserted time of death based on the extent
of insect infestation on Medlins corpse) did not seem to have been such an
obvious or common part of a defense in the time and place of Coes trial that
counsel was ineffective for neglecting it.