112 - Teaching with maggots: How your skills can help local and state labs solve crimes

Abstract: Since 2015, the Healy lab has been working with the state crime lab and state fish and wildlife to help solve crimes associated with human and endangered animal deaths. Most of these cases have involved determining the post-mortem interval (time since death), to help the state narrow down potential suspects for these heinous crimes. While we are occasionally called to assist at the actual crime scene, we have focused more on developing training content to teach state CSIs with proper maggot and insect evidence collection. This presentation will be an overview of methods of training we have found successful, and advice to others wanting to help their state and local law enforcement with insect evidence at crime scenes.