21-24 May 2025

Parma, Italy

21st European Association for Forensic Entomology (EAFE) Meeting

Conferences

Lice, neglect, and death

M. Alejandra Perotti 1, Melika Moghadaszadeh Kermani 1, Fernando H. Aballay 2, Henk R. Braig 2

1 Ecology and Evolutionary Section, School of Biological Sciences, University of Reading, United Kingdom

2 Institute and Museum of Natural Sciences, National University of San Juan, Argentina

Humans carry Pediculus and Pthirus species of ectoparasitic lice. They are blood sucking insects that cannot survive without their human host. They are species specific. Human louse infestations, especially if severe, mirror the health, hygiene and social conditions of the individual who carries them. Interestingly, the occurrence and type of infestation is no indication of social status. However, the biology of these parasites enables to interpret the nature of the infestations -even from ancient specimens, the duration and episodes of neglect, changes in the environment of the host pre-mortem, and even the cause of death of the host.

Three recent cases involving severe infestations of head lice, Pediculus humanus capitis, will explain the value of these ectoparasites in forensic investigations of victims of neglect followed by the death. Case one treats the case of an elder, where the louse infestation informed of time of neglect, number of previous episodes of neglect and the cause of death by overdose of medicine. In case two, the massive infestation of a dead toddler informed precise details of abandonment, including time estimations. Case three, is about the suspicious death of a child, dying of cardiac arrest following a long-standing severe louse infestation.

While the focus until now has been on individual infestations, the role of lice as forensic trace evidence in clandestine and mass graves is a growing subject of research. This is because human lice, especially their eggs (in the form of nits) accompany their dead hosts to their grave or resting place. A brief report on the history and importance of the recovery of louse nits from human remains, in the context of graves and mass graves’ trace evidence analysis will be discussed

26-30 May 2025

Dublin, Ireland

EAFS 2025

European Academy of Forensic Science (EAFS)
Reflections of Forensic Science: Looking back to look forward

Studies of the entomofauna of carcasses and corpses in arid environments of Argentina applied to the estimation of the post-mortem interval

F.H. Aballay 1, F.N. Jofré 2, A.R. Cortez Vega 1, M. Moghadaszadeh Kermani 3, M.A. Perotti 3
1 National University of San Juan, Institute and Museum of Natural Sciences, San Juan, Argentina,

2 Argentine Institute for Research on Arid Zones (IADIZA, CCT-CONICET Mendoza), Entomology Laboratorium, Mendoza, Argentina,

3 University of Reading, School of Biological Sciences, Reading, United Kingdom

Cadaveric decomposition experiments and sampling with baited traps in different arid environments provide information that allows answers to forensic questions of post-mortem interval (PMI) and location or relocation of corpses. Entomofauna from pig carcasses was sampled daily during the entire process of decomposition, from experiments in Mendoza and in San Juan, Argentina.

Human corpses were sampled at the discovery sites as well as in the judicial morgues, following authorization by the directors of the Public Prosecutor's Office of San Juan and Mendoza. The study of environmental variables was carried out at the discovery sites and at the meteorological stations closest to the site where the bodies were found.

Case 1: the corpse was found in an urban-rural environment in summer, recording Chrysomya albiceps, Cochliomyia macellaria (Calliphoridae), Piophila casei (Piophilidae) (Diptera); Dermestes maculatus(Dermestidae) (Coleoptera) etc., the estimated PMI is 12 days.
Case 2: the body was found in summer in a natural mountain environment, recording D. maculatus, Omopheres sp (Tenebrionidae), Necrobia rufipes (Cleridae) (Coleoptera) and Piophila casei (Piophilidae), the estimated PMI is 21 days and the entomofauna suggest relocation of the body
Case 3: bone remains were found in a dry river in a rural environment in summer, recording Anthrenus verbasci (Dermestidae), Acromyrmex sp. (Formicidae) (Hymenoptera) and Uroobovella mites (Urodinychidae, Mesostigmata, Acari); and the entomofauna suggest relocation of the body as well.
The composition and abundance of cadaveric entomofauna changes in different environments and seasons of the year.