Forensic Entomology in Brazil's Crime Solving
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ScribdTranslationsForensic Entomology in Brazil's Crime Solving
Translated by
ScribdTranslationsFEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF WEST BAHIA
CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES
BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES - BACHELOR'S DEGREE
LECI SILVA FRANÇA
FORENSIC ENTOMOLOGY AS A TOOL IN CRIME SOLUTION:
THE USE OF ANIMALS IN THE STUDY OF POST-MORTEM PROCESSES
Santa Maria da Vitória - BA
2021
LECI SILVA FRANÇA
FORENSIC ENTOMOLOGY AS A TOOL IN CRIME SOLUTION:
THE USE OF ANIMALS IN THE STUDY OF POST-MORTEM PROCESSES
Research project presented as
requirement for obtaining a grade in
Research Methodology discipline
of the Biological Sciences course.
Saint Mary of Victory - BA
2021
1. INTRODUCTION/JUSTIFICATION
There are several Forensic Sciences that are involved in matters of criminalistics.
Forensic Entomology is one of them. According to Pujol-Luzet et al. (2008), Forensic Entomology - the
study of insects and other arthropods associated with various criminal issues - is dedicated to
application of the study of insects in solving criminal cases and legal disputes.
The first documented case that had Entomology as a tool to solve
crimes occurred in China in the 13th century. The crime in question was the murder of a farmer who
was found decapitated by a farming tool, or rather, a sickle. To
to solve the case, the farmers in the region where it happened were required to deposit their sickles in the
floor, and, over time, the flies, attracted by the scent of the blood still lingering on the blade,
They landed on one of them. With that, it could be concluded that that sickle was the weapon.
used by the killer (Benecke, 2001 cited by Pujol-Luzet al., 2008)
Today we know the importance of the use and contributions of forensic entomology in the field.
criminal. Among the main contributions are identifying who the deceased individual is, what
was the cause of death, indicate if there was body movement, find traces of drug use
and toxins, and also to determine the post-mortem interval (PMI) (Romana et al., 2012). Being this
the most common last resort in solving crimes.
The first book on post-mortem interval estimation was 'La faune de cadavres'
Mégnin (1894 cited by Pujol-Luz et al., 2008), where the author brings theoretical substantiation, in addition to
descrições de insetos e relatos de casos reais estudados pelo próprio e colaboradores. Porém, a
The first estimate of the post-mortem interval based on insects was made by a French physician.
Bergeret (1855 cited by Pujol-Luzet et al., 2008).
According to Romana et al. (2012), the determination of the post-mortem interval consists of showing
how data on the habits and biology of species associated with carcasses can assist in
determination of the minimum and maximum time interval between death and the date the body was
found.
The process of determining the IPM will depend greatly on understanding the variability of
process of cadaver decomposition (Ferreira, 2012 cited by Ferreira and Cunha, 2012). Due to
this variability that occurs in the decomposition process seems necessary to
researchers, the creation of a forensic anthropology center, also called a cemetery
forensic or still body farms, from the English term 'body farm'. In these places, the
researchers monitor the entire process of corpse decomposition in various situations,
simulating the different circumstances in which a body could be found at the scene of a
crime. The first 'body farms' were created in the United States of America, using
human corpses. Today there are body farms that use pig corpses in studies,
due to the similarity in some of its soft tissues with those of humans (Heaven, 2016). In
meanwhile, it is necessary to investigate how studies with animals are conducted, how they are sacrificed and if
the recommendations of the Ethics Committees on the Use of Animals (Lopes et al, 2018) follow. This
The work aims, then, to gather this information within the scope of studies conducted in Brazil.
2. GENERAL AND SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES
This work aims to verify how many body farms exist in Brazil and if
there is the involvement of Ethics Committees on Animal Use (CEUAs) in these studies.
i) Analyze how many body farms exist in Brazil;
ii) Check if there is involvement of CEUAs in the work carried out on body farms;
iii) Present the importance of the work of CEUAs in forensic sciences.
3. METHODOLOGY
To achieve the objective of this project, a bibliographic research will be conducted in
literature, therefore, articles, theses, and dissertations indexed in the databases of the
Google Scholar, Scielo, and the CAPES thesis database.
Terms such as 'body farm', 'CEUAs', 'entomology' and will be used as descriptors.
"forensic", as it is believed that using these terms will make it possible to acquire the desired information.
The research of articles, theses, and dissertations published in the last ten years will be conducted, that is,
in the period between 2011 and 2021.
From the information acquired in the bibliographic research, it will be analyzed how many
There are body farms in Brazil, what are the recommendations from the Ethics Committees on the Use of
Animals provide forensic scientists so that studies can be conducted within the law. With the
acquired information, an article will be produced showing the importance of CEUAs alongside
forensic sciences for later publication after six months of research. The months adopted for
The project implementation will take place during the months that encompass part of the academic holidays, that is, from October.
to March. In the months of October and November, data collection will be carried out, in December and
In January, the analyses will be carried out, in February and March the article production will take place, and still in March.
the article will be published. Throughout the process, the literature review will continue to be conducted.
4. EXPECTED RESULTS
With the result of this project, it is expected to present to the scientific community the importance
concerning the respect for the lives of animals, subjecting them to death in experiments.
by humanitarian means, promoting the death of animals in conditions that involve a minimum
of physical or mental suffering, thus respecting ethical standards.
5. SCHEDULE
October Activities November December January February March
Collection of
data
Analysis of
data
Production
of the article
Publication
of the article
Review
bibliográfic
a
BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES
Ferreira, M.T., Cunha, E. 2012. Is it credible to estimate PMI in decomposed remains in advanced
state of decomposition?. Notebooks of the GEEvH, (2): 1 7-20. DOI:
[Link]
Heaven, D. 2016. Life amid death at the body farm. NewScientist: 38-39.
Lopes, D.S., F.F. Oliveira, C.A. Mello-Patiu, F.M. Pamponet & T.S. Thé. 2018. Species of
Oxysarcodexia (Diptera: Sarcophagidae) associated with pig carcasses (Sus scrofa Linnaeus)
exposed in a fragment of Atlantic Forest in the municipality of Salvador, Bahia. EntomoBrasilis, 11
(2): 103-106. DOI: doi:10.12741/ebrasilis.v11i2.779.
PUJOL-LUZ, J.R.; ARANTES, L.C.; CONSTANTINO, R. One hundred years of Forensic Entomology in
Brazil (1908 – 2008). Brazilian Journal of Entomology. Volume 52 (4): 485-492. December. 2008
Romana, A., Nívea, Y., Carvalho, R., Reis, B., Ribeiro, D., Pires, A. 2012. The importance of
Forensic entomology in criminal investigations. VII CONNEPI.