Three case studies of blow fly (Diptera: Calliphoridae) data contributing to calculation of postmortem interval, body movement, and potential medical malpractice in northeast Ohio

Blow fly development is frequently used in cases of human death involving decomposition where a postmortem interval is needed. In two investigations of human death, blow flies were found on decedents but were used in different ways. In a 2006 case, a body was found next to a northeast Ohio lake, and third instar maggots of Phormia regina were present. Using temperature data, a postmortem interval was calculated, and the approximate time of death coincided with a suspect's presence in the area. In a 2008 case, a body supporting <100 maggots of Calliphora vicina was discovered in a drainage tunnel approximately 20 m underground. A minimum postmortem interval was calculated and investigators were informed that the body could not have laid outside the tunnel for any significant time outside the tunnel. This information contradicted a suspect's report and used against him during courtroom testimony. In a 2003 case, third instar maggots of P. regina were observed moving from a hospital patient's nose. The patient was hospitalized after being discovered passed out in a garden. The age of the maggots, having developed at 37 degrees C, indicated myiasis had taken place outside the hospital and not during the patient's stay.