Forensically important fly larvae on floating corpses in Malaysia: three case reports

Abstract

Background: Understanding how environmental conditions can influence the insect distribution on corpses is essential to determine the postmortem interval. However, literatures related to forensically important flies in an aquatic environment were scarce. We report herewith a case series comprising three forensic cases related to floating corpses infested with fly larvae in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Case presentation: Case 1 involved the corpse of a 43-year old male found in the waterside of an abandoned mine. Case 2 was a 40-year-old male floating on a river stream, while case 3 was an 11-year-old boy who was found trapped in a monsoon drain after heavy rain. Numerous larvae of various stages, identified as Chrysomya megacephala (Calliphoridae) species, were collected in all cases even though the number of larvae was relatively lower compared to those usually collected on corpses found on terrestrial areas. Besides, the larvae of Eristalis spp. (Syrphidae), which are known to be exclusively associated with water bodies, were found in two of the cases. The blowfly Ch. rufifacies (Calliphoridae) larvae were collected only in case 3. Conclusions: These findings show that both Ch. megacephala and Ch. rufifacies can be found in the ecologically varied death scene habitats including aquatic areas. Meanwhile, the presence of Eristalis spp. can be used as an indicator of death location associated with an aquatic environment. The challenges and limitations of analyzing entomological evidence on bodies discovered in aquatic environments were also discussed.