Crucial Evidence Provided By Forensic Entomologists Is Sometimes Dismissed In Court Cases
Crucial Evidence Provided By Forensic Entomologists Is Sometimes Dismissed In Court Cases
Forensic entomology can sometimes put a murderer behind bars, or worse. But this is not always the case. Prosecuting attorneys will not always make use of evidence provided by forensic entomologists, as the law does not always consider this sort of evidence to be reliable. However, when attorneys do prosecute crimes that hinge on evidence gathered by forensic entomologists, the evidence is typically pretty damning. Lawyers prosecuting an alleged murderer in an ongoing murder case have relied heavily on the strength of entomological forensic evidence. Unfortunately for the prosecuting attorneys, the testimony of the forensic entomologist tasked with investigating the murder case will be dismissed by the court. This particular case serves as a good example of how easily evidence gathered by forensic entomologists can be thrown out.
Neal Haskell, a forensic entomologist, provided testimony recently concerning evidence found at a murder scene in 2013. Four years ago the decomposing bodies of Joyce and Clifford Snow were found within their insect-infested home. The primary suspect in the murders has always been the couple’s now thirty eight year old son, Thomas Snow. Snow had led authorities on a high speed chase after the murders had been discovered, and for several days after the murders, Snow had claimed that his parents were in Germany. Thomas Snow lived with his parents.
The timeline for the Snow murders, which has been determined using forensic entomology, is the primary and most useful form of evidence that the state has against Snow. Forensic entomologists determined the date of death as falling between October 18th and the 22nd of 2013. The temperature of the home following the time of the deaths is one of the most important factors for determining time of death. Since the temperature control system had been turned off when authorities discovered the bodies, the forensic entomologist had to estimate a temperature. The defense attorney attacked the forensic entomologist’s testimony by saying that “arbitrary estimates lead to arbitrary results”. And with that, the testimony was thrown out. So no matter how damning the evidence collected by forensic entomologists may be, it does not always ensure justice for the guilty, or innocent.
Do you believe that forensic entomological evidence relies too heavily on guesswork?