DNA Legal’s head of toxicologist, Dr. Salah E. Breidi, was invited by the local Rotary Selwood Club in Frome, Somerset early this week to update the local community on the forensic science field which supports the legal criminal court. DNA Legal is consistently recognised for their commitment within the local community, and they appreciate the high scientific research which goes into our field of work.
Dr. Salah Breidi’s presentation covered the forensic science behind determining death estimation at scenes. Dr. Breidi explained how DNA Legal ensures to take the possibility of a more recent time of death into consideration (within the first 24-36 hours) - which includes factors such as rigorous mortis and body temperature without ignoring other external variables such as season and weather forecast.
Dr. Breidi also explained how DNA Legal are able to determine death’s which may have occurred from a longer timeframe by looking into the science of entomology. Entomology is the use of the science of insects, arthropod and other groups to determine a event during a forensic investigation. He briefed the local community of the advantages of entomology in criminal forensic cases. After 24-36 hours, forensic experts look into the science of entomology which determines the PMI (post-mortem-interval) in murder investigations, and the location of death by analysing the surrounding environments and different evidence given.
Did you know flies are a significant indicator of the death estimation of a body and how the death took place? Usually, blowflies are attracted to the natural orifices (mouth, anus, ears etc), However it’s usually common to find that insects are attracted to bodily fluids such as blood, semen or fecal material in some circumstances due to the nature of the death (for example: cases of rape).
Dr. Breidi explained how the science of entomology has not always only been used to determine death estimation, but has also been used in other forensic investigations for example the “smuggling” or the unknown transportation of illegal substances. By determining the genre of a specific insect that is identified in a specific package, container or shipment, this will help in the investigation to determine the source of the items in question.
At the heart of DNA Legal is our commitment to go to incredible lengths for every client. DNA Legal focuses on finding the truth while utilizing forensic-level testing for the best accuracy in every test provided. We ensure to provide the local community with the most recent developments and updates to support and grow the local area as a whole.
If you are interested in DNA Legal providing your community, or organisation a specialised talk on DNA, Drug Alcohol or Forensic services testing, please contact the team on info@dnalegal.com.