The paradigm of interdisciplinarity in forensic investigation. A case in Southeastern Spain

Multidisciplinary Forensic Approach in "Complex" Bodies: Systematic Review and Procedural Proposal

The recovery of severely altered cadavers (i.e., extensively decomposed, mummified, charred or dismembered) can be a challenge for forensic pathologists due to the difficulties in identification, PMI estimation and manner and cause of death determination. In such cases, integrating routine approaches (autopsy, histology, toxicology) to more specific forensic branches can be fundamental to improving the investigative process. In this paper a systematic review using PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science databases has been performed. The aim was to evaluate the forensic approaches implemented in the management of severely altered bodies due to decomposition, mummification, skeletonization, charring or dismemberment (to which we refer to as "complex"), and the role of each approach in the solution of a case. Then, the literature revision results were used to propose a schematic flowchart summarizing the post mortem activities that can be performed in forensic practice, adaptable in relation to each case.

Entomological Contributions to the Legal System in Southeastern Spain

The aim of this work is to present a number of forensic cases that took place in Southeastern Spain (Murcia province) in which the entomological evidence aided to fully solve the issues raised during the legal enquiry, enhancing the close interrelationships between experimental studies performed and actual forensic cases assessed. In all cases, the expert report was requested by the police agents or the medical examiners, the latter attempting to make stronger their own conclusions. The assessment of all cases was possible by comparing the evidence and circumstances of each one with the experimental data previously obtained in our laboratory concerning aspects such as faunistic, ecological, morphological, etc., and by considering data from other researchers. In all cases, the evidence could be addressed, although in some cases, it had not been properly collected or processed. Thus, the utility of the experimental studies in forensic practice, even when being considered merely biological, and without immediate practical application, can be demonstrated as well as the need for providing specialized instruction on Forensic Entomology procedures to the different agents involved in forensic investigation.