Forensics: What Bugs, Burns, Prints, DNA and More Tell Us About Crime

by Val McDermid

Then someone had the bright idea of sending the cases off for a toxicology examination. The results were startling. The cases contained traces of heroin metabolites. There’s no history of pigeons ingesting heroin, so further tests were ordered. Martin explains: ‘Maggots feed in a soup of DNA, and they have spines on their bodies which tissue gets lodged in. The pupal case is the old skin of the maggot and may still have human tissues on it.’ When the pupal cases were examined further they revealed traces of human DNA which matched that of a known drug user who had been reported missing. On the basis of this and other evidence, the owner of the house was convicted of murder and jailed for life. He had disposed of his victim, but could not silence the insect witnesses.