I feel that the entomology reports are very well written and at a level that are easy to follow, so there isn’t much I’m going to add other than to summarize the findings of this released discovery. Whether you agree or not, I feel this is some of the most damning evidence to date, and also some of the most helpful in tightening up the timeline.
First we have the “bug report” for the trunk – more specifically the trash bag in the trunk. Remember that while the trash bag did NOT have rotting pizza, as the Anthonys would have us believe, it DID have napkins with grave wax (i.e. adipocere) on them. But now we learn that it also had something else – loads of fly larvae (worms), pupae (cocoons), and some adult “coffin flies”. It also had one leg of a “blow fly”. The importance of these entomological findings is that they show the body was in the trunk during specific phases of decomposition. Nature is awesome and it tends to set things up so that all things have their place and time. And such is the case with the scavengers of our biosystem.
The coffin fly is a gnat-sized fly that is what could be considered a secondary-stage scavenger for a decomposing body. Due to their size they can get into the tightest spots. This includes a closed trunk and a triple-bagged body. There isn’t much they can’t invade. Said to be able to burrow 6 feet down into the ground and enter a sealed coffin just to get at their God-given target, they are almost unstoppable. So within this trash bag in Casey’s trunk we have the worm-stage of the coffin fly, the cocoon-stage of the coffin fly, and adult flies. We also have napkins that appear to have adipocere which is a substance that is created under specific conditions.
There has been great debate as to whether there was enough time to allow adipocere to develop, but the entomological report helps to set the record straight. Not only does the elevated heat of the trunk increase the possibility of adipocere development, but the moist dark environment does as well. Add to that the fact that corpses of toddlers and babies tend to develop adipocere much easier than those of adults, and the presence of “grave wax”, as it is called, is not unreasonable.
The report is blunt. The body was in the trunk long enough to bloat, and begin to release substantial amounts of decomposition fluids from the swollen body before it was removed (hence the fairly large stain and the horrid smell that lasted months after the car was taken into evidence). It has been my contention, and remains so, that the duct tape was not used to murder Caylee (though I cannot prove that anymore than some one stating it was the murder weapon can prove their point). I believe that in short order (within two days – which matches the account of Brian Burner), the heat of the trunk had caused grotesque swelling and putrefaction of the body to the point that when Casey opened the trunk she found the horrid site of a face that no longer looked recognizable. With tongue protruding, lips swelling to inverted and decomposition fluids seeping from the mouth and nose, as well as fluids from the virtual breakdown of the very tissue of Caylee’s body, Casey had to stop the mess – she wasn’t looking at Caylee anymore. I personally believe that is when the duct tape was applied, the body “prepared”, and the multi-layered bagging took place, to prevent further “mess” in her trunk. I also believe this preparation may have included Casey rinsing Caylee’s body in the pool.
Whether that be the case or not, the entomology shows that the body was in the trunk long enough to attract the coffin flies, which are scavengers that tend to arrive at a more advanced stage of decomposition than the “first-stage” scavengers – the blow flies. In addition to the significant evidence of coffin flies in the trunk, there was a leg of a blow fly found in the trash bag as well. Blow flies are some of the first scavengers to arrive on a decomposing body. However, because they are “bigger-bodied” they can’t get into tight locations the same way coffin flies can. The extremely limited evidence of blow flies in the trunk is most likely due to the fact they couldn’t get in. However, the coffin flies could.
A small number of blow flies would have been able to enter the trunk due to the fact it was opened for brief periods of time. We know Casey had to open the trunk after Caylee’s death to “prepare” the body – i.e. bag it, tape it, and/or whatever else insane thing she decided to do. We also know that the trunk was open during the gas can incident with George, and during the gas can incident with Tony when she ran out of gas, poured the stolen gas from the cans into her fuel tank, and then placed the cans in her trunk. During these brief periods, blow flies could have gained accessed to the trunk, but their numbers would have been extremely limited.
On the other end of the decomposition cycle the entomologists found further evidence that the body had been “protected” and not in its final resting place in the early stages of decomposition. At the dumping site it was found there was a lack of these early-stage decomposers, or “colonizers”. Instead, scavangers attracted to later stages of decomposition were located at the dump site. Ultimately, the report concludes that Caylee’s body was first colonized by early-stage decomposers in late June/early July while in a “protected environment”, and then later placed at the final dump site. The entomologist estimates that the body was in the trunk as late as the 22nd of June.
Valhall.
Related posts:
- Caylee Anthony case: Dr. Logan’s report
- Caylee Anthony case: An analysis of Dr. Jawitz’s report
- Caylee Anthony case: a defense pathologist Spitz out a report
- Analyzing the Analysis: The Waterlevel Report
- Mason’s water problem and a review of the water analysis report
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