The largest experiment using stillborn piglet bodies to simulate human remains’ decomposition was launched earlier this year in Western Australia — and the details are pretty gruesome.
The animal bodies are left to decompose in suitcases and wheely trash bins so scientists can gather data on the process to help reconstruct murders, according to ScienceAlert. Sadly, discoveries of deceased humans stuffed into suitcases is not a unique, or even a particularly rare event.
In the last year alone, the remains of two children were found in suitcases purchased at auction in New Zealand. A Russian model was found after she was missing for a year. Her boyfriend had stuffed her into a suitcase. In another case, a man waited 20 years to admit to accidentally killing his girlfriend and shoving her remains into a case he dumped in a wooded area.
MU’s resident bug whisperer @doc_magni has provided a fascinating look inside suitcases used to hide murder victims, and the role played by the insects trapped within.
Read about her first-of-its kind experiment in @ConversationEDU ➡️ https://t.co/U93ZD7g1x4#forensics #CSI pic.twitter.com/dgAmeFElHe— Murdoch University (@MurdochUni) August 31, 2022
The researchers behind the new study claimed that the use of suitcases to hide bodies is inherently common, but comes with one caveat: limited or no insects to help forensic entomologists estimate the time since death, presence of drugs, and foreign DNA, ScienceAlert continued. It’s currently unknown how insect involvement changes in “limited access environment” like a suitcase, the researchers argued in the article. (RELATED: ‘Severely Decomposed’ Bodies Found In Home Of Former Woonsocket, Rhode Island, Mayor: Report)
The data from this huge study will be presented at a forensic science conference in February 2023, the outlet noted. Preliminary datasets suggest that flies and other insects will play a significant role in helping forensic entomologists infer season of death, potential relocation of body, and help reconstruct the events surrounding deaths.