Truscott Case

Question 1

where do we find n. pustulatus

Answer 1

• on snake eggs
• can’t find thme on the groun, only in the trees

Question 2

what are the splotches on the abdomen called

Answer 2

maculations

Question 3

what is the common term for immature beetle

Answer 3

grub

Question 4

what is this

Answer 4

a dead fisher

Question 5

what is the thing the green line is pointing to

Answer 5

an eye-button that records the temp every hour

Question 6

what are necrophagous species

Answer 6

those that eat dead tissue (calliphoridae, silphidae)

Question 7

what are predatory species

Answer 7

• preys on live insects, wasps, ants, mites, spiders etc
• eats the insects on the dead carcass

Question 8

what are omnivorous insects

Answer 8

• eats all things
• wide range of diet

Question 9

what are adventive or accidental species

Answer 9

• those that use a corpse for hiding
• or just happen to land onn one
• ex. grasshoppers, crickets, sowbugs, moths, butterflies

Question 10

what are the different categories of insects associated w carcasses, by function

Answer 10

• necrophagous
• predatory
• omnivorous
• adventive/ accidental

Question 11

describe the overall facts of the ST case

Answer 11

• Lynne Harper went missing on june 9 1959
• ST and lynne were student together
• St gave her a ride on the crossbar of his bike that night
• ST claimed he left her at an intersection unharmed, and that he saw her enter a vehicle when he looked back
• 2 days leter she was found (June 11) by searchers
• ST was charged on june 13th for 1st degree murder

Question 12

true/false In 1959, 14 year old Steven Truscott was found guilty of the murder of 12 year old Lynne Harper

Answer 12

true

Question 13

when was steven truscott aquitted

Answer 13

2007

Question 14

true/false ST plead guilty

Answer 14

• false
• he claimed he was innocent

Question 15

how and when was lynne harper found

Answer 15

• body had been strangled w her blouse, and raped
• she was found june 11, 1959

Question 16

what was the crown’s claim

Answer 16

that truscott and harper left the road before the bridge over bayfield river, and at lawsons’s bush and raped and murdered the victim

Question 17

what is the prison history of ST

Answer 17

• was imprisoned at 2 prisoners and then transferred to a reform school
• he was then transformed to a few more prisons before he was released on parole
• he then lived w police officer who had 3 children (telling of his character)
• he was then freed from parole

Question 18

when was the case of ST reopened

Answer 18

in 2001

Question 19

did anything come from the reopening of the ST case

Answer 19

• attempted to get DNA from lynne harper, but no usable DNA was found
• eventually in 2007 the case was acquitted

Question 20

what is the controversy from the outset of the ST case

Answer 20

time of death of lynne harper

Question 21

what was the crown’s theory

Answer 21

time of death window was from 7-8pm on the evening of june 9

Question 22

what would cause the crown’s theory to collapse

Answer 22

if lynne was killed some time after ST returned to the school grounds at 8pm

Question 23

what was the entomological evidence

Answer 23

1. dr penistan collected samples of insect maggots and eggs from diff areas of lynne harper’s body (both at the scene and during the autopsy)
2. samples sent to the AG lab, and came into the hands of mr lgin brown
3. he reared the maggots to flies and determined family and genus (2 diff samples)

Question 24

true/false All but one entomologist who appeared before the court offered some support for the claim that the death occurred after 8 pm

Answer 24

true

Question 25

who was reluctant to admit errors and biased opinions

Answer 25

dr neal haskell

Question 26

*true/false* Dr Haskell questioned Mr Brown's ability to ID these flies to genus

Answer 26

true

Question 27

Did the court accept Mr Brown's ability in the Stevent Truscott case?

Answer 27

- **yes** - cause he had taken university courses in entomology and his extensive notes indicate that he also consulted with leading experts in Canada before arriving at his identification

Question 28

what did the autopsy indicate about insect activity

Answer 28

- There were innumerable fly eggs deposited on hair. - There were innumerable fly eggs in sheets and linear strands in hair and over lower abdomen. Around nose and mouth. - There were maggots in skin lesions and about the vulva. - There were maggots 1/4 inch preserved

Question 29

how were the maggots in the genital area described as being in the ST case?

Answer 29

" larger maggots that were up to 1/4 in. long"

Question 30

What evidence of Merritt's carried a lot of weight in the Steven Truscott trial?

Answer 30

His evidence of colonization sites, flesh flies at genitals and blow flies at face

Question 31

when was ST found guilty

Answer 31

1959

Question 32

describe the timeline of ST *not* ending up killed

Answer 32

- 1959-convicted of murder - 1959 dec 8- scheduled hanging date - 1959 nov 20- the hanging was postponed to feb 16 1960 - 1960 jan 22-- death changed to life sentence

Question 33

*true/false* ST was the youngest person given the death penalty in canada

Answer 33

true

Question 34

*true/false* ST case was behind the movement to end hanging in canada

Answer 34

true

Question 35

*true/false* ST was declared innocent in 2007 (when they reviewed his case)

Answer 35

- **false** - they declared it a miscarriage of justice - but since it had been so long since the event and there was so much loss of evidence - he was acquited tho

Question 36

why was ST sentenced to hanging even when the jury recommended mercy

Answer 36

cause the law at the time required hanging

Question 37

who are the key people involved in reopening the ST case

Answer 37

- Neal Haskell - Merritt (the aquatic guy) - Gail Anderson (teaches at stfx) - Kamal AS (the kamal data) - Sherah Vanlaerhoven

Question 38

what is different about what ecologists and legal people look at things

Answer 38

- ecolosists look at how things "normally" happen - laegal standpoint is more all of thing (extremist)

Question 39

what species were involved in the ST case

Answer 39

- sarcophagidae (flesh flies) couldn't identify genus or species - calliphoridae (blow flies) identified as blue bottle flies

Question 40

what is the difference if the maggots found in the genital area were flesh flies vs blow flies

Answer 40

- *flesh flies* early morning colonization: ST innocent - *blow flies* later afternoon colonization: ST guilty

Question 41

what did Merritt claim about the problem if the genital maggots were flesh or blow

Answer 41

- *remember the maggots were larger in the genital area than facial, and flesh flies are deposited as 1st instar, not eggs* - he claimed he had never seen blow flies colonize the genital area before the facial (even if there were genital wounds) - even if they did, they would have colonized genitals, then waited a day, then colonized the face - this would be an *improbable occurance*

Question 42

what is silly about the debate on if flies can deposit at night

Answer 42

- *they never cared about the night part, just if the flies could see the bodies at night* - but what about moonlight or city lights? - there would be no actual way to measure that

Question 43

what experiment did VanLaerhoven conduct

Answer 43

- put animal carcasses out during similar conditions as the murder in the same place - but the land had changed, and there was no cattle or manure - *demonstrated that blue bottles can and will colonize a corpse after dark*

Question 44

*true/false* the entire discussion is based on the reliability of notes on larval langth from the people 50 years ago, so its all kinda stupid cause we'll never really know

Answer 44

true

Question 45

what is the fly-by theory

Answer 45

- that flesh flies arrive and wait to deposit larvae 12-24 hours later - little (no) evidence for this

Question 46

idk what question to ask but i want to input this slide anyway

Answer 46