Truscott Case Flashcards
where do we find n. pustulatus
- on snake eggs
- can’t find thme on the groun, only in the trees
what are the splotches on the abdomen called
maculations
what is the common term for immature beetle
grub
what is this
a dead fisher
what is the thing the green line is pointing to
an eye-button that records the temp every hour
what are necrophagous species
those that eat dead tissue (calliphoridae, silphidae)
what are predatory species
- preys on live insects, wasps, ants, mites, spiders etc
- eats the insects on the dead carcass
what are omnivorous insects
- eats all things
- wide range of diet
what are adventive or accidental species
- those that use a corpse for hiding
- or just happen to land onn one
- ex. grasshoppers, crickets, sowbugs, moths, butterflies
what are the different categories of insects associated w carcasses, by function
- necrophagous
- predatory
- omnivorous
- adventive/ accidental
describe the overall facts of the ST case
- 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
true/false In 1959, 14 year old Steven Truscott was found guilty of the murder of 12 year old Lynne Harper
true
when was steven truscott aquitted
2007
true/false ST plead guilty
- false
- he claimed he was innocent
how and when was lynne harper found
- body had been strangled w her blouse, and raped
- she was found june 11, 1959
what was the crown’s claim
that truscott and harper left the road before the bridge over bayfield river, and at lawsons’s bush and raped and murdered the victim
what is the prison history of ST
- 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
when was the case of ST reopened
in 2001
did anything come from the reopening of the ST case
- attempted to get DNA from lynne harper, but no usable DNA was found
- eventually in 2007 the case was acquitted
what is the controversy from the outset of the ST case
time of death of lynne harper
what was the crown’s theory
time of death window was from 7-8pm on the evening of june 9
what would cause the crown’s theory to collapse
if lynne was killed some time after ST returned to the school grounds at 8pm
what was the entomological evidence
- 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)
- samples sent to the AG lab, and came into the hands of mr lgin brown
- he reared the maggots to flies and determined family and genus (2 diff samples)
true/false All but one entomologist who appeared before the court offered some support for the claim that the death occurred after 8 pm
true
who was reluctant to admit errors and biased opinions
dr neal haskell
true/false Dr Haskell questioned Mr Brown’s ability to ID these flies to genus
true
Did the court accept Mr Brown’s ability in the Stevent Truscott case?
- 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
what did the autopsy indicate about insect activity
- 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
how were the maggots in the genital area described as being in the ST case?
” larger maggots that were up to 1/4 in. long”
What evidence of Merritt’s carried a lot of weight in the Steven Truscott trial?
His evidence of colonization sites, flesh flies at genitals and blow flies at face
when was ST found guilty
1959
describe the timeline of ST not ending up killed
- 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
true/false ST was the youngest person given the death penalty in canada
true
true/false ST case was behind the movement to end hanging in canada
true
true/false ST was declared innocent in 2007 (when they reviewed his case)
- 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
why was ST sentenced to hanging even when the jury recommended mercy
cause the law at the time required hanging
who are the key people involved in reopening the ST case
- Neal Haskell
- Merritt (the aquatic guy)
- Gail Anderson (teaches at stfx)
- Kamal AS (the kamal data)
- Sherah Vanlaerhoven
what is different about what ecologists and legal people look at things
- ecolosists look at how things “normally” happen
- laegal standpoint is more all of thing (extremist)
what species were involved in the ST case
- sarcophagidae (flesh flies) couldn’t identify genus or species
- calliphoridae (blow flies) identified as blue bottle flies
what is the difference if the maggots found in the genital area were flesh flies vs blow flies
- flesh flies early morning colonization: ST innocent
- blow flies later afternoon colonization: ST guilty
what did Merritt claim about the problem if the genital maggots were flesh or blow
- 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
what is silly about the debate on if flies can deposit at night
- 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
what experiment did VanLaerhoven conduct
- 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
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
true
what is the fly-by theory
- that flesh flies arrive and wait to deposit larvae 12-24 hours later
- little (no) evidence for this
idk what question to ask but i want to input this slide anyway
