Forensic Biology Commons^™

Investigating Concealments In Infanticide: Incidents And Forensic Entomological Implications, Gillian L. Johnson

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Forensic entomology plays a critical role in estimating the minimum postmortem interval (mPMIs), based on insect evidence. When victims are concealed, this can complicate mPMI estimates. Utilizing data from the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) from 2018 to 2021, I found that victims of infanticides and neonaticides are often concealed. I first investigated the demographics of offenders and victims, how often victims are concealed, and the most common means of concealment. I found that victims of infanticide were likely to be concealed 5% of the time, and neonaticides 50% of the time. Next, I investigated how concealment alters insect …