University of Delaware
Office of Public Relations
UpDate - Vol. 16, No. 17, Jan. 23, 1997
Alumni spotlight: Forensic entomology helps alum solve major crimes

     A rotting pig carcass and flies aren't what every entomology
major bases a project on. But Jack Webb, Delaware '92 '96M, did,
and, given his name-the same as that of the character on
television's Dragnet-it's no mystery that he has chosen a career
uncovering clues to solve crimes.
     The pig decomposition study, an essential part of this
alum's project on forensic entomology at the University, earned
Webb a spot in the highly competitive Delaware Police Academy.
Having just completed his two-year probationary period, Webb is a
trooper on his way to becoming a detective-solving crimes with
his knowledge of insects and their life cycles.
     Forensic entomology, the use of entomology in court cases,
is used most often to help solve homicides. Because even if dead
men don't tell tales, the evidence around them certainly does.
     "Decomposition is a biological process, as is the life cycle
of insects," according to Webb, a former UD football player. "Not
much can alter that," he said. "Life cycles don't lie, and
there's a consistent time period for progression of decay in
bodies. Knowledge of insect life cycles helps in dating the time
since death and so can reveal false alibis."
     Dating the time since death of a corpse also can help
identify the victim. Knowing the general time of death can lead
police to search missing person records for specific dates and
often discover that the body has been dumped from another state.
     Webb follows in the footsteps of two other UD graduates who
made forensic entomology their life's work. The late Paul Catts,
who received a bachelor's degree in 1952 and master's in 1957,
was a UD professor from 1962 to 1980. Prof. Catts was a member of
the faculty at Washington State University when he died last
year.
     One of Catts' associates, FBI Special Agent Wayne Lord,
Delaware '79M, is currently the agency's sole forensic
entomologist, and he serves as a mentor to Webb in the small
circle of approximately two dozen forensic entomologists in the
United States.
     Webb, whose UD project adviser was Chuck Mason, added to the
body of knowledge in forensic entomology by cataloging the types
and progression of insects that mark decomposition in the mid-
Atlantic area. Pig carcasses were left to decompose on the campus
research farm. Webb would periodically visit, capture the insects
and catalog them as to species, cycle of life and time of
collection since the pig's death. This profiling of Delaware
insects had never been done before. His study yielded five boxes
of insects from flies the size of pinpoints to large beetles.
     Webb says forensic entomology also can be used in cases of
child neglect and rape. For example, in cases of child neglect,
maggots growing in the feces of an unchanged diaper have been
used to date just how long a child has been unattended. Rape
cases can be strengthened by documenting the transfer of body
lice.
     "Collection of evidence is so important. Every detail
counts," Webb said. For example, a difficult rape case was solved
by using insect larva on a ski mask to extract a confession. The
crime was committed during the summer months by a ski-masked
intruder. The victim thought she recognized the perpetrator's
voice as that of a neighbor. Acting on this clue, the police
searched the neighbor's home and found a ski mask that matched
the description given by the victim.
     The owner of the ski mask said it had been stored away since
winter, but the police discovered larva of an outdoor summer
insect on the mask. If the ski mask had been packed away since
the previous winter, as the accused claimed, the larvae of an
outdoor insect, active in the summer, would not have been on the
mask. Presented with this evidence, the neighbor confessed to the
crime.
                                        -Claire McCabe