Description:

In 2004, Jonathan Blackwell went missing during a day at his workshop in Goodyear, Virginia. His remains were found near a barn in North Carolina in December 2006. The problem was that he had been missing for nearly three years, but the blowfly eggs on his body had been laid seven days earlier. The investigators contacted Wes Watson, a professor of entomology at North Carolina State University.

Based on fresh maggot on the body, Watson determined that the area near the barn where Blackwell's remains were found was not the scene of the first crime. He thought that the murderer had used some method of preserving Blackwell's body when he first buried him, and that when the murderer dug him up for a second time, it gave the bluefly an opportunity to produce maggots. This is the first time a blowfly has produced maggots on a mud-covered carcass. Had it not been for the maggots, the fact that the body had been moved might have been overlooked. The killer, Stacy Morris Webster, surrendered to police a few days later. Stacey Morris Webster was convicted of murder in 2010.

Gallery

Species	Taxonomy	Accession Number
Lucilia sericata	Diptera:Calliphoridae:Lucilia	NC_009733.1
Lucilia porphyrina	Diptera:Calliphoridae:Lucilia	NC_019637.1
Calliphora vomitoria	Diptera:Calliphoridae:Calliphora	NC_028411.1

Reference:

1.Parry W. How ‘bugs of death’ may help solve murder cases[EB/OL]. (2011-11-12) [2023-4-13]. https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna45262150