#41 Creepy Crawlies: The Bergeret Case
- Aiza Jamil
- Mar 10
- 3 min read
Hello, and welcome back, folks, to another episode of STEM on the Streets! If you are new here, my name is Aiza, and this is my partner, CAI (crime AI). Together, we stroll through the criminal-ridden streets of STEM!
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Infant Behind the Fireplace
During the mid-19th century, one of the most famous cases in forensic entomology was a rather disturbing incident in Paris, France. Whilst renovating a Paris apartment, workers discovered a mummified body, belonging to a newborn infant, hidden behind the fireplace mantel inside a wall cavity.
The discovery had immediately alarmed authorities, and soon the current occupants of the apartment had become the primary suspects as the body had been found in their home. Yet, the couple insisted they had just moved into the property.
To further investigate the case, Dr. Louis Francois Etienne, a French physician, was brought in. Dr Bergeret did an autopsy on the infant’s remains and specifically examined the insects near or within the corpse.
Insects on the Body
When Bergeret examined the infant’s remains, he noticed that the corpse contained Larvae and pupae from several species of insects, including flesh-eating flies (sarcophaga) and moths. Now, these tiny critters were very important because different insects colonize a body at different stages of decomposition. Usually, when the body is rather fresh, flies arrive first at the scene, and other insects such as moths arrive later once the body has dried out. Bergeret was able to conclude that the insects present on the remains represented multiple generations of insect activity. This meant that the body had been there for years rather than weeks or months.
The Key Clues: Insect Succession
Bergeret was able to reconstruct the timeline by analyzing the insects in the body cavities. CAI, wanna take it from here?
(✿◡‿◡) CAI: Sure!
Flesh Flies on the Fresh Body
Bergeret identified pupae belonging to flesh flies (sarcophaga carnaria), insects that typically lay eggs on a corpse shortly after death, whilst the tissues are still moist. From these pupae, Bergeret concluded that the flies must have laid eggs when the body was first hidden behind the wall, when the tissues were still fresh/
Colonization by Moths
Bergeret also found that moth pupae, which are known to infest corpses after they have dried out, feed on the dried skin and tissues of mummified remains. This had indicated that the body had been in the wall long enough to pass through several stages of decomposition, first attracting the flies and later insects which colonise dried remains.
The Timeline
With this, Bergeret was able to estimate a timeline: The flesh-eating flies had laid eggs on the corpse around 1848, when the body would’ve been fresh, and the moths arrived later, around 1849, once the corpse had dried out.
And because the corpse had been found several years later, it was determined that the infant had been hidden behind the fireplace wall long before the current residents moved into the apartment.
The Change in Investigation
Bergeret’s analysis completely altered the course of this investigation. Instead of focusing on current occupants, police began to investigate families who had lived in the apartment around 1848, the estimated time of death.
Eventually, the investigators identified and arrested the previous tenants who occupied the house during that period, who were later convicted of the murder of the child.
The Bergeret case is a very important case in forensic entomology and has changed the direction of the field ever since. Well, that is all for today, lovely people! Next blog, we’ll be diving further into the world of forensic entomology.
This is Aiza Jamil signing out!
I am a forensics sleuth. What's your mystery to solve?
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