The combined analysis of hair samples with fly larvae for the forensic identification of skeletonized human remains

The results of this toxicological approach combining two different samples, hair and larvae, in addition to circumstantial and autopsy findings, proved to be paramount in the medico-legal assessment of the cases herein described, leading to the successful identification of the subjects by DNA analysis. We thus hope that the approach and findings reported in this work contribute to the growing entomotoxicology science and its applicability to real complex forensic cases, especially considering that, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first article describing the determination of phenytoin in insects for this purpose.