There is going to be a house fire in Springwater tomorrow, and no firefighters will even try to put it out.
A forensic expert will sift through the ashes of a house that is deliberately burned tomorrowm in search of information to help investigators solve murders and other suspicious death cases.
Sherah VanLaerhoven is an associate professor in biological sciences and the academic chair of Forensic Sciences at the University of Windsor.
She will be on hand when an abandoned house is set on fire with about a dozen pig carcasses inside, all in the name of science.
Dr. VanLaerhoven, one of only two forensic entomologists in Canada, analyzes how insects colonize dead bodies.
Because certain bugs make their homes in bodies at different stages of decomposition, the information she can gather is critical to help authorities determine time of death.
Dr. VanLaerhoven said the information will be useful for authorities because many criminals return to sites where theyve disposed of bodies and burn them in hopes of destroying evidence.
