WEIRD SCIENCE

Meet some of the experts who are solving crimes in unexpected ways

- Words: Sarah Marinos.

When a decomposing foot washed up on a beach in February 2021 near Tathra, NSW, DNA testing revealed it belonged to missing Sydney woman Melissa Caddick.

When Caddick disappeared in November 2020, she was being investigated by the Australian Federal Police for stealing up to $30 million through a scam investment scheme.

To help piece together what happened to Caddick, police turned to “Bug Whisperer” Paola Magni for help.

The forensic entomologist from Perth is one of just 10 experts globally who specialise in solving crimes in water by studying fresh and seawater insects.

Paola, who is also an Associate Professor of Forensic Science at Murdoch University has worked with police in Australia, Italy, Venezuela and Chile.

“Italian police asked me to study the body of a man who was found in an apartment, wrapped in a shower curtain knotted at each end,” says Paola.

“They wanted to know whether he’d been killed and when looking at the insects found in the shower curtain, I knew he’d been dead for a couple of weeks and that information and other evidence helped police determine his death was self-inflicted.”

PAPER TRAIL EXAMINER

In July 2009, Robert Xie killed five of his relatives as they slept at their home in Epping on Sydney’s North Shore.