Bug Expert: 'Coffin Flies' Meant Body Was in Trunk

Flies and fly larvae found in the trunk of Casey Anthony's Pontiac suggest that a body had been decaying there for three to five days, according to testimony by an insect expert at Anthony's trial yesterday. The entomologist said Caylee's body had already undergone a brief period of decomposition before it was put into the trunk, citing the presence of a gnat-like fly that appears only after a body has started to decompose, reports the Orlando Sentinel.

This testimony rebutted defense assertions that bad smells people reported could have come from garbage, as the same type of fly is not attracted to household trash. The insect expert also said that insect evidence recovered from where Caylee's body was found in December 2008 suggest it had been been at that location for several months—allowing the prosecution to establish a timeline of when the body was dumped. Click here for more information about the Casey Anthony trial. (More Casey Anthony stories.)