The scuttle fly is a polyphagous saprophage species that has been transported around the world by man. It is essentially a warm-climate species and is common in the lowlands bordering the Mediterranean Sea. In cooler climates, it tends to occur in buildings or other situations where it escapes frost. In the case study reported in this article, an adult male was exhumed on February 6, 1999. The corpse had been buried at a depth of 30-40 cm in a wooden coffin a year before the exhumation. He had died from gunshot wounds to the head and the chest at age 33. An autopsy revealed that the body was completely mummified with high densities of larvae, especially on the hands and feet. The larvae and adult specimens collected during the autopsy were identified as individuals of Megaselia scalaris (Loew). This species was the only insect evidence associated with the human remains. The examination of the coffin found some small holes through which only small flies were able to reach the body. Some experimental rearings have demonstrated that M. scalaris develops from egg to adult in 22 days at 22 degrees C, in 14-16 days at 27 degrees C, and in 11.1 days at 29 degrees C, consistent with data recorded by Greenberg and Wells in 1998. M. scalaris can arrive at a carrion within a short time of its exposure and will lay eggs immediately. Although the burial of a body usually restricts the access to it of many carrion insects, this is not the case for smaller flies, which are particularly skilled in locating decaying tissues. In the case of a closed coffin, they are able to gain access to the body through very small holes. 12 references and 3 figures