In the case profiled in this article, a man was found shot to death on the edge of a forest. The investigators who collected evidence at the crime scene stored collected larvae from the body in 70 percent alcohol solution, so no further development under laboratory conditions could be observed; however, the determination of the oldest organisms as second instar larvae of Calliphora vomitoria Linne was achieved by PCR-RFLP identification. Using data from the local weather station, a postmortem interval (PMI) of 5 days was calculated, overlapping with an interval when the deceased had been seen alive. This occasioned further investigation, which determined that the body was originally found with a leather jacket over his head, which contributed to a higher environmental temperature for the development of the maggots. The PMI calculation was then revised to 4 days, which was in accordance with findings from the police investigation. The implications of this case are that a forensic entomologist should be present at the initial investigation of the crime scene; or if this is not possible, investigators should be trained to document all crime-scene conditions that may have a bearing on the calculations of the forensic entomologist. 1 figure, 1 table, and 10 references