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The Ontario woman’s naked body was found deep in a forest, her legs spread apart, what appeared to be bruises speckling her face, neck and torso.

Evidence from the eerie scene and common sense pointed to one thing: sexual assault and homicide.

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tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Naked, bruised body in the woods looked like a sexual homicide. But then came the autopsy Back to video

But then authorities carried out an autopsy and did other investigation, producing a much different story — and a cautionary tale for a province where forensic science has a contentious history.

The bruises were actually the effects of insect bites, while the victim had a history of mental illness and had once before run unclothed through the woods, says a newly published study of the case.

Her death was eventually blamed — not on rape and murder — but on heat exhaustion and insect stings, says the report by Dr. Michael Pollanen, Ontario’s chief forensic pathologist.