0:00:07.962,0:00:11.709
>>[narration] You're watching [br]National Geographic Channel Presents.

0:00:12.828,0:00:18.731
There's a place so ghastly and grotesque[br]that most people recoil in horror,

0:00:18.731,0:00:24.349
but these acres, filled with decaying [br]human flesh actually save lives.

0:00:24.349,0:00:27.780
This is a training ground [br]for forensic specialists,

0:00:27.780,0:00:44.832
solving murders one corpse at a time,[br]unlocking the secrets of the body farm.

0:00:44.832,0:00:46.541
[dog barking]

0:00:46.541,0:00:48.181
>>[Steve Sims] It's pretty[br]dark out here.

0:00:48.181,0:00:50.861
>>[narration] A skeleton [br]uncovered in Memphis.

0:00:50.861,0:00:54.711
>>[Sims] Maybe we can find a grease spot[br]where the actual body is decomposed.

0:00:54.711,0:00:59.624
>>[narration] A family, [br]murdered in Mississippi,

0:00:59.624,0:01:03.541
a body stashed [br]in a Las Vegas locker.

0:01:03.541,0:01:06.707
Real crimes, with real consquences.

0:01:06.707,0:01:09.961
>>[Sims] We got a rib, [br]we got a right scapula.

0:01:09.961,0:01:13.548
>>[narration] What's the connection [br]between these grisly discoveries?

0:01:13.548,0:01:19.207
Real CSI. Scientists, turned [br]crime scene investigators,

0:01:19.207,0:01:23.579
dramatized on a hit TV series,[br]but what do they really do?

0:01:23.579,0:01:26.303
>>[Sims] Did the skull look [br]small to you too?

0:01:26.303,0:01:27.947
>>[woman] Ready? [br]Let's get him to the ground.

0:01:27.947,0:01:30.850
>>[narration] And where do [br]they learn their trade?

0:01:30.850,0:01:35.326
Welcome to ground zero in [br]the field of forensic anthropology,

0:01:35.326,0:01:38.946
a unique outdoor classroom, [br]where the subject is death,

0:01:38.946,0:01:45.574
and more than half the CSI units working [br]in the US today have been trained.

0:01:45.574,0:01:50.939
Founded by Dr. Bill Bass of the University[br]of Tennessee more than 25 years ago,

0:01:50.939,0:01:54.236
research conducted within these [br]few wooded acres in Knoxville

0:01:54.236,0:01:58.474
has redefined the frontiers [br]of forensic science.

0:01:58.474,0:02:00.461
>>[Dr. Bill Bass] The anthropology [br]research facility,

0:02:00.461,0:02:04.714
what most people call the "body farm," [br]is a research facility that I set up

0:02:04.714,0:02:11.868
to begin to look at the decay and [br]the rates of decay in human bodies.

0:02:11.868,0:02:18.017
Like many anthropologists, [br]Bass started out studying ancient bones.

0:02:18.017,0:02:23.758
His expertise eventually led to his helping[br]the police with modern day murder victims.

0:02:23.758,0:02:27.420
>>[Bass] You know, we kill our friends [br]and neighbors by many different means,

0:02:27.420,0:02:31.445
and a lot of people are shot [br]or bludgeoned or stabbed.

0:02:31.445,0:02:39.391
My orientation was what happens to a body [br]when it decays and how long does it take?

0:02:39.391,0:02:42.657
>>[narration] He learned to read [br]bones for signs of trauma,

0:02:42.657,0:02:47.786
knife marks in ribs, [br]unusual fractures in skulls.

0:02:47.786,0:02:51.141
Drawing on unclaimed bodies [br]from county morgues,

0:02:51.141,0:02:56.039
he built an extensive [br]collection of skeletons,

0:02:56.039,0:03:02.139
but early in his career, Bass realized that[br]bones weren't the only source of clues.

0:03:02.139,0:03:06.567
Decomposing flesh had [br]secrets to reveal as well.

0:03:06.567,0:03:11.037
>>[Bass] I got a call one afternoon, it was [br]between Christmas and New Years--

0:03:11.037,0:03:14.217
it was cold-- from the Williamson County [br]Sherriff's office,

0:03:14.217,0:03:18.605
telling me that they had a grave that had [br]been disturbed, would I come and help?

0:03:18.605,0:03:24.099
So I get over there. This is a family [br]cemetery, back of a home.

0:03:24.099,0:03:27.477
>>[narration] Someone had broken [br]into the earth, near a headstone.

0:03:27.477,0:03:34.862
Just beneath the surface, a headless male [br]corpse. The remains looked fairly fresh.

0:03:34.862,0:03:41.113
Police needed to know how fresh.[br]Had a new body been added to an old grave?

0:03:41.113,0:03:47.298
Dr. Bass agreed the body was in good shape,[br]pink flesh still clung to the bones.

0:03:47.298,0:03:52.308
>>[Bass] I looked at it, I said you have [br]a 24 to 28 year old white male

0:03:52.308,0:03:55.008
who's been dead about a year.

0:03:55.008,0:03:59.688
>>[narration] But something didn't add up. [br]Bass kept digging,

0:03:59.688,0:04:03.628
ultimately identifying the body [br]as Colonel William Shy,

0:04:03.628,0:04:09.285
a rebel officer killed in the Civil War, [br]buried in an air-tight cast iron coffin,

0:04:09.285,0:04:12.315
the corpse had been [br]incredibly well-preserved.

0:04:12.315,0:04:16.443
Bass's original assessment had [br]been off by more than a century.

0:04:16.443,0:04:19.759
>>[Bass] People wonder why [br]I started a body farm.

0:04:19.759,0:04:23.256
It's because of a couple of [br]experiences like that,

0:04:23.256,0:04:28.303
that make you realize that, you know, you[br]really don't know much about decay rates,

0:04:28.303,0:04:30.788
and we need to do [br]something about that.

0:04:30.788,0:04:34.359
>>[narration] By now, more than [br]four hundred human corpses

0:04:34.359,0:04:37.325
have decomposed [br]at the body farm,

0:04:37.325,0:04:43.419
every phase documented [br]under a wide range of conditions.

0:04:43.419,0:04:47.528
Some critics say letting corpses [br]decay here is irreverent,

0:04:47.528,0:04:52.029
but the scientists insist the dead [br]are held in the highest respect.

0:04:52.029,0:04:54.567
>>[Dr. Murray Marks] It's important to [br]remember that the anthropology department,

0:04:54.567,0:04:56.600
the forensics center doesn't [br]own these bodies.

0:04:56.600,0:05:00.662
They're a gift to us to study [br]decomposition, but if the day comes

0:05:00.662,0:05:05.515
and families ever decide that they [br]want them, they belong to them.

0:05:05.515,0:05:08.534
>>[Robin Miller] I always try and [br]take a minute and say thank you,

0:05:08.534,0:05:10.550
because without them, [br]we wouldn't be able to do

0:05:10.550,0:05:13.751
any of this research and [br]this place would not exist.

0:05:13.751,0:05:17.326
>>[narration] There's no doubt that the [br]work done here is incredibly valuable,

0:05:17.326,0:05:20.333
resulting in the convictions of [br]countless violent criminals

0:05:20.333,0:05:23.976
who may have[br]otherwise walked free.

0:05:23.976,0:05:27.032
And those bodies, [br]so generously donated,

0:05:27.032,0:05:32.417
are put to good use in earnest [br]efforts to protect the living.

0:05:32.417,0:05:35.809
>>[Bass] We've looked at decaying bodies [br]in various scenarios:

0:05:35.809,0:05:41.097
clothing, no clothing, sun, shade, [br]buried, not buried, water, trunks of cars.

0:05:41.097,0:05:45.237
We've been able to establish [br]a sequence of events

0:05:45.237,0:05:48.441
that occurs under [br]all of these conditions.

0:05:48.441,0:05:50.907
>>[Robin Miller] You can [br]see all through here,

0:05:50.907,0:05:53.238
where it's all decayed, [br]and we've got some more bugs.

0:05:53.238,0:05:56.445
>>[Marks] Forensic anthropology [br]and forensic entomology

0:05:56.445,0:06:00.015
really take off from right here [br]where we're walking.

0:06:00.015,0:06:06.210
I mean this is, in a sense, ground zero [br]where this particular research takes place.

0:06:06.210,0:06:07.957
>>[Robin Miller] It's interesting, [br]because they say okay... [fades out]

0:06:07.957,0:06:12.220
>>[narration] Dr. Murray Marks is one of the [br]thousands who have studied at the facility.

0:06:12.220,0:06:14.949
Now he's on the faculty, [br]guiding the research

0:06:14.949,0:06:18.504
of a new generation of scientists.

0:06:18.504,0:06:24.080
>>[Dr. Murray Marks] When I see remains [br]like this, I'm always reminded that this

0:06:24.080,0:06:27.852
is such a unique laboratory, [br]because where else can we study

0:06:27.852,0:06:31.518
this whole process [br]of decomposition?

0:06:31.518,0:06:36.035
We're there to speak for the victim, [br]for the people that don't have a voice.

0:06:36.035,0:06:39.916
By doing that, we get [br]ever closer to the truth,

0:06:39.916,0:06:45.881
and ever closer to making [br]someone pay for their crime.

0:06:45.881,0:06:48.067
>>[narration] The body farm's [br]many successes has

0:06:48.067,0:06:51.562
spread the facility's [br]influence far and wide.

0:06:51.562,0:06:54.850
A new program called [br]the National Forensic Academy

0:06:54.850,0:06:58.296
allows police and lab technicians from [br]throughout the United States

0:06:58.296,0:07:02.167
to hone their skills amid a [br]cornucopia of fresh bodies,

0:07:02.167,0:07:06.812
decomposing corpses, [br]and overgrown skeletons.

0:07:06.812,0:07:09.894
>>[Dr. Lee Jantz] If at any time you [br]have a problem, I strongly recommend

0:07:09.894,0:07:13.669
you turn around [br]and take a deep breath. Okay?

0:07:13.669,0:07:17.133
It is not a pleasant thing. [br]It is something that you have to face

0:07:17.133,0:07:20.353
at some point in your careers.

0:07:20.353,0:07:23.895
>>[narration] In a wooded corner of the [br]facility, the scientists have scattered

0:07:23.895,0:07:28.091
a mixture of human bones, [br]animal bones, bullet casings,

0:07:28.091,0:07:30.226
and other [br]simulated evidence.

0:07:30.226,0:07:34.421
Stained by time, soil, and weather, [br]and hidden by leaves,

0:07:34.421,0:07:37.080
the scattered bones [br]are difficult to find,

0:07:37.080,0:07:41.859
just as they would be [br]at an actual crime scene.

0:07:41.859,0:07:47.375
Sorting through human remains can be an [br]unsettling task, even for professionals.

0:07:47.375,0:07:51.910
>>[Robin Miller] Sometimes that[br]whiff is just too much.

0:07:51.910,0:07:54.687
>>[narration] Next: how to find [br]a murder victim when the body

0:07:54.687,0:07:58.026
is already buried six feet under.

0:07:58.026,0:08:02.305
National Geographic Channel [br]Presents will be right back.

0:08:02.305,0:08:10.272
Now, back to National Geographic [br]Channel Presents.

0:08:10.272,0:08:15.308
The secrets of the body farm aren't [br]reserved solely for human students.

0:08:15.308,0:08:18.308
Most cadaver dogs are trained [br]to find corpses

0:08:18.308,0:08:23.524
with synthetic samples [br]that smell like decay.

0:08:23.524,0:08:26.719
Here, dogs are able to practice on [br]multiple human bodies,

0:08:26.719,0:08:29.668
in varying states of decomposition.

0:08:29.668,0:08:33.054
>>[dog handler] What you got?[br]You find something?

0:08:33.054,0:08:36.869
>>[narration] They're taught to lie down [br]or bark when they find human remains.

0:08:36.869,0:08:39.740
>>[dog handler] Oh, good girl. [br]What you got? Show me.

0:08:39.740,0:08:45.040
Good girl. Ready? [br]Want to find some more?

0:08:45.040,0:08:48.268
>>[narration] Finding corpses on [br]the surface is just a warm-up.

0:08:48.268,0:08:49.257
>>[dog handler] Out here.

0:08:49.257,0:08:56.116
>>[narration] The dogs move on to a series of[br]concrete slabs for the graduate course.

0:08:56.116,0:09:02.624
Under the yellow arrows, a researcher has [br]buried corpses and other debris.

0:09:02.624,0:09:04.339
[dog barks]

0:09:04.339,0:09:05.306
>>[dog handler] Very good!

0:09:05.306,0:09:07.906
>>[narration] Success is rewarded [br]immediately, to reinforce

0:09:07.906,0:09:14.953
every dog's complete [br]attention to the task.

0:09:14.953,0:09:20.249
Jane Survey is in the early stages of [br]training her dog to indicate a discovery.

0:09:20.249,0:09:23.500
>>[Jane Survey] While there's [br]such overwhelming scents,

0:09:23.500,0:09:28.216
we want them to concentrate and [br]indicate on every one they find.

0:09:28.216,0:09:32.384
What can happen, especially in early [br]stages of training in something like this,

0:09:32.384,0:09:34.666
is that they would go from one source,[br]to another source,

0:09:34.666,0:09:36.934
to another source [br]without indicating.

0:09:36.934,0:09:40.834
This is a great opportunity because [br]it tells them every single one,

0:09:40.834,0:09:43.757
indicate immediately, [br]then go on to the next.

0:09:43.757,0:09:46.549
>>[to dog] You did very good, [br]you're a smart dog!

0:09:46.549,0:09:49.751
Find it.

0:09:49.751,0:09:51.438
[dog barks]

0:09:51.438,0:09:53.820
If you saw her head-- [br]Flora, show me.

0:09:53.820,0:09:57.580
[dog barks][br]No, you show me. Yes, good dog!

0:09:57.580,0:10:01.115
When she got over here, [br]her breathing changes,

0:10:01.115,0:10:04.406
and if you watch them [br]very closely you can tell that.

0:10:04.406,0:10:07.935
It's almost like they inhale [br]and then they stop breathing,

0:10:07.935,0:10:10.778
because they're [br]processing the scent.

0:10:10.778,0:10:13.584
Good dog! [br]Are you the smartest girl?

0:10:13.584,0:10:18.338
>>[narration] Even the best cadaver dogs can[br]have a difficult time locating some corpses.

0:10:18.338,0:10:22.214
The body farm is the perfect lab for [br]developing new technologies

0:10:22.214,0:10:24.917
that can help locate [br]human remains.

0:10:24.917,0:10:27.584
>>[Bass] We have a problem in the United [br]States of the husband and wife,

0:10:27.584,0:10:30.604
one of them gets mad, [br]kills the other one,

0:10:30.604,0:10:32.872
they take them out in the[br]backyard and bury them.

0:10:32.872,0:10:37.768
Then they pour a concrete slab [br]over them and it's hard to find.

0:10:37.768,0:10:44.775
>>[narration] This is an experimental [br]ground-penetrating radar system, GPRS.

0:10:44.775,0:10:48.423
On loan from the US government, [br]it's one of only two units

0:10:48.423,0:10:52.453
of this GPR model in the world.

0:10:52.453,0:10:57.610
It's been developed to locate dinosaur [br]bones, find unexploded artillery shells,

0:10:57.610,0:11:02.603
and reveal hidden bodies.

0:11:02.603,0:11:06.127
The system is about the size [br]and weight of a weedwhacker,

0:11:06.127,0:11:11.581
but it's packed with [br]powerful electronics.

0:11:11.581,0:11:15.640
Beneath these concrete paths at the [br]anthropology research facility,

0:11:15.640,0:11:19.792
lie seven human bodies.

0:11:19.792,0:11:26.069
Michelle Miller buried the bodies at [br]depths ranging from one foot to six feet.

0:11:26.069,0:11:31.457
What would a body look like at each depth?[br]Could the radar see through cement?

0:11:31.457,0:11:36.678
And would a body under cement [br]look different from a body under dirt?

0:11:36.678,0:11:40.801
>>[Michelle Miller] I want to see the difference [br]between cement and actual-- just the clay.

0:11:40.801,0:11:42.462
The head of one individual [br]is right here,

0:11:42.462,0:11:44.398
and the head of the other [br]individual is right there,

0:11:44.398,0:11:47.741
and hopefully I'll be able to see the [br]definite difference of the GPR

0:11:47.741,0:11:51.024
shooting through the [br]cement versus the non cement.

0:11:51.024,0:11:54.741
>>[narration] Miller didn't stop there, [br]she added other variables.

0:11:54.741,0:12:00.518
Could the system distinguish between [br]a fresh corpse and a bare skeleton?

0:12:00.518,0:12:05.099
Or between a body and rubble?

0:12:05.099,0:12:07.376
>>[Michelle Miller] I want to see if it [br]could really differentiate, you know,

0:12:07.376,0:12:15.796
between a definite [br]individual and not.

0:12:15.796,0:12:18.625
What I did is I buried one [br]individual on this side of the pad.

0:12:18.625,0:12:20.675
On the other side of the pad, [br]I actually made a mock-up.

0:12:20.675,0:12:25.440
I used plastic buckets, metal buckets, [br]two-by-fours, and metal tubing,

0:12:25.440,0:12:30.153
and actually built a body.

0:12:30.153,0:12:33.970
>>[Bass] What we're trying to do is to [br]match a situation like you're getting

0:12:33.970,0:12:38.824
in terrorist attacks now, where you get [br]not only the people being blown up,

0:12:38.824,0:12:44.737
but you get all of the building or [br]the surroundings filled in with them.

0:12:44.737,0:12:49.150
Can you distinguish a body under [br]all of that, what you may call "noise,"

0:12:49.150,0:12:53.868
if you want to say that, [br]or something is confusing the picture.

0:12:53.868,0:12:56.878
>>[narration] The system's field display [br]shows little detail,

0:12:56.878,0:13:01.728
just a series of swirls and squiggles, [br]representing different densities.

0:13:01.728,0:13:08.179
Miller wants to know if those [br]patterns can be read as bodies.

0:13:08.179,0:13:12.763
Back at the lab, the data is downloaded [br]into a more sophisticated computer

0:13:12.763,0:13:15.411
to enhance the display.

0:13:15.411,0:13:19.047
The display shows a cross-section [br]cutaway of the earth.

0:13:19.047,0:13:22.215
A red band across the top [br]shows the concrete,

0:13:22.215,0:13:27.139
dense, but transparent [br]as a windowpane to the GPRS.

0:13:27.139,0:13:32.585
Beneath that, disturbed soil, [br]which yields uniform signals of green.

0:13:32.585,0:13:36.304
Then, two feet down, [br]the signals go crazy,

0:13:36.304,0:13:41.413
matching the size and shape [br]of the body hidden there.

0:13:41.413,0:13:45.402
Once a body's been found, [br]the detective work truly begins.

0:13:45.402,0:13:49.893
The one piece of evidence everyone wants?[br]Time since death.

0:13:49.893,0:13:53.319
>>[Bass] The police don't [br]ask you "Who is that?"

0:13:53.319,0:13:55.889
They ask you "How long [br]have they been there?"

0:13:55.889,0:13:58.116
Now I didn't have any [br]experience with maggots,

0:13:58.116,0:14:00.992
so I looked in the literature, and[br]there was very little in the literature.

0:14:00.992,0:14:04.319
So I decided this was an area [br]that we needed to do research on.

0:14:04.319,0:14:11.877
We need to find out what happens [br]in the decay stages of human individuals.

0:14:11.877,0:14:15.163
>>[narration] In the 1980s, [br]Bass and a graduate student began

0:14:15.163,0:14:20.091
charting the order and the [br]timing of insect activity in corpses.

0:14:20.091,0:14:23.672
Most numerous [br]were blow flies.

0:14:23.672,0:14:28.285
Iridescent flies that could [br]sniff out a body within seconds.

0:14:28.285,0:14:32.051
Each female blow fly laid eggs [br]by the hundreds,

0:14:32.051,0:14:37.358
usually in natural body [br]openings or bloody wounds.

0:14:37.358,0:14:41.764
In summertime, the eggs could [br]hatch in just two hours,

0:14:41.764,0:14:49.004
the resulting larvae, maggots [br]soon formed a writhing, flesh-eating mass.

0:14:49.004,0:14:54.746
The maggots were nourished to maturity [br]by the proteins and lipids in the flesh.

0:14:54.746,0:15:01.260
Some two weeks later, they formed [br]pupa casings, or cocoons.

0:15:01.260,0:15:05.428
A few days later, a new generation [br]of adult flies emerged

0:15:05.428,0:15:10.465
from those pupa casings, [br]and the cycle began anew.

0:15:10.465,0:15:14.513
Other insects joined the [br]post-mortem food chain.

0:15:14.513,0:15:23.940
Yellow jackets fed on blow fly eggs,[br]and beetles nibbled cartilage off bones.

0:15:23.940,0:15:29.861
But the key players were [br]blow flies and their maggots.

0:15:29.861,0:15:33.580
>>[Neal Haskell] Then we can go to the [br]proper charts... [fades out]

0:15:33.580,0:15:38.239
>>[narration] The studies provided crucial [br]data to scientists like Neal Haskell,

0:15:38.239,0:15:41.971
a forensic entomologist, who teaches [br]at St. Joseph's College in Indiana.

0:15:41.971,0:15:46.010
He also testifies in murder trials.

0:15:46.010,0:15:49.926
Coming up: a brutal and mysterious [br]murder of a young family.

0:15:49.926,0:15:52.798
Could insect activity [br]crack the case?

0:15:52.798,0:15:57.710
Find out when Secrets [br]of the Body Farm continues.

0:15:57.710,0:16:06.240
You're watching National Geographic [br]Channel Presents.

0:16:06.240,0:16:10.045
The expert testimony of forensic [br]entomologist Neal Haskell,

0:16:10.045,0:16:13.857
trained at the body farm, [br]proved crucial as a grisly case

0:16:13.857,0:16:17.493
unfolded in Las Vegas, Nevada.

0:16:17.493,0:16:24.476
People renting storage space in a [br]mini warehouse had noticed a nasty smell.

0:16:24.476,0:16:26.908
>>[Neal Haskell] Adjacent neighbors [br]that had their storage in there,

0:16:26.908,0:16:30.991
they're complaining to the management, [br]"Something really stinks around here,

0:16:30.991,0:16:35.008
and it's time to get to the bottom of it."[br]Well, they got a warrant to investigate,

0:16:35.008,0:16:39.509
and then opened the storage unit up, [br]found the garbage can in there,

0:16:39.509,0:16:48.414
popped it open, and here is an absolutely [br]disgustingly decomposing individual.

0:16:48.414,0:16:53.070
>>[narration] The body, mostly [br]liquified, was an elderly woman.

0:16:53.070,0:16:57.042
Her daughter had rented the [br]storage unit two years before.

0:16:57.042,0:17:01.499
The daughter told police her [br]mother had died unexpectedly.

0:17:01.499,0:17:07.717
Grief-stricken, she stored the body [br]while pondering funeral arrangements.

0:17:07.717,0:17:11.558
But Haskell learned a [br]different story from the bugs,

0:17:11.558,0:17:15.557
specifically from[br]the coffin flies.

0:17:15.557,0:17:21.462
They're tiny, about the size of gnats, but[br]they boldly go where other flies can't:

0:17:21.462,0:17:25.624
deep underground.

0:17:25.624,0:17:28.426
It's a highly-evolved [br]survival strategy.

0:17:28.426,0:17:32.946
Underground, they have [br]a feast to themselves.

0:17:32.946,0:17:38.017
>>[Haskell] Coffin Flies got their name by[br]their very tenacious ability to identify

0:17:38.017,0:17:41.658
where humans were buried [br]in the wooden coffins.

0:17:41.658,0:17:44.523
They can burrow up to four to [br]five feet in the soil,

0:17:44.523,0:17:51.762
access the coffins, and then lay their [br]eggs, and they do their lifecycle there.

0:17:51.762,0:17:56.718
>>[narration] It didn't surprise Haskell [br]to find coffin flies in the container.

0:17:56.718,0:18:03.091
What surprised him was not finding [br]blow flies, death's quickest opportunists.

0:18:03.091,0:18:06.412
>>[Haskell] Blow flies can come in within [br]the first seconds to minutes,

0:18:06.412,0:18:08.217
and if the temperatures[br]are warm enough,

0:18:08.217,0:18:12.283
you'll see them laying eggs [br]within the first hour.

0:18:12.283,0:18:14.763
>>[narration] But Haskell found [br]no traces of blow flies.

0:18:14.763,0:18:22.864
No flies, no eggs, no blow fly maggots.[br]The blow flies hadn't gotten to the body.

0:18:22.864,0:18:28.828
Haskell wondered why. Then it hit him: [br]there wasn't time.

0:18:28.828,0:18:32.144
>>[Haskell] Mom wasn't left laying [br]around for a number of days.

0:18:32.144,0:18:36.597
Mom was processed very, very quickly, [br]placed in that garbage can,

0:18:36.597,0:18:40.115
and put in that storage area.

0:18:40.115,0:18:44.016
>>[narration] The evidence convinced the jury[br]that the defendant killed her mother

0:18:44.016,0:18:52.759
and moved swiftly to hide the body.[br]The sentence: life in prison, no parole.

0:18:52.759,0:18:57.605
Since its inception, the body farm [br]has conclusively connected insect activity

0:18:57.605,0:19:01.117
with body decomposition, [br]allowing prosecutors

0:19:01.117,0:19:05.730
to bring countless [br]criminals to justice.

0:19:05.730,0:19:09.250
Just as an archaeologist can tell [br]how long ago a civilization ended

0:19:09.250,0:19:14.598
by sifting through generations of rubble,[br]a forensic entomologist can estimate

0:19:14.598,0:19:20.551
how long ago a life ended by combing [br]through generations of insects.

0:19:20.551,0:19:25.197
>>[Bass] One of the ways of determining the[br]length of time is to gather the maggots.

0:19:25.197,0:19:31.121
You want to gather the largest maggots, [br]because that indicates the first hatch,

0:19:31.121,0:19:37.778
and it would be a better indication of [br]how long that individual has been dead.

0:19:37.778,0:19:43.121
Up to about 14 to 21 days, depending on [br]the temperature and environmental

0:19:43.121,0:19:46.861
situation in which [br]the death occurred.

0:19:46.861,0:19:50.199
>>[narration] Recently, Mississippi [br]prosecutors asked Dr. Bass

0:19:50.199,0:19:57.911
to help pinpoint time since [br]death in a brutal murder case.

0:19:57.911,0:20:03.787
Someone had murdered a young family, [br]a husband, wife, and their young daughter.

0:20:03.787,0:20:06.310
The chief suspect, [br]a relative of the victims,

0:20:06.310,0:20:11.905
held a quarter million dollar [br]life insurance policy on the child.

0:20:11.905,0:20:19.645
But Bass was told the man had an alibi for[br]the two weeks before the bodies were found.

0:20:19.645,0:20:24.191
The suspect also claimed that [br]he tried to visit the family twice,

0:20:24.191,0:20:28.588
once in mid-November, [br]and again in late-November.

0:20:28.588,0:20:31.340
So he admitted to being [br]at the crime scene,

0:20:31.340,0:20:35.525
but he claimed on each [br]occasion, no one was home.

0:20:35.525,0:20:39.175
Pinpointing the time [br]since death was crucial.

0:20:39.175,0:20:41.736
>>[Bass] I asked them to send me [br]pictures of the crime scene,

0:20:41.736,0:20:44.105
to send me photographs [br]of the bodies.

0:20:44.105,0:20:49.893
>>[narration] Bass looked for signs of [br]insect activity, taking into account

0:20:49.893,0:20:54.781
the fact that the bodies [br]were indoors, not outside.

0:20:54.781,0:20:57.009
>>[Bass] The blow flies are [br]outside of the house,

0:20:57.009,0:21:00.465
it takes them a few days to realize, [br]"Hey, there's a dead body or bodies

0:21:00.465,0:21:04.757
in that house. [br]How can I get in there?" you see.

0:21:04.757,0:21:08.951
>>[narration] Finally, Bass spotted a key[br]piece of photographic evidence,

0:21:08.951,0:21:13.907
the discarded shells that maggots [br]leave behind as they turn into flies.

0:21:13.907,0:21:18.862
These pupa casings proved that once the[br]flies finally reached the murder victims,

0:21:18.862,0:21:25.494
the insects underwent a complete [br]14 day lifecycle and then some.

0:21:25.494,0:21:29.755
Bass's report concluded that the family [br]was killed in November,

0:21:29.755,0:21:35.669
the date matching one of the [br]defendant's admitted visits to the cabin.

0:21:35.669,0:21:42.067
The blow flies helped prove opportunity, [br]the insurance policy provided the motive.

0:21:42.067,0:21:45.599
The suspect was [br]convicted of murder.

0:21:45.599,0:21:52.072
>>[Bass] It does make you feel good that [br]you are able to look at the scientific data,

0:21:52.072,0:21:55.050
which is there, and that's what I did. [br]I didn't know any of the people

0:21:55.050,0:21:59.757
involved in this at all, and from[br]the scientific data, able to make

0:21:59.757,0:22:09.981
an analysis that corresponds exactly [br]to the events that occurred in this case.

0:22:09.981,0:22:14.514
>>[narration] Bass's work proved that in [br]cases where corpses were decomposed,

0:22:14.514,0:22:18.452
forensic anthropologists could [br]make an important contribution

0:22:18.452,0:22:21.153
to a murder investigation.

0:22:21.153,0:22:25.457
Still to come: when the blood's been [br]washed away and evidence is scarce,

0:22:25.457,0:22:30.857
one investigator finds [br]the answer is in the bones.

0:22:30.857,0:22:37.260
National Geographic [br]Channel Presents now continues.

0:22:37.260,0:22:42.695
The chronology of decomposing flesh[br]provides CSI units with useful evidence,

0:22:42.695,0:22:46.978
but Steve Sims, one of the body farm's [br]most renowned graduates,

0:22:46.978,0:22:52.591
focuses on what's left behind after [br]the bugs have picked the bones clean.

0:22:52.591,0:22:56.995
>>[Sims] Here, we do find a scatter five feet[br]from somebody's foundation of their house,

0:22:56.995,0:23:00.363
and I found the thoracic vertebrae, [br]which are human.

0:23:00.363,0:23:03.296
Over here there's a skull, [br]and over here is an arm.

0:23:03.296,0:23:07.994
Already, dogs have destroyed [br]a lot of the ends of the bones.

0:23:07.994,0:23:13.089
>>[narration] Originally, Sims planned [br]for a career in archaeology.

0:23:13.089,0:23:18.860
After one class at the forensic facility, [br]he left archaeology in the dust.

0:23:18.860,0:23:25.150
>>[Sims] This is the right tenth rib.[br]Right here, and right here.

0:23:25.150,0:23:30.894
You see some trauma. Indicative of [br]shot trauma or a knife stab wound.

0:23:30.894,0:23:41.821
>>[narration] Today, he's taking bone [br]trauma analysis to a new level.

0:23:41.821,0:23:46.521
>>[Bass] One of the ways of [br]killing an individual and trying to

0:23:46.521,0:23:53.300
mask the identity of that[br]individual is to saw the body up.

0:23:53.300,0:23:58.531
Saw the arms off, [br]saw the head off.

0:23:58.531,0:24:01.422
>>[narration] Sims's speciality[br]is reading signatures,

0:24:01.422,0:24:04.599
the tell-tale signs that [br]saws leave behind

0:24:04.599,0:24:07.674
when a killer[br]cuts up a corpse.

0:24:07.674,0:24:11.569
>>[Sims] I've seen everything used[br]from knives to axes to

0:24:11.569,0:24:14.155
serrated knives [br]being used as a saw.

0:24:14.155,0:24:15.571
I've seen power tools used.

0:24:15.571,0:24:18.885
I've seen a bandsaw[br]to cut up a body.

0:24:18.885,0:24:22.947
I've seen circular saws[br]used numerous times.

0:24:22.947,0:24:26.050
>>[narration] Bone is an[br]engineering marvel.

0:24:26.050,0:24:30.495
It's a composite material, [br]a flexible matrix of collogen fibers

0:24:30.495,0:24:35.664
infused with calcium phosphate[br]for stiffness and load-bearing.

0:24:35.664,0:24:41.530
It's like steel-reinforced concrete,[br]but lighter and stronger.

0:24:41.530,0:24:46.557
It's a durable material, so the marks[br]a saw leaves as it cuts up a body

0:24:46.557,0:24:49.779
can endure for years.

0:24:49.779,0:24:53.721
Sims took up his grisly specialty[br]after a detective asked him to

0:24:53.721,0:24:57.493
identify a notch in a bone.

0:24:57.493,0:24:59.894
>>[Sims] I said "It's a[br]saw mark on an arm bone."

0:24:59.894,0:25:04.373
And when I said, "It's a saw mark," I thought[br]I was proud to give him some information.

0:25:04.373,0:25:07.712
Well, he looked at me, he said,[br]"But, I already know it's a saw mark."

0:25:07.712,0:25:10.164
"You're the bone doc, [br]what kinda saw is this?"

0:25:10.164,0:25:12.226
And I didn't know.

0:25:12.226,0:25:14.294
>>[narration] Sims needed to know.

0:25:14.294,0:25:18.121
It was his third dismemberment [br]case in just one month.

0:25:20.987,0:25:25.007
He set out to fill this gruesome [br]gap in forensic knowledge.

0:25:26.179,0:25:29.400
It would take him[br]15 years of research.

0:25:30.313,0:25:34.392
To the naked eye,[br]all sawmarks look alike.

0:25:35.987,0:25:37.981
[beeping, then camera flash sound]

0:25:38.707,0:25:41.017
>>[Sims] It turns out that's not true.

0:25:41.017,0:25:45.100
Every tooth leaves another mark,[br]and the reciprocating action

0:25:45.100,0:25:48.576
of these teeth, or continuous[br]motion of these teeth

0:25:48.576,0:25:51.944
leaves lots of [br]indicators of toolmarks,

0:25:51.944,0:25:55.985
lots of characteristics, and with enough [br]characteristics, many times I can get,

0:25:55.985,0:26:00.590
for example, the number of teeth per inch[br]in a tool used to dimember a body.

0:26:01.296,0:26:06.180
>>[narration] Now Sims can read a sawmark the [br]way a handwritting expert can dissect a signature.

0:26:08.576,0:26:13.053
He can even spot false starts,[br]or skips in the stroke.

0:26:15.560,0:26:20.785
And he can tell police what kind of saw[br]to search for in a dismemberment case.

0:26:21.222,0:26:24.051
You want to know more than "a saw,"[br]you want to know what kind of saw,

0:26:24.051,0:26:26.650
how wide that saw is,[br]how wide the blade is,

0:26:26.650,0:26:30.047
how wide the tooth is,[br]the minimum kerf width,

0:26:30.047,0:26:35.842
the number of teeth per inch, and how[br]that saw was used to dismember a victim.

0:26:35.842,0:26:40.612
All saws look similar or look identical,[br]they really aren't.

0:26:41.245,0:26:46.486
>>[narration] A killer may think that washing[br]blood off a blade is enough to cover his tracks.

0:26:46.486,0:26:49.057
But, not if Sims is on the case.

0:26:49.711,0:26:52.532
>>[Bass] If you listed five [br]people in the world who were

0:26:52.532,0:26:56.027
the world leaders in this, [br]Steve would be one of those five.

0:26:56.664,0:26:59.759
>>[narration] Like fingerprints,[br]footprints, and tire tracks,

0:26:59.759,0:27:05.149
tool marks can crack a case, [br]even years after the crime.

0:27:06.089,0:27:08.692
>>[Sims] Bone trauma is[br]a moment frozen in time.

0:27:08.692,0:27:12.460
All the soft tissues, and so on,[br]disappear or change

0:27:12.460,0:27:14.324
or deterioriate with time.

0:27:14.324,0:27:16.857
Bone doesn't change or deterioriate, [br]we just clean it up.

0:27:16.857,0:27:20.243
It's there, it's good evidence, [br]it's evidence you can take to court.

0:27:22.059,0:27:25.667
>>[narration] The process of normal[br]body decomposition and bone trauma

0:27:25.667,0:27:28.820
are well-documented[br]at the body farm.

0:27:29.981,0:27:34.356
But, some killers try to [br]cover their tracks with fire.

0:27:36.166,0:27:40.500
Not long ago, burned [br]bones marked a dead end.

0:27:40.500,0:27:44.883
Fingerprints, faces, wounds:[br]all gone, burned away.

0:27:48.257,0:27:53.773
But, the Tennessee scientists were confident [br]other evidence could be sifted from the ashes.

0:27:54.122,0:28:00.166
>>[Bass] Okay, I bet that fits right there.[br]>>[narration] To know what to look for though,

0:28:00.166,0:28:06.132
they'd have to learn precisely what happens[br]when fire meets human flesh and bone.

0:28:23.924,0:28:26.356
>>[Elaine Pope] What[br]I'm about to do is,

0:28:26.356,0:28:29.641
I'm going to build several [br]little contained systems.

0:28:29.641,0:28:32.472
Right now I'm[br]just testing for heat.

0:28:32.820,0:28:36.844
>>[narration] Elaine Pope, a PhD student, [br]got these body parts from an

0:28:36.844,0:28:42.961
anatomical laboratory to which corpses had [br]been willed or donated for medical research.

0:28:44.577,0:28:48.627
Before these limbs were provided to her,[br]they were used by medical students

0:28:48.627,0:28:53.632
to practice surgical procedures.[br]She starts with an arm.

0:28:54.403,0:28:58.745
>>[Pope] And I'm gonna photograph[br]it before I place it in the fire.

0:29:01.220,0:29:05.005
I'm gonna do each element that way [br]and document what it looks like before,

0:29:05.005,0:29:08.771
including the size, shape,[br]and position of it.

0:29:09.177,0:29:12.858
>>[narration] During daylight, [br]smoke obscures the details,

0:29:12.858,0:29:16.520
not so much from the eyes,[br]as from the camera lens.

0:29:16.520,0:29:20.201
So, Pope experiments[br]and photographs at night.

0:29:24.150,0:29:28.779
As the arm heats,[br]it actually begins to move.

0:29:28.779,0:29:33.576
>>[Pope] What I want to do[br]is see how the arm draws up

0:29:33.576,0:29:36.767
and how it reacts to heat.[br]When the arms react to heat

0:29:36.767,0:29:40.613
they go into the pugilistic posture, [br]which is where the muscles of the arm,

0:29:40.613,0:29:44.013
the flexors, pull the arm[br]into flexion like this.

0:29:44.013,0:29:48.003
And so I want to observe[br]that process as it occurs.

0:29:48.003,0:29:52.408
>>[narration] As muscles burn,[br]their fibers shrivel, and contract.

0:29:52.408,0:29:58.708
The stronger muscles (usually the flexors)[br]overpower the weaker ones (the extensors).

0:29:59.027,0:30:04.380
In fact, the arms flexing is so consistent[br]that if a body is found with the arms

0:30:04.380,0:30:08.345
extended, it could be[br]a sign of foul play.

0:30:10.302,0:30:15.378
>>[Sims] The body will assume that pugilistic [br]pose at all costs, unless stopped from doing it.

0:30:15.621,0:30:18.735
The muscles are very strong[br]and it pulls you into that pose.

0:30:18.735,0:30:23.039
So, if I see something that goes[br]against this post, I'm suspicious.

0:30:23.039,0:30:25.404
>>[Pope] If the arm was outstretched,[br]and it wasn't able to assume a

0:30:25.404,0:30:29.694
pugilistic posture with the elbow,[br]that would possibly indicate that

0:30:29.694,0:30:34.875
the arms had been tied, even if[br]there's an absence of the actual material

0:30:34.875,0:30:38.108
(they could have used string or [br]rope which would have burned away).

0:30:38.108,0:30:41.681
>>[narration] But, is that movement [br]the same in an accidental house fire,

0:30:41.681,0:30:47.003
as it is in an intentional fire made[br]hotter by accelerants like gasoline?

0:30:49.459,0:30:52.412
>>[Pope] I'm gonna do the slow burn[br]so that we can watch the gradual

0:30:52.412,0:30:59.733
progression of it, and then the other arm,[br]I'm gonna do in a really fast, hot, intense fire.

0:31:01.873,0:31:04.661
>>[narration] And will [br]the arm hold its position,

0:31:04.661,0:31:08.314
even after all organic [br]matter has burned away?

0:31:12.137,0:31:15.855
>>[Pope] As you can see, [br]the arm has reacted as we expected.

0:31:15.855,0:31:19.365
It drew into the pugilistic posture[br]with this being the elbow here,

0:31:19.365,0:31:21.135
and this being the wrist here,

0:31:21.135,0:31:22.955
and these being the hands.

0:31:27.264,0:31:32.552
>>[narration] The main torso, despite the [br]separation of its limbs will also yield clues.

0:31:33.843,0:31:39.316
Does a dismembered body[br]still seek the pugilistic posture?

0:31:40.786,0:31:43.107
>>[Pope] I'm mainly [br]interested in this one

0:31:43.107,0:31:49.056
because it still has the portion of [br]the humerus and the femur attached.

0:31:49.056,0:31:52.798
And so, I'm wanting to see if it[br]reacts the same way as if the arm

0:31:52.798,0:31:58.660
were still attached, to see if it's gonna be [br]drawn up, and if the femur gets kinda drawn up.

0:32:01.074,0:32:06.069
>>[narration] Even stumps of limbs[br]still try to assume a fighting stance.

0:32:07.372,0:32:09.954
>>[Pope] We're trying to establish [br]normal patterns of burning.

0:32:09.954,0:32:13.225
That way we can[br]look for unusual cases.

0:32:13.225,0:32:19.030
If a burn pattern is disrupted, it could be [br]indicative of preexisting trauma or dismemberment.

0:32:22.530,0:32:27.937
>>[narration] Some researchers, including Pope, [br]have done studies with animal limbs.

0:32:27.937,0:32:33.635
But when a murder case hangs in the balance, [br]there's no substitute for the real thing.

0:32:33.888,0:32:36.223
>>[Pope] The reason why[br]we use human material

0:32:36.223,0:32:40.260
is to accurately simulate [br]house fires and vehicular fires.

0:32:40.260,0:32:44.049
For one thing, it stands up,[br]it's more credible in court,

0:32:44.049,0:32:46.918
to say, "Yes, we've tested this[br]and we know exactly what happens."

0:32:46.918,0:32:50.569
It helps with the medical [br]examiner, their testimony.

0:32:51.571,0:32:54.375
>>[narration] There are[br]many variables to explore.

0:32:54.375,0:32:57.927
Can decomposing[br]muscles still flex an arm?

0:32:58.585,0:33:01.587
At what temperature [br]does flesh ignite?

0:33:03.191,0:33:08.505
After burning the specimens,[br]Pope gathers up the charred bones,

0:33:08.505,0:33:11.920
cleans them, [br]and studies the patterns.

0:33:12.546,0:33:15.649
She notes color changes [br]in transition zones

0:33:15.649,0:33:19.693
where protected, unburned bones [br]give way to charred material.

0:33:22.384,0:33:26.865
To fully grasp the patterns,[br]she makes detailed drawings.

0:33:27.884,0:33:30.983
One clear difference[br]is fracture patterns,

0:33:30.983,0:33:38.038
another is calcination: the transformation of [br]dense bone into a light, chalky material.

0:33:39.519,0:33:42.492
>>[Pope] I burned these [br]two different tibia

0:33:42.492,0:33:46.102
at different temperatures, [br]and different times and durations.

0:33:46.102,0:33:49.967
This one is more calcine,[br]it's burned to a further extent.

0:33:49.967,0:33:53.383
And you can see it has a[br]higher frequency of fracture patterns.

0:33:53.383,0:33:57.638
Whereas, this one was burned to a[br]lower temperature and less amount of time,

0:33:57.638,0:34:01.789
and it took on more of[br]the char of the blackness.

0:34:03.182,0:34:05.696
>>[narration] Do fracture[br]patterns change when

0:34:05.696,0:34:09.781
a stream of cold water from[br]a fire hose hits hot bone?

0:34:10.562,0:34:14.738
What patterns might be left when [br]accelerants are used to heat up a fire

0:34:14.738,0:34:17.347
and hide evidence of murder?

0:34:17.999,0:34:21.847
There is so much to be learned[br]from bone, even after fire,

0:34:21.847,0:34:27.066
but only time and research witll tell [br]just how much evidence can survive.

0:34:30.795,0:34:34.606
In the body farm's quest to[br]identify unkown crime victims,

0:34:34.606,0:34:38.698
new technologies meet[br]old-fashioned techniques head-on.

0:34:44.612,0:34:48.088
Joanna Hughes is a forensic sculptor,

0:34:48.088,0:34:53.230
putting clay on skulls, [br]she reconstructs human faces.

0:34:53.579,0:34:59.349
Hughes hopes her work can someday[br]help I.D. a murder victim and catch a killer.

0:35:01.811,0:35:05.711
The technique employed by [br]Hughes is not only time-consuming,

0:35:05.711,0:35:10.739
but it's ultimate success hinges[br]on a high degree of artisic talent.

0:35:11.507,0:35:14.421
>>[Joanna Hughes] If you are[br]off by even a millimeter,

0:35:14.421,0:35:20.101
then you run the risk of having an[br]incorrect, or an unidentified, individual.

0:35:20.101,0:35:25.857
And for every unidentified individual,[br]there is a criminal perpetrator, murderer,

0:35:25.857,0:35:28.729
walking the streets.

0:35:31.968,0:35:36.435
>>[Bass] To do a good facial[br]reconstruction of an individual,

0:35:36.435,0:35:39.771
you have to have[br]a lot of artistic ability.

0:35:39.771,0:35:42.456
You have to be able[br]to get the face

0:35:42.456,0:35:46.646
so it has some expression on [br]the face, so it looks like a face.

0:35:46.646,0:35:51.265
I've done this before and [br]my heads look like clay heads.

0:35:51.709,0:35:54.026
>>[narration] This head looks human.

0:35:54.026,0:35:57.550
It also looks remarkably [br]like the actual subject:

0:35:57.550,0:36:01.555
a man who donated his[br]body to the forensic facility.

0:36:03.315,0:36:06.368
Hughes did this [br]reconstruction for practice,

0:36:06.368,0:36:09.324
then checked her [br]work against the photos.

0:36:09.324,0:36:11.875
>>[Hughes] Ah! It's him!

0:36:12.884,0:36:15.444
>>[narration] But, what if she'd [br]guessed wrong about

0:36:15.444,0:36:19.577
the size of the nose,[br]or the fleshiness of the jowls?

0:36:19.577,0:36:24.724
In a real murder case, the stakes[br]are high and time is precious.

0:36:25.953,0:36:30.619
Clay reconstruction yields a[br]single guess about a victim's looks.

0:36:30.619,0:36:34.462
One mistake could[br]stall an investigation.

0:36:36.385,0:36:39.594
Murray Marks hopes to[br]overcome those short-comings

0:36:39.594,0:36:43.571
by bringing facial reconstruction[br]into the computer age.

0:36:43.571,0:36:48.512
For help, Mark has joined forces [br]with Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

0:36:51.216,0:36:56.075
The government research lab has[br]supercomputers and imaging experts.

0:36:56.075,0:37:00.722
Marks has cranial dimensions[br]from some 1,000 modern skulls,

0:37:00.722,0:37:04.255
the largest database[br]of its kind in the world.

0:37:06.771,0:37:10.287
But, to build a face from a skull,[br]he needs to know more about

0:37:10.287,0:37:13.313
the intimate marriage [br]of skin and bone.

0:37:13.313,0:37:18.408
That requires state-of-the-art[br]MRI and CAT scan expertise.

0:37:19.865,0:37:22.760
Some of the world's leaders[br]in this field work in the

0:37:22.760,0:37:27.889
research imaging center at the [br]University of Texas Health Science Center.

0:37:27.889,0:37:30.740
The center's director, [br]Dr. Peter Fox,

0:37:30.740,0:37:34.043
is intrigued by the facial [br]reconstruction project.

0:37:36.901,0:37:40.358
To provide baseline images[br]from a known individual,

0:37:40.358,0:37:44.843
he's offered his scanners[br]and his own flesh and bone.

0:37:49.446,0:37:52.909
Fox's MRI maps the [br]surface of his face.

0:37:52.909,0:37:58.375
His CAT scan yields a 3D image[br]of the skull beneath the skin.

0:37:58.610,0:38:06.334
Now the challenge is to recreate by computer, [br]a face that looks like the living Dr. Fox.

0:38:08.013,0:38:11.471
If they can figure out how[br]to do it with a known face,

0:38:11.471,0:38:15.492
they're optimistic they can[br]do it with an unknown one.

0:38:15.909,0:38:19.028
A wireframe model helps[br]translate the relationship

0:38:19.028,0:38:23.515
between Fox's face and his skull [br]into mathematical formulas.

0:38:24.683,0:38:28.998
Those formulas can then be [br]used to create a facial mask.

0:38:28.998,0:38:32.698
In this case,[br]a mask of Fox's face.

0:38:33.168,0:38:35.928
Once the software [br]development is complete,

0:38:35.928,0:38:40.807
police or witnesses could[br]easily modify such masks.

0:38:43.040,0:38:46.341
>>[Marks] What if they were heavier?[br]What if they were lighter?

0:38:46.341,0:38:48.847
Change that hairline, [br]change the eye color.

0:38:48.847,0:38:52.989
Or, you know, add a beard, [br]add a mustache, things like this.

0:38:56.843,0:39:00.594
>>[narration] The Tennessee scientists[br]are taking promising steps toward

0:39:00.594,0:39:04.513
one of the final frontiers[br]in forensic anthropology:

0:39:04.513,0:39:10.449
to restore a face and with it, [br]the identity and humanity of a victim.

0:39:11.812,0:39:16.115
The conclusion of [br]Secrets of the Body Farm, next.

0:39:17.921,0:39:22.158
And now the conclusion of[br]Secrets of the Body Farm.

0:39:23.577,0:39:27.975
In the early years, the research conducted[br]at the Anthropology Research Facility

0:39:27.975,0:39:30.280
was not widely known, but then,

0:39:30.280,0:39:33.979
its unofficial nickname [br]coined by police and FBI agents,

0:39:33.979,0:39:38.069
became the title of a best-selling[br]crime novel by Patricia Cornwell.

0:39:38.069,0:39:41.553
The body farm hit the mainstream.

0:39:42.058,0:39:45.583
More books, movies, [br]and hit TV shows followed,

0:39:45.583,0:39:50.543
raising the facility's profile and [br]communicating the importance of its work.

0:39:50.543,0:39:55.804
>>[Robin Miller] The drill is that we are [br]going to pull him out of the truck.

0:39:57.464,0:40:00.293
>>[Michelle Miller] I'm afraid [br]the upper body's gonna drop.

0:40:00.293,0:40:02.224
You have the strength?[br]>>[Robin] Yep.

0:40:07.732,0:40:12.239
>>[narration] Here, death marks not an end,[br]but a beginning. The start of an amazing

0:40:12.239,0:40:17.384
odyssey, carefully observed and[br]recorded in minute detail by researchers.

0:40:17.384,0:40:20.003
>>[Robin] Alright, here's good.[br]>>[narration] Robin Miller is

0:40:20.003,0:40:23.221
studying a specific component[br]in human decomposition.

0:40:23.221,0:40:25.391
>>[Robin] Okay.[br]>>[narration] A possible linkage

0:40:25.391,0:40:28.366
between clothing [br]and the rate of decay.

0:40:31.125,0:40:34.144
>>[Robin] Lift his legs up.[br]And put one leg at a time

0:40:34.144,0:40:38.494
in through here, and then hold his legs up [br]while someone else pulls it over his... [trails off]

0:40:40.585,0:40:44.405
Half of all cases that we[br]work on in the United States

0:40:44.405,0:40:47.487
are people that we have[br]found with clothing on them.

0:40:47.487,0:40:50.386
My research hopes to[br]answer the question:

0:40:50.386,0:40:55.831
Can we use that data in order[br]to determine a time since death?

0:40:56.654,0:41:00.537
>>[narration] This corpse, donated [br]by family per the dead man's wishes,

0:41:00.537,0:41:03.531
will prove invaluable [br]in Miller's research.

0:41:03.531,0:41:08.511
To protect his identity, he is [br]now known simply as Corpse 3101.

0:41:08.788,0:41:13.832
But, anonymity can't diminish his generous [br]nature, or his willingness to help others,

0:41:13.832,0:41:19.767
even after his death. His contribution[br]reaches far beyond pure science.

0:41:19.767,0:41:25.005
It may influence real-world murder [br]cases and help bring killers to justice.

0:41:25.817,0:41:30.766
Drawing on prior research, Miller has[br]divided decomposition into four stages:

0:41:30.766,0:41:34.791
Stage one spans the [br]first day or so after death.

0:41:34.791,0:41:38.259
>>[Robin] Stage one is where--[br]is what we call the "fresh stage."

0:41:38.259,0:41:42.229
Where there is no maggot activity,[br]we just have the basic

0:41:42.229,0:41:45.225
rigor, algor, and liver mortis.

0:41:45.579,0:41:51.032
>>[narration] Stage one is marked by[br]stiffening, discoloration, then relaxation.

0:41:51.294,0:41:54.106
>>[Robin] As we get out of [br]stage one, into stage two,

0:41:54.106,0:41:57.489
is when the blow flies come in [br]and start to lay their eggs.

0:41:57.489,0:42:00.496
And their eggs will, of course, [br]hatch into maggots.

0:42:00.496,0:42:03.837
The maggots will take over and[br]start consuming the body.

0:42:05.347,0:42:08.715
>>[narration] Stage two includes[br]a flurry of insect activity:

0:42:08.715,0:42:11.726
yellowjackets, blow flies, and maggots.

0:42:15.106,0:42:19.080
>>[Robin] The eggs that were laid[br]a couple days ago in the nose, have hatched.

0:42:19.080,0:42:23.363
So, we have a maggot mass that's[br]going to work around his nostrils.

0:42:23.363,0:42:28.039
And in his right ear, [br]and near his right eye.

0:42:28.039,0:42:31.849
They've eaten away on[br]the inside of the mouth.

0:42:32.391,0:42:35.619
I can see some eggs that[br]have been laid on the tongue

0:42:35.619,0:42:38.965
and in the left cheek area.

0:42:39.849,0:42:42.536
>>[narration] The proteins [br]and fats in human cells

0:42:42.536,0:42:45.991
are a near perfect [br]food for maggots.

0:42:47.029,0:42:51.188
The swarm of insects is a [br]gruesome reminder of mortality,

0:42:51.188,0:42:54.056
as is the smell [br]of decomposition.

0:42:55.713,0:43:00.546
Inside the body, the bacteria are [br]starting to work on the internal organs.

0:43:03.423,0:43:07.537
>>[Robin] As that happens, [br]gases are also released inside the body,

0:43:07.537,0:43:11.926
there's a process called "autolysis," [br]where the cells inside burst,

0:43:11.926,0:43:16.612
because the pH level is disrupted.

0:43:17.589,0:43:20.048
>>[narration] Some of the [br]gases escape the corpse

0:43:20.048,0:43:24.243
through natural body openings, [br]creating putrid smells.

0:43:25.499,0:43:29.540
Gases that are trapped within [br]distend the veins in the body,

0:43:29.540,0:43:32.092
a process called "marbling."

0:43:32.148,0:43:37.470
Sometimes the gases build up enough [br]to burst a corpse's abdomen.

0:43:38.303,0:43:41.786
Stage three is the longest [br]phase of decomposition,

0:43:41.786,0:43:44.958
and is greatly influenced [br]by the changing seasons.

0:43:44.958,0:43:49.527
>>[Robin] We definitely have a decrease [br]in maggot activity and fly activity

0:43:49.527,0:43:53.788
because the larvae and the eggs can't live[br]below a certain temperature.

0:43:53.788,0:43:57.581
So the cold weather is having [br]an effect on the decomposition here.

0:43:57.581,0:43:59.757
>>[narration] But the [br]cycle does continue.

0:43:59.757,0:44:02.401
Fifty-two days after [br]the start of the experiment,

0:44:02.401,0:44:08.193
3101 enters stage four of decomposition.[br]He is essentially mummified.

0:44:08.676,0:44:11.857
Any remaining skin has [br]the texture of leather,

0:44:11.857,0:44:15.577
and nearly all of the [br]soft tissue is gone.

0:44:15.577,0:44:19.497
Already it appears that clothing [br]may have slowed the rate of decay,

0:44:19.497,0:44:22.883
but confirming that assumption [br]will require a scientific review

0:44:22.883,0:44:25.569
of the data in the weeks ahead.

0:44:28.322,0:44:32.491
A gentle hillside in Tennessee, [br]unique in all the world,

0:44:32.491,0:44:38.746
a singular place set aside for gleaning [br]knowledge and truth from flesh and bone.

0:44:39.214,0:44:41.915
>>[Haskell] The anthropological[br]research facility here in Knoxville

0:44:41.915,0:44:48.885
is absolutely critical in research, [br]when it comes to assessing human death.

0:44:49.706,0:44:52.689
>>[Bass] There's a lot of really [br]cutting-edge research going on

0:44:52.689,0:44:56.357
at the body farm right now,[br]it's the only research essentially,

0:44:56.357,0:44:59.243
of this type in the world.

0:44:59.664,0:45:02.980
>>[narration] Lee Jantz believes [br]the work is so important,

0:45:02.980,0:45:06.767
she's made an extraordinary commitment, [br]in spite of her discomfort

0:45:06.767,0:45:08.852
with what she knows will follow.

0:45:08.852,0:45:13.712
>>[Lee Jantz] I am a donor. When I die, [br]I expect my family to honor my wishes

0:45:13.712,0:45:16.848
and donate me to the [br]anthropological research facility

0:45:16.848,0:45:21.352
in the department of anthropology.[br]It is not a pleasant thought.

0:45:21.685,0:45:26.290
I don't like to think of what my body [br]will go through, but it's gonna happen.

0:45:26.290,0:45:31.144
>>[narration] The dead remain the focus [br]of scientific scrutiny at the body farm,

0:45:31.144,0:45:35.413
but the reason for the research, [br]the motivation and the inspiration

0:45:35.413,0:45:38.366
will always remain the living.

0:45:39.033,0:45:44.338
[up-tempo closing music]