sternum. The breastbone.
suture. In the context of this book, any of several joints in the skull.
temporal. The bone surrounding the ear.
time since death (TSD). The postmortem interval between death and discovery.
thoracic. In the region of the chest.
tibia. The larger, medial bone of the lower leg: the “shinbone.”
ulna. The medial bone of the forearm: the one that includes the sharp bump of the elbow.
vertebra (plural: vertebrae). A bone of the spinal column.
zygomatic. The cheekbone.
Acknowledgments
MANY THOUSANDS of people have contributed to making this book a reality. First, I want to thank my mother, the late Jennie Bass, for being a guiding light, especially after the death of my father, all the way up to her death in 1997 at the age of ninety-five. Second, I have been blessed with three wonderful wives (not at the same time, mind you): Ann Owen, who was the mother of our three sons; Annette Blackbourne, who was a wise adviser at work and a great comfort after Ann’s death in 1993; and Carol Miles, who has known me since childhood. Carol, who knew both Ann and Annette, came to Knoxville to take care of me when Annette died in 1997; thankfully, she has been here ever since.
I owe a big debt to the thousands—no, tens of thousands—of students who took my classes at the universities of Pennsylvania, Nebraska, Kansas, and Tennessee, and who garnered me for many teaching awards. I’ve always said that I’ve had two families: my biological family of three sons and my academic family of all the graduate students who made this pioneering research possible, many of whom you’ve met in these chapters. I also thank Donna Patton Griffin, one of the able secretaries in the University of Tennessee Anthropology Department, who has typed reports and kept records of hundreds of forensic cases during my years at the university. The Body Farm would not have been a reality without continuous support from the administrators of the University of Tennessee. From the deans in the College of Arts and Sciences, which includes the Anthropology Department, through the chancellors of the Knoxville campus, to the presidents of the statewide UT system, I have received nothing but the greatest support. It’s nice to work in an environment where you respect and admire your superiors.
Almost every television crime series portrays friction or conflict between forensic scientists and the police, district attorneys, medical examiners, or coroners they work with. In my fifty years of working with members of local, state, national, and international law enforcement agencies, though, I don’t recall a single bad encounter with any of them. I thank them all for the many things they’ve taught me about arson investigation, ballistics, criminal justice, and other fields I’ve had to learn in on-the-job training.
I especially want to thank my three sons, Charlie, Billy, and Jim Bass, who have always given me strength, but particularly after the deaths of Ann and Annette. All three of my sons have been very successful: Those education dollars were clearly well spent after all!
Last but not least, I want to thank Jon Jefferson, whose writing has helped make this an engaging story. Jon has become a true friend and a member of the Bass family.
—W.M.B. III
As Goethe once said (a bit more elegantly), the instant you burn your bridges and fling yourself at something, magic happens: Providence moves, doors open, coincidences add up to destiny. This book bears that out. Long before I met her, Cindy Robinson had the foresight to study with a memorable professor; twenty years later she shared her stories of Dr. Bass and his Body Farm with me, a guy who’d had the foresight and good fortune to marry her in the meantime. The best reader and keenest critic I know, Cindy helped me make this book far better.
Many people accompanied and encouraged me on my trek through the realms of the dead, including the two who brought me into the land of the living. Bill and Gloria Jefferson never dreamed this is where their son would end up, but they’ve remained interested and encouraging throughout my meandering career. So have my children, Ben and Anna, who likewise seem partial to roads less traveled.
My close friend and fellow journalist Steven Keeva published my first story about Dr. Bass and the murder cases he has helped solve. Steve also opened the door that led to my forensic documentaries for the National Geographic Society, and he offered, time and again, faith and hope when my own ran dry. So did John Hoover, a good friend, great listener, and wise counselor. Other mainstays have been my beer buddies from the Wednesday Night Prayer Group: John Craig, J.J. Rochelle, Wendy Smith, and David Brill. David, a fine writer and generous friend, introduced me to Giles Anderson, agent extraordinaire, whose energy and enthusiasm for this project have been inspiring and contagious. Giles, in turn, brought us Danny Baror, our superb international agent.
David Highfill, our editor at Putnam, stepped far out onto a limb to help us bring about the book we so blithely promised him in the first place. Robert Roper has advised me well and guided me past many pitfalls. Nancy Young generously loaned me her cozy cabin and the Carolina mountains when I needed to get away from a myriad of excuses not to write.
Patricia Cornwell’s contribution, in spotlighting forensic science in general and the Body Farm in particular, can’t be overstated. Her flood tide lifted our boat as surely as her helicopter lifted our spirits that gray day when she hovered with us in the treetops above the Body Farm.
Most of all, I thank Bill Bass and his lovely wife, Carol—a gracious hostess and a lively lunch companion. Bill first suggested this book three years ago; lucky me, to be his collaborator. Working with him has been not just a rare privilege but a constant delight. One of the world’s foremost scientists, he’s also one of its most humble, honest, and honorable human beings. Unfailingly cheerful, ever enthusiastic, always affirming, Dr. Bass possesses—pacemaker notwithstanding—one of the best hearts to be found anywhere on this beautiful planet brimming with Life.
—J.W.J.
Index
Accumulated degree days (ADDs), ref-1
Acker, John, ref-1
Adipocere, ref-1
formation of, ref-1, ref-2
Age, determination of, ref-1, ref-2, ref-3, ref-4, ref-5, ref-6, ref-7, ref-8, ref-9
clavicles and, ref-1, ref-2, ref-3, ref-4, ref-5
cranial sutures and, ref-1, ref-2, ref-3, ref-4, ref-5
epiphyses and, ref-1, ref-2
pelvis and, ref-1, ref-2, ref-3, ref-4
teeth and, ref-1, ref-2, ref-3, ref-4
Air Force, U.S., DNA laboratory, ref-1, ref-2
Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), Bureau of, ref-1, ref-2
Alex, Bob, ref-1
America Online, ref-1
American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS), ref-1, ref-2, ref-3
Forensic Anthropology Section, ref-1
American Board of Forensic Anthropologists, ref-1
Anderson, Jim, ref-1, ref-2, ref-3
Anderson, Patricia, ref-1, ref-2, ref-3, ref-4
Anderson, Sheilah, ref-1, ref-2
Animals, feeding on corpses by, ref-1, ref-2, ref-3, ref-4, ref-5, ref-6
Ants, ref-1, ref-2
Applewhite, Allen, ref-1, ref-2, ref-3, ref-4, ref-5
Arikara Indians, ref-1, ref-2, ref-3, ref-4, ref-5, ref-6
excavation of graves of, ref-1, ref-2
and Lewis and Clark expedition, ref-1
Arizona, University of, ref-1, ref-2, ref-3
Arm, bones of, ref-1
See also specific bones
Armed Forces medical examiner, ref-1
Army, U.S., ref-1, ref-2, ref-3, ref-4, ref-5, ref-6
Central Identification Laboratory, ref-1
Corps of Engineers, ref-1, ref-2
Medical Research Lab, ref-1
Arson fires, ref-1, ref-2
Asians, ref-1, ref-2
Associ
ated Press (AP), ref-1, ref-2
Autopsies, ref-1, ref-2, ref-3
photographs of, ref-1
Baden, Michael, ref-1
Ballistics, ref-1, ref-2
Bass, Ann (first wife), ref-1, ref-2, ref-3, ref-4, ref-5
death of, ref-1, ref-2, ref-3, ref-4, ref-5
marriage of, ref-1, ref-2
Bass, Annette (second wife), ref-1, ref-2, ref-3, ref-4, ref-5, ref-6, ref-7
Bass, Carol (third wife), ref-1, ref-2, ref-3, ref-4, ref-5, ref-6
Bass, Charlie (son), ref-1, ref-2, ref-3, ref-4, ref-5, ref-6
Bass, Jenny (mother), ref-1, ref-2, ref-3, ref-4, ref-5, ref-6
Bass, Jim (son), ref-1, ref-2
Bass, Marvin (father), ref-1, ref-2, ref-3, ref-4, ref-5
Bass, William M., IV (Billy; son), ref-1, ref-2, ref-3
Bennett, Joanne, ref-1, ref-2, ref-3, ref-4
Bennett, Mark, ref-1, ref-2
Bernardo, Paul, ref-1
Bethlehem Steel, ref-1
Bible, the, ref-1
Birkby, Walter, ref-1
Blackbourne, Annette. See Annette Bass
Blackbourne, Joe, ref-1
Blake, Cleland, ref-1
Bloating, ref-1
Bloody Ridge, Battle of, ref-1
Blowflies, ref-1, ref-2, ref-3, ref-4, ref-5, ref-6, ref-7, ref-8, ref-9, ref-10
Blumensaat’s line, ref-1
Bodkin, Tom, ref-1
Body Farm (Anthropological Research Facility), ref-1, ref-2, ref-3, ref-4, ref-5, ref-6, ref-7, ref-8, ref-9, ref-10
adipocere formation study at, ref-1
cremains analysis at, ref-1
decomposition research at, ref-1, ref-2, ref-3, ref-4, ref-5, ref-6, ref-7
D-MORT and, ref-1
establishment of, ref-1
forensic cases at, ref-1, ref-2, ref-3, ref-4
insect studies at, ref-1, ref-2, ref-3, ref-4, ref-5, ref-6, ref-7
protest against, ref-1, ref-2
uproar over television report on, ref-1
time since death studies at, ref-1, ref-2, ref-3
Body Farm, The (Cornwell), ref-1
Bohanan, Arthur, ref-1, ref-2, ref-3, ref-4, ref-5, ref-6, ref-7, ref-8
Bone fragments, burned, ref-1, ref-2, ref-3, ref-4, ref-5
in cremains, ref-1, ref-2, ref-3
Bones (Ubelaker), ref-1
Bosnia, United Nations war crimes tribunal in, ref-1
Brown, Andy, ref-1
Brown, William, ref-1, ref-2
Brow ridges, ref-1
Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary (Tennessee), ref-1
Bullets, ref-1, ref-2, ref-3, ref-4, ref-5
ballistic evidence on, ref-1
at Native American sites, ref-1
Baumgardner, Richard, ref-1
Burial practices, Native American, ref-1
Burris Funeral Home (Crossville, Tennessee), ref-1
Cadaver dogs, ref-1, ref-2
Cahaba Lane murders. See Zoo Man case
Calcaneus, ref-1
Calcining, ref-1, ref-2, ref-3, ref-4, ref-5
Capote, Truman, ref-1, ref-2
Car fires, ref-1, ref-2
Carroll, Earl, ref-1, ref-2
Carson, Arzo, ref-1, ref-2
Caucasoid grouping, ref-1, ref-2, ref-3, ref-4, ref-5, ref-6, ref-7, ref-8, ref-9
Cause of death, ref-1, ref-2, ref-3
See also Manner of death
Cemeteries
Arikara, ref-1, ref-2
Civil War–era, ref-1, ref-2
relocation of, ref-1
Cheekbones, ref-1
Chicago, University of, ref-1
Christianity, ref-1
Civil rights movement, ref-1
Civil War, ref-1, ref-2, ref-3, ref-4
Clark, William, ref-1, ref-2
Clavicles, ref-1, ref-2, ref-3, ref-4, ref-5
Clutter family murder, ref-1
CNA Insurance Company, ref-1, ref-2
Coccyx, ref-1
Coffin flies, ref-1
Coleman, Bill, ref-1, ref-2, ref-3, ref-4
Congress, U.S., ref-1
Connor, Harold, ref-1
Cornwell, Patricia, ref-1, ref-2
Corps of Discovery, ref-1
Council for the Advancement and Support of Education, ref-1, ref-2
Craig, Emily, ref-1, ref-2
Cranial sutures, ref-1, ref-2, ref-3, ref-4, ref-5, ref-6, ref-7, ref-8, ref-9
Craniofacial nerves, ref-1
Cremains, ref-1, ref-2, ref-3, ref-4
Crime scenes, ref-1, ref-2, ref-3, ref-4, ref-5
fire, ref-1, ref-2, ref-3, ref-4
photographs of, ref-1, ref-2, ref-3, ref-4, ref-5, ref-6
recovery of remains from, ref-1, ref-2, ref-3, ref-4, ref-5
smoking at, ref-1
Crossville (Tennessee) Police Department, ref-1
Cyanoacrylate, vaporization of, ref-1
Daniele, Rick, ref-1
Daniels, Dennis, ref-1, ref-2
Debris fields, ref-1
Decomposition, ref-1, ref-2, ref-3, ref-4, ref-5, ref-6, ref-7, ref-8
autopsies and, ref-1
biochemistry of, ref-1, ref-2, ref-3
differential, ref-1, ref-2
early stages of, ref-1
effect of lime on, ref-1
insects and, ref-1, ref-2, ref-3, ref-4
research on, ref-1, ref-2, ref-3, ref-4, ref-5, ref-6, ref-7, ref-8, ref-9, ref-10, ref-11
temperature and, ref-1, ref-2
Dental records, ref-1, ref-2, ref-3, ref-4, ref-5, ref-6, ref-7, ref-8
Deuel Vocational Institute (California), ref-1
Differential decomposition, ref-1, ref-2
Digital photography, ref-1
Dinosaurs, ref-1
Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team (D-MORT), ref-1, ref-2
Discovery Channel, ref-1
Dismemberment, ref-1, ref-2, ref-3
D-MORT, ref-1, ref-2
DNA, ref-1, ref-2, ref-3
destroyed by cremation, ref-1
identification of victims through, ref-1, ref-2, ref-3, ref-4
of Tri-State corpses, ref-1, ref-2, ref-3
Dogs
cadaver, ref-1, ref-2
feeding on corpses by, ref-1, ref-2, ref-3
Double Decker Studios, ref-1
Downing, Mary Louise, ref-1
Drowning victims, ref-1
Dust Bowl, ref-1
Dykes, Larry, ref-1, ref-2
Earth-lodge villages, Native American, ref-1, ref-2, ref-3
East Tennessee Cremation Company, ref-1
Embalming, ref-1
Entomological analysis. See Insect activity
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), ref-1, ref-2, ref-3
Epiphyses, ref-1, ref-2
Eskimos, ref-1, ref-2
Ethnic cleansing, victims of, ref-1
Evans, Clifford, ref-1
Evolution, ref-1
Exhumations, ref-1, ref-2, ref-3
Fairfax County (Virginia) Commonwealth Attorney, ref-1
Falsetti, Tony, ref-1
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), ref-1, ref-2, ref-3, ref-4, ref-5
Academy (Quantico, Virginia), ref-1
Bohanan and, ref-1, ref-2
crime lab of, ref-1
and Hudson case, ref-1, ref-2
Krogman and, ref-1, ref-2
Stewart and, ref-1
Feet
bones of, ref-1, ref-2, ref-3
taken by animals, ref-1, ref-2, ref-3
Femur, ref-1, ref-2, ref-3, ref-4, ref-5, ref-6
age determination and, ref-1
dismembered, ref-1
DNA sample from, ref-1
extrapolation of stature from, ref-1, ref-2, ref-3, ref-4
fragments of, ref-1, ref-2, ref-3, ref-4
of fire victims, ref-1
racial determination from, ref-1
sex determination from, ref-1
Fermi, Enrico, ref-1
Fibula, ref-1
Fierro, Marcella, ref-1, ref-2, ref-3
Fingerprints, ref-1, ref-2, ref-3, ref-4, ref-5, ref-6
chemical, ref-1
Fires, ref-1, ref-2, ref-3, ref-4, ref-5
vehicular, ref-1, ref-2
See also Bone fragments, burned
Flies, ref-1
coffin, ref-1
research on, ref-1
See also Blowflies; Maggots
Floaters, ref-1, ref-2
Florida, University of, ref-1
Flynn, Anthony Layne, ref-1
Foote, Jerry, ref-1, ref-2
Footprint analysis, ref-1
Fornier, Michael, ref-1
French, Kristen, ref-1
Frontal bone, ref-1
Frost, Robert, ref-1
Galbraith Laboratories, ref-1, ref-2, ref-3
Garrigan, Mike, ref-1
Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI), ref-1, ref-2, ref-3, ref-4, ref-5
Georgia Health Department, ref-1
Gibson, John, ref-1, ref-2
Gleser, Goldine, ref-1, ref-2
Global positioning system (GPS), ref-1
Goodwin, Bill, ref-1, ref-2, ref-3, ref-4
Grant, Bill, ref-1, ref-2, ref-3, ref-4
Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company (A&P), ref-1
Great Depression, ref-1
Great Plains, ref-1, ref-2, ref-3
ice ages on, ref-1, ref-2
soil of, ref-1
weather changes on, ref-1
Greeks, ancient, ref-1
Griffith, Ben and Mary, ref-1
Grizzle, James, ref-1, ref-2, ref-3
Gulf War, ref-1
Gunshot victims, ref-1, ref-2, ref-3, ref-4, ref-5, ref-6, ref-7, ref-8, ref-9, ref-10
ballistic evidence on, ref-1, ref-2
Haddock, Elvin (“Bank Robber”), ref-1, ref-2
Hair, chemical analysis of, ref-1
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