Science

University ‘Outdoor Decomposition Laboratory’ Studies Human Remains to Shed Light on Homicide Theories

Texas Body Decomposition Lab Finds That Vultures Could Alter a Bodys Predicted Time of Death

SAN MARCOS, Texas (The Blaze/AP) — For more than five weeks, a woman’s body lay undisturbed in a secluded Texas field. Then a frenzied flock of vultures descended on the corpse and reduced it to a skeleton within hours.

But this was not a crime scene lost to nature. It was an important scientific experiment into the way human bodies decompose, and the findings are upending assumptions about decay that have been the basis of homicide cases for decades.

Experienced investigators would normally have interpreted the absence of flesh and the condition of the bones as evidence that the woman had been dead for six months, possibly even a year or more. Now a study of vultures at Texas State University is calling into question many of the benchmarks detectives have long relied on.

Watch the AP report:

The time of death is critical in any murder case. It’s a key piece of evidence that influences the entire investigation, often shaping who becomes a suspect and ultimately who is convicted or exonerated.

“If you say someone did it and you say it was at least a year, could it have been two weeks instead?” said Michelle Hamilton, an assistant professor at the school’s forensic anthropology research facility. “It has larger implications than what we thought initially.”

The vulture study, conducted on 26 acres near the south-central Texas campus, stemmed from previous studies that used dead pigs, which decompose much like humans. Scientists set up a motion-sensing camera that captured the vultures jumping up and down on the woman’s body, breaking some of her ribs, which investigators could also misinterpret as trauma suffered during a beating.

Texas Body Decomposition Lab Finds That Vultures Could Alter a Bodys Predicted Time of Death

Researchers are monitoring a half-dozen other corpses in various stages of decomposition, and they have a list of about 100 people prepared to donate their bodies to the project, which the school says is the first of its kind to study vultures.

“Now that we have this facility and a group of people willing to donate themselves to science like this, we can actually kind of do what needs to be done, because pigs and humans aren’t equal,” Hamilton said.

The forensic center opened in 2008, as did a similar facility at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, making Texas home to two of the nation’s five “body farms.”

At the farms, forensic pathologists observe the decomposition process in natural surroundings to see how corpses react to sun and shade, whether they decay differently on the surface or below ground and what sort of creatures — from large to microscopic — are involved.

Only in recent years has academic literature tried to establish formulas for death time based on stages of decomposition and environmental factors such as temperature conditions where the body was found.

The vulture research has drawn interest from homicide investigators, including Pam McInnis, president of the Southwestern Association of Forensic Scientists and director of the Pasadena Police Crime Lab in suburban Houston. She said the ability to account for vultures would “significantly” help investigators who already use insects and their life cycles to estimate time of death.

The body in the vulture study was that of Patty Robinson, an Austin woman who died of breast cancer in 2009 at age 72. She donated her remains to research, and they were placed in a five-acre fenced area.

Her son, James, said the Texas State research seemed like a worthy project.

She’d be delighted “if she could come back and see what she’s been doing,” he said. “All of us are pretty passionate about knowing the truth.”

As for the vulture research, “we’re not a particularly squeamish lot,” he added.

The project began after scientists noticed scavenger damage on other bodies, an anomaly that puzzled them because the site several miles north of campus is secured against animal intruders.

“It didn’t fit the model of scavengers that we had seen before and what people had written about,” said Kate Spradley, an assistant professor at Texas State who also works on the project. “We realized we didn’t account for something and it was vultures.”

Vultures fly over much of the United States and are particularly abundant in the Southwest. Two of the most common species are turkey vultures and the more aggressive black vultures, which can exceed 2 feet in length, weigh 5 to 6 pounds and have wingspans of 5 feet.

The initial surprise was that it took vultures 37 days to find the body. Researchers visited the site daily and checked the camera for any activity.

“Nothing, not even a rat,” Hamilton said.

Then on the day after Christmas 2009, a graduate student working on another project at the site alerted them to the vultures’ swift work on the corpse.

“I was wondering if it ever was going to happen,” Spradley said. “We downloaded the photos, and it was stunning.”

She and Hamilton are working with Texas State geographer Alberto Giordano to map the area where birds dragged bones. They hope to make a predictive model for law enforcement officers that will help determine time of death.

Sgt. Jim Huggins, a recently retired Texas Department of Public Safety criminal investigator who now teaches forensic science at Baylor University, said vultures were always something of a mystery for investigators.

Previous research on scavenged remains focused on carnivores such as coyotes or rodents.

“This is, as far as I’m concerned, it’s cutting edge,” he said. “No one has ever sat down and put a pencil down and attempted this before. … This is going to, I think, change some minds about scavengers.”

When unidentified remains turn up, the vulture research can also be used to help include or exclude people who have been reported missing, Spradley said.

Hamilton said he used to hate vultures. “But now I kind of appreciate what they do, how they dispose of decomposing animals on landscape,” he said. “They perform a really serious function.”

Another lab that studies the decomposition of bodies in a field environment is the University of Tennessee Forensic Anthropology Center. According to the university website, this lab was the first of its kind to study systematic decomposition of bodies.

National Geographic featured the UT lab a few years ago. Watch a clip from that feature (Warning: This video has some graphic images):

According to the University of Tennessee website, the donated bodies, which are of tremendous scientific value, are treated with the most “respect and compassion” as possible.

Comments (53)

  • Wes Hardin
    Posted on March 11, 2012 at 2:36pm

    Some folks are so anti-intellectual. The intent of the studies is to gain knowledge about how to investigate crime scenes, especially in the open. There are countless bodies discovered every week where some knowledge gained from these sites might help to solve the case.

    BTW, how do you think surgeons learn to do hip and knee replacements and other operations? They use actual body parts from corpses.

    Report Post »  
  • youdidthis
    Posted on March 11, 2012 at 6:26am

    fantastic.

    Report Post »  
  • wbaranowski
    Posted on March 10, 2012 at 10:05pm

    We’ll all be dealing with vultures before to long. Wanna’ bet?

    Report Post »  
  • thegreatcarnac
    Posted on March 10, 2012 at 5:50pm

    50 years Later:
    “Man…I bought this piece of land in….and everything I plant in it grows really big. It’s like…It’s like the soil is just pure fertilizer.The cabbages are huge…the tomatoes are big as cantaloupe,…and the eggplant are as big as my head. I did, however, find what looked like a finger bone inside one of my watermelons”

    Report Post »  
    • Barbarian
      Posted on March 12, 2012 at 12:18pm

      Ya gave me a few chuckles with that one, Carnac.
      …on a serious note…can’t happen.
      The land where the body farm is located is in trust, and will never be sold. Pretty much the only thing that you could grow on that particular little piece of ground is prickly pear, and some forbs. We keep planting some UT graduates, but…alas…(shrug)…

      Report Post » Barbarian  
  • Infidel49
    Posted on March 10, 2012 at 4:01pm

    I was a cop for twenty years and I can tell you, nothing smells like that, nothing. I didn‘t want to be there and I didn’t like it one bit, I just had to do it. This group does this every single day.

    Report Post » Infidel49  
    • eternalwolf777
      Posted on March 12, 2012 at 9:54am

      I worked for ten years myself and you’re right. I hated those kinds of scenes. Some investigators were drawn to this kind of work while I was all too happy to go deal with the drunks, wife-beaters, and other assorted low-life’s. I still miss that job. hahaha!

      Report Post » eternalwolf777  
  • babylonvi
    Posted on March 10, 2012 at 1:06pm

    Why is this article here? Old news, been on TV FOREVER, but not much on Blaze any more about they way our freedoms and liberties are being stripped away or the Sessions-Panetta row in Senate hearing about how congress is irrelevant in going to war. Are you all running scared since Breitbart?

    Report Post » babylonvi  
  • Rightsofman
    Posted on March 10, 2012 at 12:36pm

    This is old stuff and has been covered many times on TV.

    Report Post »  
  • sisserydoo
    Posted on March 10, 2012 at 11:22am

    Wow…what a bunch of grumps posting :( I found this article fascinating, and I think it’s important work. If you don’t like the article why bother spreading your negative attitude, just move on to the next article please. Thanks.

    Report Post » sisserydoo  
    • Livia
      Posted on March 10, 2012 at 2:42pm

      Yes, it is extremely fascinating. I don’t think anyone is being FORCED to watch it. I have been thinking about donating my body after I die, and this is information I want to know.

      Report Post »  
  • Rowgue
    Posted on March 10, 2012 at 10:30am

    I really don’t get how this is news. It’s not like vultures and other animals eating corpses is some kind of revelation. And there is nothing new about body decay research. The body farm at the university of tennessee has been going since 2006.

    Report Post »  
    • jzs
      Posted on March 10, 2012 at 10:57am

      Actually, there is all sort of useful knowledge that comes from the study of cadavers, not only the rate at which they decompose. To improve car design for example, you need to be able to accurately measure the effect of different forces on an actual body – a crash dummies only take you so far. Sounds strange, but a great book on the different uses of dead bodies for scientific research is Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers.

      http://www.amazon.com/Stiff-Curious-Lives-Human-Cadavers/dp/0393050939

      Report Post » jzs  
    • Stoic one
      Posted on March 10, 2012 at 12:23pm

      I suggest that you re-read the article. The part vultures play in the life/death cycle had ZERO understanding until this study.

      Report Post » Stoic one  
  • ThePostman
    Posted on March 10, 2012 at 9:47am

    If the vultures show up plus or minus 37 days, then this “science” is entirely useless for determining time of death, and it should be painfully obvious to these researchers.

    And yet, they continue to spend federal funds learning that they will never learn anything doing this.

    I bet if they begin researching the effects of global warming on body decomposition, they could get a lot more money.

    Report Post »  
    • SgtB
      Posted on March 10, 2012 at 10:16am

      Moreover, the entire point of burying our dead is to keep them from becoming food for wild animals. So who in their right mind would use a woman’s remains to run “scientific” experiments which involved the body being devoured by wild animals? Lastly, the body that they used was from a 72 y/o woman. In case anyone here lives under a rock; that means that the bones in this woman’s skeleton were probably already plagued with decalcification and were weak. This means that the only information that they gleaned from this test is only valid for a minority percentage of homicide investigations. Namely that the vultures are easily capable of cracking ribs and that such trauma can be ruled out as part of the causes for death.

      This was an absolutely stupid and incredulous study with no merit or scientific worth. I really want to know how anyone could rationalize watching someone’s mother or daughter rot away in a field and then watch vultures render flesh from bone. The idea is sickening.

      Report Post » SgtB  
    • SpeckChaser
      Posted on March 10, 2012 at 11:59am

      SGTB

      Your post highlights one of my biggest gripes about people in general. Do you really think so highly of yourself as to believe your opinions should determine choices other people are allowed to make? Mind explaining why you believe people should not have the freedom to donate their bodies to research if that is what they choose to do?

      You said, “So who in their right mind would use a woman’s remains to run “scientific” experiments”
      Sir, maybe you missed this part of the story, “Patty Robinson…donated her remains to research.” If donating your body to science disturbs you, then DO NOT DONATE YOUR BODY TO RESEARCH. I think skinny jeans on men are a bit silly. Guess what, I DON’T WEAR SKINNY JEANS!

      You then said, “I really want to know how anyone could rationalize watching someone’s mother or daughter rot away in a field and then watch vultures render flesh from bone. The idea is sickening.”

      Would you also feel the same way about those who agree to their bodies being mutilated after death, or more commonly referred to as ORGAN DONATION. If you ran the show would you put an end to organ donation because you don’t see how someone could rationalize knowing someone’s body was being torn apart?

      To inform you, if we didn’t run tests, do experiments, or study the dead, you sir, would have a lot shorter life span.

      Report Post » SpeckChaser  
    • Shadowsbane
      Posted on March 10, 2012 at 4:23pm

      Regardless of when the vultures find the body there is plenty of information they can gather from this research. Things like the way bones are scattered, along with most damage to them would be indicative of vulture activity despite other details such as age or disease.

      Time of death is an extremely important issue with murder cases or the like, and something like this that can help limit such things down more accurately is a good thing. Especially if it gives some family peace, or helps catch a killer.

      Besides this is what people wanted their bodies used for after they died. It isn’t like someone went grave robbing or killed them for it.

      Report Post »  
    • SgtB
      Posted on March 11, 2012 at 1:31am

      @ Speckchaser,

      You know, when someone donates their body to science, do they really tell them that they are going to let their body rot naked in a field while they let rodents and vultures have at it? I don’t think that they do. If this woman agreed to it, then I’m fine with it, however, there is VERY LITTLE to learn from letting a woman’s body be eaten by vultures that could not be learned through using animal analogs for human bodies or through just using analytic thinking skills. My line of thinking is that this woman probably thought that her body would become a cadaver used to train surgeons and doctors so that they could save people who are inches from death. And just so you know, I do find that kind of research valuable and necessary and I also think that the professionals who do study from the bodies of the dead should have the utmost respect for the person they are learning from.

      Shadowsbane, saying that the spreading of bones by vultures is something that we can learn from is idiotic at best. The movements of vultures or any animal for that matter are random and will never fit a pattern. You cannot equate the scattering of bones and remains by wild animals with blood splatter patterns that are governed by physics. Once again, nothing could be learned from this “experiment”.

      Report Post » SgtB  
    • SpeckChaser
      Posted on March 11, 2012 at 12:54pm

      SGTB

      You said, “do they really tell them that they are going to let their body rot naked in a field while they let rodents and vultures have at it? I don’t think that they do. If this woman agreed to it, then I’m fine with it”

      Then be fine with it. Read the whole story next time!

      From the above story.

      “Her son, James, said the Texas State research seemed like a worthy project. She’d be delighted “if she could come back and see what she’s been doing,” he said. “All of us are pretty passionate about knowing the truth.”As for the vulture research, “we’re not a particularly squeamish lot,” he added.

      Report Post » SpeckChaser  
  • rickbob
    Posted on March 10, 2012 at 9:00am

    Where’s the story here? The University of Tennessee has had a “body farm” for years. . . The is really old news.

    Report Post » rickbob  
  • LICENSEDTOCARRY
    Posted on March 10, 2012 at 8:41am

    Must be a slow news day. Decomposition sites have been in exiistance years so why is this a headline?.

    Report Post »  
  • banjarmon
    Posted on March 10, 2012 at 7:52am

    Just Think….You can learn something from a DIRTY BIRD!!!

    Report Post » banjarmon  
  • THXll38
    Posted on March 10, 2012 at 7:33am

    Morbid, but I can see the importance of this type of work.

    Report Post » THXll38  
    • Darla_K
      Posted on March 10, 2012 at 9:22am

      Now if we could do research and figure out why the people voted for Obama. That would be news worthy!

      Report Post » Darla_K  
    • THXll38
      Posted on March 10, 2012 at 9:38am

      Not sure if there is much needed research in why people voted for Obama. We already know that modern day liberalism is a mental disorder brought forth by the DRD4 dopamine receptor.

      Report Post » THXll38  
  • Baddoggy
    Posted on March 10, 2012 at 7:33am

    Our tax dollars hard at work. I mean really…why dont we spend time catching bad guys instead of defiling the dead? Really…how many people are killed in drug wars compared to bodies dumped in a field? Must be 10,000 to 1 at least!
    But go ahead and justify your research so you can get more grant money. This is beyond stupid!

    Report Post » Baddoggy  
    • Gonzo
      Posted on March 10, 2012 at 7:51am

      I can tell you that in Atlanta they find a decomposing body dumped in a vacant lot, abandoned house or woods about every week. I can see the need for the research.

      Report Post » Gonzo  
    • KA-BAR
      Posted on March 10, 2012 at 8:01am

      When you get arrested for a murder you did not commit and the state puts loads of false accusations and false evidence on you, chances are you will be in jail for life. These people are coming up with ways that the evidence is actually evidence and not speculation. If you feel that they should be out locking up bad guys instead of doing this then you are ignorant. They have been locking up innocent people and sentencing them to death because of these false claims. Also, why would you think that these people are defiling the dead when the people AGREED to this before passing on. You my friend need to open your eyes.

      Report Post » KA-BAR  
    • THXll38
      Posted on March 10, 2012 at 8:05am

      Because the more they know about the body and time frame, the faster they can catch the person that did it. There is a very small time window from when the body is discovered as to how fast they can catch the killer.

      Report Post » THXll38  
    • Baddoggy
      Posted on March 10, 2012 at 8:29am

      So they should STEAL my tax dollars for this research?

      Please tell me where they find the authorizaation in the Constitution…

      I guess you see a good and plenty clause somewhere?

      Theft of my income to solve murders? That is good…NOT!!!!!

      Report Post » Baddoggy  
    • therealconservative
      Posted on March 10, 2012 at 8:53am

      @BAD

      A few days ago you claimed you didn’t pay taxes. So, why are you whinning about “YOUR TAX MONEY”

      Report Post » therealconservative  
    • Baddoggy
      Posted on March 10, 2012 at 9:00am

      I said i pay no INCOME taxes. You are taxed in more ways than one. You are probably not aware of how many ways you are actually taxed.
      Besides, I was not just talking about me…I really meant the American Taxpayer. But you being a welfare recipient wouldnt understand that I suppose..
      Do you feel that .69 cents per gallon tax on gas? You can bury a lot of bodies with that TAX…

      Report Post » Baddoggy  
    • Gonzo
      Posted on March 10, 2012 at 9:02am

      I resent a $10 million give away to create a $50 lightbulb a lot more than this.

      Report Post » Gonzo  
    • therealconservative
      Posted on March 10, 2012 at 6:07pm

      @BAD Welfare, right. Let‘s try Military Retiree and I’m a Software Engineer. Your the one that is a deadbeat that the rest of us have to pay to support.

      Report Post » therealconservative  
  • Bill Rowland
    Posted on March 10, 2012 at 7:25am

    Although the Univ of TN pioneered this research there is a need for other “body farms” in the different climatic zones of the country. Bodies decompose differently in Montana than they do in southern Louisiana and differently in Main than they do in southern Arizona.
    This is an area where we need more research, in order to improve investigative techniques.

    OMG

    Report Post »  
    • Jenny Lind
      Posted on March 10, 2012 at 8:43am

      I agree with what you wrote. Each area is unique and each needs a research center. The work done has helped police put away those who thought they were going to get away with murder if the bodies we not discovered for a long time. I have driven all the major highways across the US and have noticed vultures and other scavengers at work, always thought of them as nature’s clean up crew. It takes special people to do this work, and they deserve kudos for it.

      Report Post »  
    • crispycritter
      Posted on March 10, 2012 at 8:46am

      Yes I wish they could do this in every state. Our weather is so different in just a few miles south and north. In the winter I can drive north just 50 miles and it will be 10 degrees colder. Only in the most extreme hot and cold times of the year does temps cover any large area in the same way. Just like being a kid and if this ever happened to you as it did me, watching a rain come at you. We could walk into and out of rain showers. They were slow moving. I have watched rains hit areas around me in the summer and never get a drop where I lives. Yes even just a few miles can affect how a body decomposes in any given time frame. We need more of this everywhere.

      Report Post »  
    • AmazingGrace8
      Posted on March 10, 2012 at 7:29pm

      I approve of this kind of research also. (I am a CSI fan)…reading all the posts & the information, I got alittle-misty & then thought…getting away with murder….little Caylee A. Remember the thoughtfullness and caring of her little remains and all of the evidence…what a shame!
      One CSI episode using a pig…just find all this interesting but I sure couldn’t do this line of work. Thank goodness God made us all different but yet all the same. My hat goes off to the military,police officers, doctors/nurses and clergymen/women and thank goodness they “step-up-to-the-plate”.

      Report Post »  
  • recondelta40
    Posted on March 10, 2012 at 7:09am

    Big deal…the Univ.of Tenn.has been at this for over 30 yrs,, it’s known as “the body farm”. Dr.Bass pioneered this study.

    Report Post »  
    • Itsjusttim
      Posted on March 10, 2012 at 7:12am

      Maybe some universities are coming to not trust other universities?

      Report Post » Itsjusttim  
  • Itsjusttim
    Posted on March 10, 2012 at 7:04am

    Oh well I’m sure that always makes people feel good when they move from using pigs to using actual humans for studies. What’s the next move, to ask for people to volunteer to be murdered? All because science is really stupid, and while the facts may say one thing, if people’s understanding falls then the facts mean nothing. Kind of the same way the “Word” in the Bible means one thing only, but people’s understanding has dropped away because of hundreds of years of rote.

    Report Post » Itsjusttim  
    • Itsjusttim
      Posted on March 10, 2012 at 7:11am

      Hundreds of years of rote, and that’s why near the end of an age graves get thrown open because you have forgotten your line by lines. It’s always the same, and that’s why prophets say “And the graves will be opened.”

      Report Post » Itsjusttim  
    • Itsjusttim
      Posted on March 10, 2012 at 7:25am

      Has anyone ever wondered why the Bible speaks of “Green grasses” and such? Because the word of God doesn’t change, but the methods of men does. Case in point if someone bucked the system 2000 years ago they were told they had a demon and had to carry themselves in a wretched fashion and they were also crucified, then it moved on into the dark ages and they burned witches, and there are many more examples that could never fit in all the computer. Now in this modern society when people can not be controlled they are put on ADHD medications or they are made to fear certain language.

      Report Post » Itsjusttim  
    • Kerstile
      Posted on March 10, 2012 at 7:28am

      “Science is really stupid”? Really? The individuals who donated their bodies deserve more respect. If their donation results in the eventual capture of murderers, you think The Lord objects?

      “…from using pigs to actual humans…”. Tim. Humans are alive. Once dead, the body is empty. The soul is gone and IT is NOT human anymore. From dust we came. To dust we go. These donors are to be revered as those who truly love their fellow man. Both believers and non-believers can recognize this. Lastly, how do you think physicians learn their life saving craft? Cadavers. Donating your body is a gift to mankind. Honor those who do.

      Report Post » Kerstile  
  • Gonzo
    Posted on March 10, 2012 at 6:56am

    Anybody want to donate their body to science?

    Report Post » Gonzo  
    • Baddoggy
      Posted on March 10, 2012 at 7:34am

      If they would bury my corpse under Obamas house in Chicago…In in!!! I can stink up his life like he has stunk up this country.

      Report Post » Baddoggy  
    • Gonzo
      Posted on March 10, 2012 at 7:44am

      I wouldn’t mind haunting the bastard myself Doggy.

      Report Post » Gonzo  
    • JACKTHETOAD
      Posted on March 10, 2012 at 8:25am

      I tried, and I was refused. …..sigh……..

      Report Post » JACKTHETOAD  

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