'The body farm': Outdoor forensic laboratory coming to western Colorado

Tucked away in the quiet hills of Tennessee, a forensic laboratory studies the gruesome realities of what happens after death. A similar facility, designed to train coroners and investigators, is being built in Colorado.

The research facility in Tennessee is located in the hills of Knoxville and surrounded by razor wire.

The locals call it "the body farm."

"We have anywhere from 150 to 190 at any one time,” said Dr. Dawnie Steadman of the University of Tennessee’s Forensic Anthropology Center.

The human bodies are donated by individuals who consent before they die. The data collected on the grounds of the facility allows CSI teams to solve real life crimes.

"We help law enforcement figure out what happened to somebody," said Steadman.

To do that: bodies are placed in simulated crimes scenes. Some are buried in the ground or placed in a car, even a noose.

Insects, bones, even odors all lead to clues.

The public is not allowed inside, but since the 80s police, prosecutors and coroners have been regular visitors.

“This is not something you can do in an indoor laboratory?” asked Scripps Denver station 7NEWS.

“No. You cannot simulate this kind of work," replied Steadman.

From identifying plane crash victims to mass graves in war zones, the changes that take place after death all help to answer the investigator's tough questions.

"We can help provide these answers. It may not be the answers they want to hear, but it does provide closure in some ways," said Steadman.

The idea of a "body farm" may seem gruesome - but respect for the donors is never lost.

"It's their generosity that allows all of this to happen. And we never forget that," she said.

A similar facility will soon open in Colorado. Not far from Grand Junction, construction is underway for the first high-altitude body farm to teach forensic science students at Colorado Mesa University

Unlike Tennessee, it's a dry desert on the Western slope.

"The lack of humidity and the intensity of the sun and all of that makes a huge difference in how tissue decays," said Dr. Melissa Connor, a forensic anthropologist at Colorado Mesa.

The new environment will allow scientist to conduct research that could help Colorado coroners solve local crimes.

"We have to provide answers," said Mesa County Forensic Pathologist Rob Kurtzman.

The facility could help find answers to cases like the murder of Coty Vernon.

The Gypsum teen was found four years after she was reported missing.

Markings on her bones revealed she was likely stabbed.

The body farm could help to solve similar cases.

"It just has the opportunity to increase your knowledge base," said Kurtzman.

"It's maybe not questions, the scientific questions, people have on their mind all of the time, but when it matters, it's important to have that science there,” said Dr. Steadman.

The bones from the bodies are constructed as skeletons and used by students to study anatomy.

The facility near Grand Junction is expected to open in early 2013.

Tuesday 20 november 2012

Read more: http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/national/the-body-farm-outdoor-forensic-laboratory-coming-to-western-colorado#ixzz2Clvl4jjm

Bolga-Tamale accident (Update) - 29 dead to be buried

Authorities at the Tamale Teaching Hospital have indicated that 29 out of the 31 dead bodies recovered from the recent accident on the Tamale-Bolgatanga highway have been identified and taken away for burial.

The victims died when a Kumasi bound Metro Mass bus collided with a Benz 207 bus at Kogni near the Bawa Barracks in the Northern Region on Friday.

The Public Relations Officer of the Tamale Teaching Hospital, Nii Ankrah Otto in an interview with Citi News revealed, “there are 17 still on admission. They are stable and some of them are responding positively to treatment. My medical team tells me they have to monitor them for some time before they can start discharging them.

“As it stands now 31 dead, but 29 of the have been identified by their relations and bodies have been taken away for burial. It remains 2 of the dead bodies that are unidentified that are still at the mortuary.”

Meanwhile, the Northern Regional branch of the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit has indicated to Citi News it has commenced investigations into the insurance documents of the drivers of the Metro Mass Transit bus and Benz bus, who died at the scene if the crash, for onward claim by the survivors.

The Northern Regional MTTU Boss, Superintendent Blewushie Godwin Cachman in an interview with Citi News said no one could be held responsible for the accident as both drivers died in the process.

“The victims have to apply for an accident report to claim insurance. With that we must make sure the deceased drivers must have their documents intact and up to date. We are going to look for that to make sure all the drivers have their valid documents then we can prepare accident reports for those who will like to claim insurance,” he added.

Tuesday 20 November 2012

http://www.citifmonline.com/index.php?id=1.1149385

Trainers, clothes and a distinctive tattoo: New website which publishes pictures of unidentified bodies and their possessions to let families find their dead

Pictures of unidentified dead bodies will be posted online for the first time - allowing the families of missing people to search for their loves ones, it has emerged.

The Missing Persons Bureau currently holds records of around 1,000 people who have not been identified, some dating back to the 1950s.

The bureau has now launched a new website which is dedicated to finding the identity of mystery individuals.

It will feature pictures of bodies, but any images deemed to be distressing will be marked with a warning and require confirmation before viewing.

They include a photograph of the arm of one body found collapsed in Islington, north London in 2007, easily recognisable by the distinctive tattoos of panther and red Indian on his right forearm.

Many of the bodies have washed up on beaches, unrecognisable as a result of being exposed to the elements, or have been discovered on railway lines.

Some 250 people die on the UK's railways every year, most as a result of suicide, according to British Transport police, and a significant number of these bodies are never identified.

Trying to find matches for the corpses against the list of the missing is also very time-consuming.

By law, local councils must cremate or bury unidentified corpses, to avoid the risk of disease.

This makes identification far more difficult: cremation destroys DNA, while to exhume a buried body, police must seek the approval of a coroner before any further investigation can be carried out.

The graves are often marked with wooden plaques stating 'unknown male' or 'unknown female'.

The Missing Persons Bureau published a report on the number of missing persons and unidentified bodies in Britain based on figures provided by forces across the country on the number of missing person incidents reported in 2010/11.

The bureau are a total of around 1,000 unidentified cases which remain unidentified.

Just six per cent of those involve living people, most of whom have been found without identification and suffer from a form of memory loss or dementia.

The vast majority of cases - 83 per cent - the bureau is desperate to solve involve dead bodies while there are still more than 100 unidentified body parts (11 per cent) sitting in police morgues across Britain waiting to be identified.

with a small number of body parts (11 per cent) and unidentified alive people (6 per cent) also still awaiting identification.

Joe Apps, from the Bureau, said: 'The aim of the new site is to bring closure to the families and friends of the people featured.

'With new unidentified person cases we rely on modern forensic techniques for identification but on older cases we look to use every tool available and believe that case publicity is the best chance of getting images recognised.

'This will be the first time families of missing people have been able to search through records for themselves and it will empower families to play an active part in the search for their loved ones.'

Members of the public will be able to search the cases and provide information online.

Any relevant details will then be passed to the police or the coroner in charge of the case.

Details of all unidentified cases, including bodies, remains and living people, will be posted on the website - apart from cases where remains are too partial to be of value.

The bureau was unable to give any details of individual cases - other that the ones highlighted here - but a spokesperson said the website had already been significantly slowed due to the amount of traffic it has already received.

The UK Missing Persons Bureau continually work with police forces and the public to try to put a name to these individuals, to enable them to be put at rest and to provide closure for their family and friends.

The Bureau is also running a special project, called Operation Kharon, providing resources to assist police forces to identify their outstanding unidentified people, bodies and body part cases.

Similar websites have been set up in certain states in the U.S, and by police in Belgium and Switzerland.

The Missing Persons Bureau is part of the Serious Organised Crime Agency.

Tuesday 20 November 2012

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2235571/New-Missing-Persons-Bureau-website-publishes-pictures-unidentified-dead-bodies.html#ixzz2ClXqoFtU Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

Seven killed, 30 injured in Bhopal water tank collapse

At least seven people were killed and 30 others injured after a water tank that was overdue for maintenance, collapsed here early on Monday.

The incident was reported from the city's Saibaba Nagar at around 1 a.m. this morning.

Local residents said that while they were sleeping, they heard a loud bang and witnessed the rubble of the near two-decade-old tank on the ground, burying almost 50 houses under it.

They blamed the administration for the slow emergency response.

"At least 50 houses have been damaged after the collapse of the water tank. The water in the tank caused no damage, but tank fell on the houses, burying many. We have recovered at least seven dead bodies and over 20 injured, who are in critical condition," said Naseer, a local resident.

The army has been roped in for the rescue operation and for the clearing of debris.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced a compensation of Rs100,000 to each family of those killed in the incident

Rs25,000 each would be provided to the seriously injured and Rs10,000 each to those who suffered minor injuries

Tuesday 20 November 2012

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_seven-killed-30-injured-in-bhopal-water-tank-collapse_1766521