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Posted August 14, 2008
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Knoxville, Tennessee
Knoxville, Tennessee
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THE BODY FARM _ Testing Air From Trunk Of Car For Decomposition Residue_Little Caylee
University of Tennessee - Knoxville The original "Body Farm" is the *University of Tennessee Forensic Anthropology Facilitylocated a few miles from downtown off of Alcoa Highway in Knoxville, Tennessee, behind the University of Tennessee Medical Center. Anthropologist Dr. William M. Bass became head of the university's anthropology department in 1971, and as official state forensic anthropologist for Tennessee he was frequently consulted in police cases involving decomposed human remains. Since no facilities existed that specifically studied decomposition, in 1981 he opened the department's first body farm. ^1^ It consists of a 3-acre (12,140 m²) wooded plot, surrounded by a razor wire fence. At any one time there will be a number of bodies placed in different settings throughout the facility and left to decompose. The bodies are exposed in a number of ways in order to provide insights into decomposition under varying conditions: for example, some are left out in the open or in the woods, some get buried in shallow graves or entombed in vaults, some have been left in car trunks or submerged in water. Detailed observations and records of the decomposition process are kept, including the sequence and speed of decomposition and the effects of insect activity, and afterwards the skeletonized bones are removed from the plot and added to the Dr. William M. Bass Donated Skeletal Collection, to be used for research and teaching.^2^ Bodies are obtained from various sources. Some have lain unclaimed at the medical examiner's office, while over 300 people have voluntarily donated their bodies to the Body Farm. Between 30 and 50 bodies are donated to the facility every year.^3^ The University of Tennessee Body Farm is also used in the training of law enforcement officers in scene-of-crime skills and techniques.^4^ Posted on Tuesday, August 12, 2008 11:39:49 AM by Red Badger KNOXVILLE, TN (WOFL FOX 35, Orlando) -- DNA samples taken from Casey Anthony's car are still undergoing analysis, but FOX 35 can confirm that forensic anthropologists from the University of Tennessee have now been called in to test air samples from the vehicle. Anthony, 22, is being held on over half-a-million dollar bond after investigators said she lied to them and did not report daughter Caylee Marie Anthony missing for more than a month. Last week, she was formally charged with child neglect, a felony, and making false statements to law enforcement officers, a misdemeanor. Sheriff's deputies testified that her car smelled of decomposition and a cadaver-trained German shepherd noted a smell of human remains there. Detectives say statements made by Cindy Anthony, grandmother of a missing toddler corroborate their theories of foul play. Cindy told an emergency dispatcher that a car driven by Casey smelled like there had been a dead body inside, according to recordings of 911 calls. "There's something wrong," Cindy told the dispatcher in the recordings. "I found my daughter's car today, and it smells like there's been a dead body in the damn car." Now, forensic experts at the University of Tennessee's Anthropology Research Facility -- known on campus as the "body farm" (pictured) -- have become involved in the investigation. Air samples from the car's trunk are currently being tested, samples from the same white Pontiac which detectives say Casey abandoned at a local AMSCOT check-cashing store. It's also the same car in which investigators found stains, dirt and hair matching that of little Caylee. The tests could prove whether a body was ever in the trunk for an extended period of time. Experts at the body farm know how to test for chemicals released by a decomposing body. Researchers at UT Knoxville could not say how long it would take to test the samples, but results will be turned over to Orange County detectives once complete. In the meantime, lab technicians at the Federal Bureau of Investigations continue to process DNA sample collected from the car during the early days of the investigation.
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