Body Bags with Joseph Scott Morgan

The body of Gloria Satterfield, longtime housekeeper for disgraced South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh, will be exhumed. Satterfield died after a trip and fall accident at the Murdaugh home. No autopsy was performed and her manner of death listed as natural. Now, after the string of deaths linked to the Murdaugh name, investigators want to know more. Exhumations are not ordered for just any old case, but when a court orders the embalmed remains of a human being be uninterred, everyone pays attention, including our forensics expert Joseph Scott Morgan. In this episode of Body Bags, Joseph Scott Morgan and Jackie Howard discuss what exhumation is, and why exhumation must be handled with the utmost of care.

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Show Notes:
Introduction [02:00]
Events that lead to the pending exhumation of Gloria Satterfield [03:32]
Judiciary regulations regarding exhumations [05:58]
The effect that embalming (or not) has on exhumations, and factors that impact a successful exhumation and investigation [08:31]
Joseph Scott Morgan describes the investigative process, vital medical records, and test results he would study prior to the exhumation of Gloria Satterfield [17:08]
The impact that medical intervention, autopsy, and body preparation for burial have on the investigation of a trauma-related death, and the particular problem with the Gloria Satterfield case [20:24]
Information investigators will be looking for when reviewing Gloria’s body [27:27]
The types of professionals who perform autopsies of exhumed bodies, and concerns regarding the omission of the South Carolina medical-legal community in the Satterfield case [29:46]
Kathleen Savio, Shele Danishefsky Covlin, and other high-profile exhumation cases in the US [32:36]

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On Jan. 18, 2021, 46-year-old Francis Kelly’s body was discovered. Police find Kelly on his couch, in his home, and a bag of cocaine underneath him. The unexpected autopsy says he died of strangulation. All while during a heated custody battle between Kelly and Littlefield.

In this episode of Body Bags, forensics expert Joseph Scott Morgan and Jackie Howard discuss how Francis Kelly’s death was ultimately a staged overdose, the significant differences between fentanyl and cocaine, how the body reacts to the different drugs, why strangulation was not obvious to investigators, and much more!

Show Notes:

0:00 - Introduction to Body Bags with forensics expert Joseph Scott Morgan and producer Jackie Howard

0:36 - Brief overview of the homicide case involving victim Francis Kelly

1:14 - Introduction of CrimeOnline’s Jackie Howard

2:09 - When Francis Kelly's body was discovered, police found him on his couch in his home and a bag of cocaine underneath him

2:57 - The difference between fentanyl and cocaine

4:32 - Left ventricular hypertrophy

8:11 - Fentanyl was originally developed as a partner for surgical use

10:00 - How fentanyl works within the body vs. cocaine

11:08 - Narcan and its uses

16:03 - Questions: How did he get the fentanyl in his body? Is that a normal way of taking fentanyl? Is that way going to have a different reaction in the body? Would he have tasted it? Does ingesting it offer a different kind of effect?

19:26 - What is skin popping?

24:52 - “There is nothing as an investigator that will make you stop cold in your tracks than an unexpected result at autopsy. It's something that makes you question your abilities. It's something that makes you question the care that you took with the case because this is key: Once the scene has been left, the body has been removed from the scene, and can never reset.”

25:34 - Autopsy reports that Kelly was in fact strangled and did not OD as suspected

26:32 - Question: Kelly was strangled with a tie. Why was that not originally obvious? Specifically, because ligature marks typically leave a mark

31:51 - We later find out that Kelly's death was a result of a custody dispute between Littlefield and Kelly. Littlefield claimed Kelly was abusive

32:22 - Question: The other thing that we find out, which I find very interesting and kind of explains some things about the cocaine, knowing that he died from fentanyl and that it was cocaine that was found. We're looking at a good case of staging here, aren't we, Joe?

38:57 - The verdict is in

39:28 - Heidi Littlefield was sentenced to 115 years in a state prison, which included 60 years for murder. 20 years for attempted poisonings, and 35 years for conspiracy to commit murder resulting in a death

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In this episode of Body Bags, Joseph Scott Morgan and Dave Mack explore the harrowing case of J.J. Vallow. They reveal the disturbing details of J.J.'s death, the challenges faced by forensic pathologists in examining J.J.'s remains, the presence of GHB in his system, the crucial role of preserving evidence, and the potential for uncovering latent or plastic prints on surfaces involved in the case. Please join us on Thursday for part-two when we go in depth on Tylee Ryan’s autopsy.

Time-codes:

00:00 - Introduction.

00:55 - Joseph and Dave discuss the tragic fates of J.J. Vallow and Tylee Ryan.

01:10 - Dave shares his emotional struggle discussing the case's horrific details.

03:00 - Joseph describes courtroom reactions and limitations on gruesome evidence presentation.

04:10 - Dr. Garth Warren's role in transporting J.J. and Tylee's remains for examination.

04:40 - Explanation of bodies found in separate locations in Chad Daybell's backyard.

06:35 - The concept of clandestine graves and significance of the children's burial locations.

8:35 - The contrasting, peaceful burial site of JJ.

9:30 - Differences in the treatment of the children's bodies and what it reveals about the perpetrators.

11:35 - Police observations leading to the discovery of J.J.'s remains.

11:50 - The careful excavation process at crime scenes using gridding and documentation.

13:30 - The state of J.J.'s remains found wrapped in plastic bags.

14:20 - Joseph describes the emotional impact of finding the person they were searching for.

16:00 - Joseph explains careful handling of remains at the scene.

17:00 - The importance of maintaining a chain of custody for the body.

19:00 - Despite decomposition, J.J.'s recognizable face and the preference for scientific confirmation.

21:15 - Discussion on toxicology limitations and GHB presence in J.J.'s system.

24:05 - Joseph shares experiences with hesitancy during autopsies and preserving evidence.

25:50 - The process of examining J.J.'s remains while avoiding compromising evidence.

28:15 - The importance of considering fingerprints on adhesive materials like tape.

29:20 - Unraveling duct tape or bags on a victim's body to determine the cause of death.

31:00 - Heartbreaking details of J.J. Vallow's death and his struggle before dying.

33:00 - Dave's sadness about J.J. Vallow's suffering and awareness during his death.

33:30 - Joe announces a follow-up episode discussing the death of Tylee Ryan in depth.

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On January 7th, 1972, Nancy Anderson, 19, is found dead in her Waikiki apartment with over 60 stab wounds. The case goes cold for fifty years until new DNA technology and detective work leads to the arrest of a suspect: Tudor Chirila Jr.

In this episode of Body Bags, forensics expert Joseph Scott Morgan and Jackie Howard discuss the lack of evidence the crime scene, why Nancy’s roommate thought this might have been a suicide, distinguishing between stab wounds, how phenotyping lead to the breakthrough in this case, and much more.

Show Notes:

0:00 - Intro

2:37 - Background and overview of case

4:15 - How do you investigate a case once it's gone cold?

7:20 - Stab wounds

11:30 - No evidence of foul play at the crime scene

15:45 - The roommate and thinking Nancy had comitted suicide

18:40 - Water running in the bathroom

21:00 - How do you distinguish between wounds?

24:40 - The salesman as suspects

26:35 - Bathrooms as a popular crime scene

30:05 - Blood testing process

35:35 - How do you preserve evidence?

41:17 - What is Phenotyping and how did it help the investigation?

47:55 - Genealogy and a son

49:20 - The suspect is found

50:43 - Wrap up

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Four University of Idaho students are brutally murdered in their home in Moscow, Idaho on November 13th, 2022. Police suspect that the murder took place between 3am-4 and their bodies are discovered by a friend that same morning around noon. Investigators believe that the murder weapon was a knife of some sort. This case is still unfolding.

In this episode of Body Bags, forensics expert Joseph Scott Morgan and Jackie Howard discuss the gruesome nature of this case, the murder weapon, making sense of the chaos of the crime scene, what police are looking for in the surveillance footage, and more.

Show Notes:

0:00 - Intro

1:25 - Background and overview of case

2:26 - The police not knowing what they were walking into

6:20 - Side door being the point of entry

8:30 - Signs of forced entry, the window, and how it could have been pried open

10:07 - Light sources

12:30 - Two roommates who survived, who was stabbed first, the murder weapon

18:26 - The style of weapon suggests that this was a targeted attack

21:34 - How do we tell who was stabbed first and what are we going to find on the other victims?

26:38 - Making sense of the chaos

28:05 - Co-mingling of blood, actions of the perpetrator, finding the knife

31:54 - Other injuries to expect in this case

35:38 - What exactly are the police looking for in the video surveillance footage?

40:38 - Outro

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