By Donna Hales
Phoenix Staff Writer
Sat, May 17 2008
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Two Muskogee police investigators are among 20 chosen nationwide to attend a seminar at forensic anthropologist Dr. William M. Bass’ Body Farm.
Investigators Kris Ledford and Sgt. Lonnie Bemo said they hope to learn more at the hands-on seminar about pinpointing the time of death from a dead body.
They’ve got their protective gear and face masks ready to pack.
The Body Farm sits on three acres surrounded by razor wire near the University of Tennessee Medical Center. Bass founded it in 1971 because no such facilities existed specifically to study decomposition.
Approximately 40 bodies in various stages of decomposition are scattered about the area. Some are crammed in car trunks, left out in the open, submerged in ponds or buried in shallow graves, to name a few.
The May 19-23 seminar will be one of Bass’ first open to law enforcement, Ledford said.
“It’s a unique opportunity,” he said.
Ledford and Bemo have read Bass’ book and heard about the Body Farm on various TV shows, including “Bones,” “CSI” and other shows on HBO and the Discovery Channel.
“It’s a chance of a lifetime, to go and see firsthand from him (Dr. Bass),” Ledford said.
Bemo said they want to go and “bring something back to benefit us and the entire department — us first,” he said, a smile forming into a chuckle.
“If you’re not constantly learning, you’re falling behind,” Ledford said. “And you can’t get the kind of training around here you can get at this place (Body Farm).”
The two love to work with crime scenes. They’re prepared to have to wear their masks when things get a little pungent.
They’ve seen bodies in various stages of decay before, but nothing like they expect to see in Knoxville, Tenn.
Ledford and Bemo remember smelling one dead body 50 feet before they saw it in Muskogee. It had been in the summer heat for 21 days, their investigation revealed.
Insect activity is used in large part to determine the length of time since death, according to Bass.
Bodies at the Body Farm come from various sources, including unclaimed corpses from medical examiners’ offices and donations, according to Bass.
Ledford and Bemo are anxious to get to Tennessee and are convinced they really don’t know quite what to expect. They said they just know they’ll have a lot more knowledge when they get back.
They’ve already started a “CSI” room at the station and hope to add to it after their trip.
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