Story

[Jasper Hale]

OK so here is a short story I wrote for my final paper for my forensic anthropology class. We had to basically be the anthropologist and solve a murder. So... here it is. It is still pretty rough and what not, and it does have alot of technical stuff in it, but eh. Enjoy and your thoughts are appreciated. =)


Double Minded



The last mile. To a runner, it is a glorious concept; to me, it is horrific. It means that I will be given one final meal of my choice- the very last thing I will ever taste. How is one supposed to choose what food is so delectable that it is worthy of being my last meal? It also means that an unknown man will seal my fate and I will die with no one by my side, in front of people who do not understand me.

The man in the cell block next to me has been here for 12 years, but he has become one of the exonerated- those who are truly innocent, and advances in science have finally proved that. He was released last week, and went home to his wife who stood by him this whole time.

My wife would have stood by if she could. I should be one of the exonerated; I am not guilty. I could never have committed the horrific crimes I am accused of. Unfortunately for me, science is what put me away. My 30th birthday is coming up in two weeks, which is supposed to be a joyous occasion and one of life's supposed milestones. I will not know if that is true, however, as I am scheduled to die in three days. How ironic that death is looked at as such a bad thing, and yet my death is being scheduled, like any other every day event.

My name is Riley Sanders, and this is my story, my exoneration.

____________________________________________________________________

"Dr. Martin?" It is my assistant, Rodney. "The Chief is on the phone for you. They have another case." Here we go again. I gather my tools, get Rodney and head out to UTD. Three bodies have been found buried in a hole on the UTD campus, one on top of the other. No clothing was found. A female head was found in a plastic bag, also in the grave. It is still relatively preserved; the other remains are decayed. I make a mental note that the burial is in typical, moist soil; the bodies will have rapidly decomposed.

I also notice that the victim on the bottom appears to be in a better state of preservation than the other victims, so I take samples of the soil at the bottom of the pit to compare to that at the top. I guess, however, that this was likely a larger person, and the moist soil caused the excess body fats to break down into grave wax, or adipocere. This will neutralize the acidity of the soil and further preserve the bones. This, coupled with the depth of the pit and the time of year being winter, helped to preserve the bodies. I would be willing to bet that this was a side effect the perpetrator did not expect at all.

I begin my initial preliminary examination to determine age, sex, and race. I soon determine the bottom victim to be a male, based on the narrow pubis and sciatic notch, as well was the flared mandible and supra-orbital ridge on the skull. I examine the skull further and determine he is of European descent, as he has a sharp nasal sill and parabolic curve of the teeth. Finally, I determine the age to be between 30 and 50 years of age, based on the lack of an epiphyseal rings and the presence of osteophytes and lipping on the vertebrae. I also use the Judith Suchey aging technique on the pubic symphysis to further assist in my conclusion.

Oddly, he has a balloon type material in his skull though I am unsure what the significance could be; I make a mental note to ask the medical examiner. There is also a 4 cm area of bone that had been removed, and then put back with the assistance of a wire. It did not fully fuse back together.

I let Rodney place the bones in a body bag, label it, and move it to the van. I move on to the next victim, who appears to be a Caucasian female, aged 18-25. I first examine the neck and find cut marks on the cervical vertebrae consistent with decapitation. The head was cut off using a large, smooth blade object like an axe, going through C4. The killer had to be strong, as it was clearly done in one swing. I remove the head from the plastic bag and quickly notice that the vertebrae fit together smoothly; the head does belong to this victim. I leave the rest of the head examination for later.

The iliac crests appeared to be not fully fused, which hint that she is around 20 years of age. There are also some epiphyseal rings still present on the vertebrae, suggesting she is no older than about 25. Her ribs show evidence of a v-shaped put in the articular surface, along with a very subtle scalloped look around the edges, which is present in females of this age group. Using racial techniques similar to the male, I determine that she is also of European descent. Further skeletal examination reveals parturition pits on the pubis, meaning she has born children. Questioning if the infant bones belong to her child, I move on to examine it.

Oddly, I am unable to locate the bilateral radii for the infant, and notice that the ulnae appear to be shorter in stature than the remaining bones, but I am unable to immediately offer an explanation. I examine the skull, and notice the anterior fontanelle and metopic sutures have been fused, which tells me the child is around 2 years. The condylar portions of the occipital bone have not yet fully fused, so the child has to be younger than 3. In subadults, dentition is the most accurate indicator of age. Here, the dentition is fully erupted, which gives an age estimate also around 2 years of age. Given the young age, I am unable to determine the sex of the baby at the time. The remains are finally fully removed, allowing the pit to be further excavated to look for any artifacts, other bones, or any kind of helpful information, and I head back to the lab.

[Jasper Hale]

Three months is a long time to hold out hope for the safe return of loved ones. Sure, there are cases of abducted children being returned years later, but holding out hope is hard. I regularly scour the news sources for any glimmer of information, but to no avail. I have stopped going to work, and I have let my self and my house go. Besides giving the dog food and water, I have shirked all responsibilities. The bills have piled up, yet somehow my electricity has not been shut off; the neighbors are probably taking care of it. It is nice to live in neighborhoods where everyone really does care for each other, and where you do not always have to ask for things- they just know what is needed.

It is funny how events like this can make you completely lose time. I mean there will be times where I go outside to get the newspaper, and the previous day's paper is still out there. At first, I just figured it was a mistake, but then I started to notice it more and more. I am sure that I get it every day to check for possible news on my family. In fact, it is almost routine for me to go out to grab it with the dog. It is very strange.

I spend my days searching the house for any inconsistency or clue about what happened. It was the boy's birthday, and I was so excited to get off work early to come home and celebrate. I bought them a cake, but when I arrived home, the house was completely empty.

About two months after the incident, I finally find something. I am not sure what to make of it, but something inside me said it was best if I did not tell the detectives. I came upstairs to find Buckley, my loving but bored Labrador, sniffing and scratching furiously at the floor. Why he had not noticed it any time before I was unsure, but I decided to investigate. I hoped it would take my mind off everything, maybe even give me something to repair if that was the problem.

I quickly noticed, however, that the area which had previously been covered with a rug (now moved by Buckley) had one board which was outlined differently than all the rest. I pried up the board and discovered an axe in there. It was a rather impressive axe, much akin to the kind you find in specialty shops. It was double bladed, rather heavy, and had a dragon running down the handle. I have no interest in such objects, and as far as I know, neither did Adrianna. I stared at it for a long time, and noticed a tiny spot of blood on one of the blades. I realize that a logical person would have put it down right then, called the police and told them everything, but for some reason, I hid it. I looked back into the floor boards, and found a bag containing pair of lawn gloves, also covered in blood, along with a pair of boots I did not recognize.

Oddly, this was the object that confused me the most. I knew they did not belong to Adrianna because they were too big, but they were also a size too small for me. Furthermore, they had been used many times, as the soles were beginning to wear down. They had blood on them as well, and were caked in dirt. I had no idea what to make of all this, and wondered why the police dogs and particularly my own dog had not found this any time before. Again, I somehow felt that the best plan of action was to put it all back and pretend it was not there. Everyone is always asking me why I did not turn those items in, and my lack of a reasonable, sane answer was one of the prosecution's biggest pieces of evidence.
______________________________________________________________________

Rodney and I return to the lab, and set up the male skeleton for further evaluation. I ask the medical examiner, Dr. Holleman, about the balloon that I found in the skull. After examination, he decides it is likely a balloon that had been inserted into the patient's head following a partial hemispherectomy, which would have eased unrelenting temporal seizures. The balloon would help keep the brain from pouring into the open space. It was likely a procedure done during early childhood that would have been advantageous to severing the corpus callosum, but as the skull grew, a larger balloon would need to be placed. Eventually, the wires were necessary to keep the skull flap connected when the victim became an adult and the skull had fully fused. The balloon also has a serial number associated with it, which will be an easy way to identify the victim. This is good, very good.

I now turn my attention to determining the cause of death. There is extensive skeletal damage, incurred both antemortem and perimortem. He has a healed mid-shaft left clavicular fracture and a healed left humerus fracture, both evidenced by the bone build up. Additionally, he has what appears to be a stab wound in his sternum and three fractured ribs on the left side. These appear to be comminuted fractures incurred perimortem, as the edges are sharp and there are multiple fragments. I give a preliminary cause of death as blunt trauma to the abdomen, with enough force to fracture the ribs and cause massive internal hemorrhage. I guess that the victim was stabbed in the sternum instead of the heart, but I cannot say if it was before or after the abdominal trauma. The trauma, however, would have been enough to incapacitate the victim long enough to be thrown into the bottom of the pit. I put the skeleton back into the box, and turn my attention to the female.

I quickly determine that the hyoid bone, a horseshoe shaped bone that sits in the neck, has been snapped. This is highly indicative of manual strangulation, and would obviously have occurred prior to the decapitation. The force required to break the hyoid would certainly have rendered her unconscious and made it easy to decapitate her. It is highly likely she was dead prior to the decapitation. I find no other bony evidence of trauma, so I turn my attention to the head.

Because the head was sealed off into a water tight environment by the plastic bag, soft tissues are still intact and well preserved. I open the mouth to examine the teeth and discover, to my horror, a piece of flesh in there. I extract it, and quickly discover that it is the thumb of a child. I immediately double check that the infant has both thumbs, but alas, he does. While I have been doing this job for years, there are still times were my stomach churns, and this is certainly one of them. I remember that the bottom of the pit also contained the lower leg and foot bones of an infant, which also did not belong to the found victim. I am sure this thumb belongs to the same infant.

I take radiographic films of the teeth, which will hopefully assist in identification. Given the extensive trauma to this victim, I decide to take films of the skeleton in case anything else turns up. The nice thing about bones is that very high penetrating x-rays can be used, which give a very clear, unhazy picture, as radiation is not a concern. I find no other evidence of trauma, and determine strangulation as the cause of death, with the decapitation occurring postmortem.

Finally, I turn my attention to the infant. Remembering that the radii were absent, I look at the literature, and soon discover that this child was very likely to be suffering from Thromboctyopenia Absent Radius Syndrome (TARs). This is a rare, genetic blood disorder in which there is an abnormally low platelet count, and for unknown reasons, the radii fail to develop. This development greatly increases the chances of identifying the child, as there should not be other missing persons reports out on TARs babies.

Unfortunately, I am unable to find any skeletal evidence of trauma, and am unable to determine the cause of death at this time. In case it is needed, I make sure to cut bone samples from all the victims for potential osteon aging that could be needed later, as the density of the features can help determine age and other abnormalities. I return the remains to their holding areas, submit my current reports to my supervisor and the detectives, and turn my attention to the additional evidence found at the scene.

I first test the volatile fatty acids found in the soil, which seem to be longer chained VFA's, which tells me that the bodies were exposed to cold. Given this and the condition of the bones, I estimate the time of death to be approximately three months earlier. Initially, I questioned if the victims wore natural clothing, like cotton, as opposed to synthetic, as it does break down, but given the relatively short time since death, I decide they were all buried nude.

I then look at the additional infant bones and fragments that were found in the bottom of the pit, and quickly notice the tell-tale markings of cannibalism on the leg bones. There are nicks along the long bones, consistent with the removal of the tendons and muscles from the bones and the removal of flesh. Additionally, the bones have numerous curved, transverse fractures and longitudinal splitting along them, which means they were burned with the flesh still attached. I remember that some fragments looked similar to rocks, so I tested to see if they would stick to my tongue; they did. This means that they have likely been burned, as they are very dry. I determine, however, that it is only the right lower leg that has been recovered. Also recovered was an infant's pacifier, from which DNA swabs were taken should it be needed later, as well as a set of wedding and engagement rings. Given the lack of a male's wedding ring, I assume the man is not the spouse of the woman, but I still am unable to determine what the connection between them is. As I come to dead ends, the detectives call me to tell me they have probable identifications for all the victims.

[Jasper Hale]

A month after I find the axe, I have finally decided to do some cleaning around the house, and begin to clear out the kitchen cabinets. I stumble upon a small envelope which contains a strange powder that I have not seen before. In writing I do not recognize, the letters CB were written on the front. The same hunch that told me to keep the axe hidden also told me to hide this. I quickly close it back up and take it upstairs to put it with the axe. I am about to replace the floor board when I hear a knock at the door, which immediately sets Buckley off barking.

I assume it is a neighbor, so I do not bother to fix the board. I regret that decision to this day. I open the door to find detectives standing on my doorstep. They tell me they believe my wife and one of my sons has been found. When I first reported them missing, I stressed the importance of the boys' need of medications due to their medical condition of TAR syndrome. They tell me it was this report that led to identification. They explained that using PCR techniques for DNA analysis, the maternal relationship between the female and infant, as well as the other infant bones, were confirmed. They have the pacifier with them, in an evidence bag, which I know immediately is Jackson's. Fighting back the tears, I force myself to not throw up and continue to listen.

They inform me that Jackson was found buried in a pit on the UTD campus with a man and woman. They also have my wife's wedding rings I worked so hard for, which I am easily able to confirm are hers. It is at this point I burst into tears and lose my ability to comprehend what is going on. I do not remember things after this point.

"Mr. Sanders, where are you going?" Detective Hughes asked. I ignored him and walked up the stairs. Why I thought they would just leave I did not know, but I assumed they would and went into my room. Of course they followed, and saw me replacing the floorboard. In retrospect, I guess that does look extremely suspicious. The detective asked if he could have a look at what I was doing, and I agreed, or at least that is what I was later told. I do not remember this.

He glimpsed the items and immediately got a warrant to take them into evidence; I apparently just stood by letting it happen. They said it seemed like there was a sudden change in me when this was going on; I was passive aggressive and glared at them but would no longer say a word to them. When they tried to take the boots, however, I took off. I used to run 5 miles a day, but lately I have not worked out and they caught me immediately and took me into custody. The next thing I remember is being in the interrogation room at the station, having just signed a written confession to the murders. I had no idea what was going on.
______________________________________________________________________ 
"Dr. Martin, in your expert opinion, is it possible for the axe in question to slice through a human neck in one slice?" asked the prosecution.

"Yes. The blades appear sharp enough, and with enough strength behind it, slicing through a neck would be possible." I replied.

"Do you also believe that it is possible to cause the trauma associated with the male victim's abdominal region with this same axe?"

"Yes. The axe can be thrust at someone, and contact can be made on the head of the axe and not with the edges. This can cause enough force to break the ribs, especially when the thrust motion is downward, which is consistent with the medial location of the rib fractures."

I was then questioned on the other injuries to the bodies and my identification methods, and allowed to return to my seat. By the end of the hearing, it was established that Riley Sanders had a fight with his wife regarding his beliefs that she was having an affair, as he felt his sons were not actually his. They had a horrible genetic condition that just could not be caused by him, and she had to have cheated on him. He felt this way ever since they had gotten married, and started noticing that she seemed distant from him. He finally decided the burden of the boys' condition was not worth it, and planned to poison them with ricin.

Adrianna found the ricin, however, and tried to put a stop to it but he had already poisoned them, through both inhalation and ingestion. Trenton died quickly, but Jackson took longer. He continued to suck on his pacifier, and the ricin in his saliva came off onto it. The forensic labs were able to find traces of the ricin on the pacifier. Ricin leaves no skeletal evidence, which explains why I was unable to determine the infant's cause of death. In his angry fit, Riley tied his wife up, dismembered Trenton, cooked one of his legs and forced her to eat it. In her struggle against ingestion, Riley held her down and unintentionally strangled her, causing the break in her hyoid. I had taken hair samples from the woman during examination, which were later tested for arsenic or other poisoning after the ricin was discovered.

Metallic substances like arsenic will remain in the hair even after death (21), but ricin is nonmetallic, so the traces were not found. He then decided it was best if he got rid of the body, and drove to the UTD campus. He brought his axe that he had kept hidden for months, and decided to decapitate her. She was adulterous and he felt she deserved it. Unfortunately, the place he had chosen was not as secluded as he hoped, as a man came wandering by in the midst of the decapitation. To be sure the crimes were not reported, Riley tried to stab the man with his pocket knife, but missed a fatal wound. He did manage to incapacitate the man long enough to deliver a crushing blow to his chest with the end of the axe. He chose to do things this way instead of with the edges, as he wanted the least amount of blood on the ground as possible.

In case the man was not dead, he threw him into the pit he had already dug. He then placed his wife's head in a plastic bag, thinking it would cause a faster degradation and make identification impossible; he had no idea it would help the case. He felt that the wife deserved all this, and she also deserved to feel like it was her fault the boys died, so he added one of Trenton's thumbs into her mouth before he sealed the bag. He then threw in her body, Jackson's body and the bones from the leg that had been cooked, and covered the hole.

He buried Calvin Mulligan, the male victim, and Jackson alive, still sucking on his pacifier. When he returned home, he cooked the rest of Trenton and fed him to the dog, who ate it unknowingly. He crushed the bones and threw them in the trench in the back yard. He then cleaned up, went to bed, and headed to work the next day, pretending everything was alright, even to the point of bringing home a cake before calling the police to report his wife and sons missing.

The judge found Riley guilty of murder on all counts, and he was sentenced to the death penalty. Once again, my work paid off and another murderer was taken off the streets. The only peculiar part of this entire story is that Riley passed the psychological evaluation and was determined as sane, but at times he would act like he had no idea what was going on and act innocent. The judge still claimed he was sane.

[Jasper Hale]

Maybe I should have fought harder, or tried to make them see I was innocent. I did not wipe off my prints after I found the axe that initial day, which further incriminated me. I did not even know what ricin or castor beans were, or how to obtain it. It did not matter how much I insisted I was innocent, however, as even my lawyers seemed to think I was guilty. I loved my wife and children, and would never do this. I do not even remember going through the psychiatric evaluations that claimed I was sane, but I was ignored when I told people this. They just assumed I was trying another ploy to seem insane to escape justice.

Even in prison, I still have times where I black out. The man in the stall next to me, the one who was exonerated, told me that he sees noticeable changes in me- sometimes I am remorseful and quiet, and other times I am obnoxious, aggressive, and seem proud of what I had done. As much as I want the world to know I am innocent, I also know that my wife and kids were my life, and with them gone I have no real reason to live anyway. It is for this reason I tell my story, but do not attempt any final appeals.

I decide on apple cinnamon waffles, sausage, scrambled eggs, and a strawberry-banana smoothie for my last meal; it was my wife's favorite. Oddly, however, when my meal comes, it is steak and potatoes. I try to tell them it is wrong, but the guards ignore me. I am sitting in the holding cell outside the execution room, but I do not remember walking here.

Why it took me this long to figure it out, I am not sure, but it is at this time that I realize why there is so much I cannot remember: there is another person living inside me, who takes control of me at times. I know it has some psychological name, but I cannot remember what. Split personality maybe? I am not sure.

I also am not sure why my so called psychologists never picked up on it, but I also figure it is too late to tell anyone now. I spend the next hour willing the other person to come out, and as I am being strapped to the execution table, he does. I meet the man who killed my wife. The man who had no idea I existed either. I meet the man who thought his wife was having an affair, because she was in love with two different people in the same body. A man who thought that the fact that he kept finding shoes that were a size too big for him meant another man had been in their bed. I meet the man who is head strong, a "real man", and irrational. I meet the man who committed horrible crimes; crimes for which I am being punished. I am meeting this man when the cold fluids of the injection cocktail go rushing through my body, and I watch as he dies. I make sure he goes first, and then I slip into a deep, endless sleep and go to my wife and children.

[Sponsored content]