Stay ConnectedJoin Joseph Scott Morgan every week as he explores a world that not many have had a chance to visit, the realm of death. Jo Scott will lead listeners on a journey through the blood soaked death scenes of America and then into the autopsy room to fully understand the science behind each case. Jo Scott is one America’s leading experts on applied forensics and is regularly featured on ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’, ‘The Piketon Massacre’, Court TV and more.
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The opioid crisis has brought death and devastation to families all over the world and fentanyl has only made things worse. On this episode of Body Bags, Joseph Scott Morgan and Dave Mack will take a close look at three very different cases involving fentanyl that all have the same end result, death. A wife allegedly uses fentanyl as a weapon to kill her husband, a 20-year-old faces second-degree murder for giving a teen girl a pill with fentanyl, and a toddler is dead when he comes into contact with fentanyl in his daycare.
Transcript Highlights
00:00:00 Discussion: To be free from pain.
00:01:44 Talk about from Tylenol to Fentanyl
00:02:53 Discussion of population desiring to be free from pain, self-medicating
00:04:43 Talk about the opioid crisis
00:07:28 Discussion about the strength of fentanyl
00:10:16 Joe points out how fentanyl can be pressed into other drugs
00:11:51 Description of what an overdose from opioid looks like
00:13:01 Discussing three fentanyl related cases today; Kouri Richins, NYC daycare, and 15-year-old dead from pill
00:14:38 Talk about murder charge in death of 15-year-old girl
00:16:46 Discussion of coroner ruling drug overdose as a “homicide”
00:18:35 Talk about California case, 15-year-old dies from fentanyl
00:22:35 Discussion of pills made in a garage rather than a laboratory
00:23:43 Talk about a 22-month-old child in a daycare exposed to fentanyl
00:26:49 Discussion of “binders” used in making the pills
00:28:48 Description of toddlers in daycare with fentanyl kept directly underneath “nap mats”
00:30:58 Fentanyl used as weapon, tasteless, odorless
00:32:36 Talk about Kouri Richins alleged attempts to poison husband
00:34:33 How to determine if drug was taken as recreation or used as weapon
00:36:01 Discussion of opioid deaths
00:38:36 Talk about tox screen
00:40:28 Discussion of Fentanyl and therapeutic levels
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
When Camille Balla calls a coworker and says "I think I killed my mother", the coworker calls 911 on her way to Balla's mother's house. Police find a scene straight out of a horror movie as the follow a blood splatter trail leading to the body of Francisca Monteiro-Balla. Checking the body for vitals an officer notices something on a box a few feet away. It isn't something anyone expects to see, two eyeballs, sitting on a box, appearing to watch the officers as they try to save the life of Francisca Monteiro-Balla.
Join Joseph Scott Morgan and Dave Mack as they take a close-up look at a case that is just as scary and strange at the beginning as it is in the end.
Transcript Highlights
00:01:26 Joseph Scott Morgan compares Lewis Powell screaming “I am Mad” to
Camille Balla screaming “I am a murderer”
00:02:50 Talk about Police arrive to scene and find woman’s eyes removed
00:04:05 Dave Mack breaks down story of Camille Balla calls co-worker and tells her “I think I killed my mother”
00:06:12 Talk about County Jail versus prison
00:08:05 Discussion about Camille Balla screaming “I’m a murderer”
00:10:08 Discussion of bloody crime scene, eyeballs removed from victim, placed on cardboard box
00:11:25 Describing difference between blood “spatter” and blood “splatter”
00:13:46 Discussion about victim’s injuries
00:16:01 Talk about the fight between mother and daughter, and eyeballs removed from victim
00:17:56 Joe describes removal of eyeball
00:20:37 Discussion of suspect removing eyes from the front
00:22:43 Talk about Camille Balla claims to have smoked marijuana laced with Flocka prior to attack on her mother
00:26:12 Discussion of charges being reduced from First-Degree Murder to Manslaughter
00:28:34 Talk about broken glass around scene, blood from perpetrator and victim co-mingled making thing forensically more complicated
00:29:06 Camille Balla pleaded guilty to manslaughter, sentenced to 15-years in prison followed by 15-years on probation.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
An adult female body is found outside of Council Bluffs city limits. The body was found with bruises all over her body, a large laceration on her head, her body was found frozen to the ground. Also, her face is missing. The body is of a woman who has been missing for 11 days, 60-year-old Ilene Gowan. Investigators will use everything at their disposal to determine how the grandmother ended up dead in a ditch without her face, and who is responsible for her death.
Join Joseph Scott Morgan and Dave Mack as they breakdown a case that includes forensics of a frozen body as well as the latest video surveillance tools that creates a timeline that builds a map leading right to the killer.
Transcript Highlights
00:00:06 Joseph Scott Morgan talks about scene of crime
00:02:42 Victim 60-year-old woman, without a face
00:04:00 Talk about victim and suspect relationship
00:06:22 Brammer does not report girlfriend missing
00:07:44 Talk about remains being discarded like trash
00:09:48 Discussion about alcohol and relationships
00:11:21 Victim is missing for 11 days
00:12:49 Talk about remains still frozen at autopsy
00:16:46 Discussion of weather on decomposition
00:18:32 Talk about arriving to scene of crime
00:22:54 Discussion about Pathologist in the field
00:24:01 Victim face is missing
00:27:19 Timeline: victim last seen on 13, reported missing on 15th
00:30:37 Discussion of Post-Mortem and Anti-Mortem
00:31:36 Video evidence of Brammer in truck with victim
00:33:34 Discussion of victim cause of death
00:34:39 Talk about wounds
00:37:10 Discussion about Dr. Michael Baden brought in for second opinion
00:38:50 Brammer deposits $1,500 in his bank account day Ilene is reported missing
00:39:46 Discussion about face missing due to animal life
00:41:46 Brammer has truck crushed and shredded
00:42:08 Brammer was found guilty of second-degree murder, abuse of a corpse, and second-degree theft.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In Battle Creek, Michigan, Chad Allen Reed is the owner of a property. He lives on the bottom floor and rents out the top floor. He complains to everyone about the couple renting his upstairs, Joe Soule and Jaclyn Lepird are loud at night and Reed doesn't like it. When Joe and Jaclyn vanish, everyone is looking for them, except for Chad Allen Reed. He is too busy trying to hide what he has done. His property burns 5 times in 7 days but Chad Allen Reed is being haunted by the smell. Two bodies, wrapped in plastic, hidden in the back of a pickup truck. When nobody solves the mystery of what happened to Joe Soule and Jaclyn Lepird, Chad Allen Reed calls the tip line himself, and tells them what happened!
Join Joseph Scott Morgan and Dave Mack break down the story of the Murdering Landlord and find out what evidence is left behind when two people are murdered on grass in a yard.
Transcript Highlights
00:00:07 Joseph Scott Morgan shares a renting nightmare
00:04:23 discussion of landlord complaining about tenant
00:05:20 Joe talks about trauma and evidence left behind at the scene
00:07:58 Landlord confronted tenants over noise
00:10:37 Discussion of the matter of cutting and bludgeoning someone
00:12:25 Talk about postmortem interval
00:13:23 Chad Allen Read shoots Joe Soule, shoots Jaclyn Lepird in the back
00:15:38 Discussion about Read beating Lepird with a pipe
00:16:37 Joe explains “Bullet Wipe”
00:18:32 Discussion about evidence left in yard
00:19:42 Talk about 2 people missing
00:21:51 Evidence left behind by 2 victims
00:23:31 Explanation of how bodies are examined in morgue
00:25:44 Discussion about perpetrators not putting distance between themselves and their victims
00:27:49 Bodies wrapped in plastic create more evidence
00:29:18 Talk about 5 fires in 7 days
00:30:13 Chad Allen Read calls the tipline himself
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Joseph Scott Morgan takes you on a trip to Louisiana, and a young couple, tied up, with kettlebells tied to their feet, being driven up a high bridge, and pushed out at the apex, not to die from falling 10 stories, but to drown after the fall.
Join Joe Scott Morgan and Dave Mack for a show that stretches from Louisiana to Atlanta, a recording studio, a Walmart, a side hustle in prison, and great police work to bring to justice the evil that wants to be a star.
Transcript Highlights
00:00:46 Talk about Gravity = the dominant force in our life.
00:02:09 Talk about Gravity, leading up a bridge
00:03:13Discussion about murder by drowning
00:03:54 Talk about being In Louisiana.
00:05:21 the death of Lakeitha and Kenneth Joseph.
00:06:16 Couple missing three weeks
00:07:14 Talk about searching for missing couple
00:08:55 Discussion of levels of grief
00:11:52 Joe shares knowledge of the geography of the area
00:14:22 Talk about “prune” fingers as a child in pool
00:15:02 The lake is brackish, salt and fresh
00:17:14 Is it possible to determine how long a body has been in water?
000:20:58 Kenneth borrows a van, becomes big clue
00:24:37 Police work: Kettle Bells branded by golds gym, only at Walmart
00:25:46 How long does it take for a body to come to surface
00:28:42 Discussion about rope
00:30:12 Talk about Lakeitha leg being broken
00:31:31 Discussion of kettle bells
00:35:19 Talk about bodies in water
00:36:40 Borrowed van turns up in Atlanta
00:37:44 Discussion about Rapper managed by ex-convict
00:39:44 Prison Guard in relationship with prisoner
00:41:56 Murdered for being a witness
00:43:06 Talk about worst way to die
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A family moves to the country to get away from the crime of the big city only to find that evil exists in small towns and big cities alike. A 17-year-old girl develops a close bond to a harmless older neighbor. But the harmless old man is really a wolf in sheeps clothing and when the 17-year-old goes missing the neighbor helps look as hard as anyone. As long as nobody comes to his house to look too close. For 173 days the girl is missing, her heartbroken parents don't realize she is only 100 feet away from their front door. Buried in a homemade box, just for her.
Joseph Scott Morgan breaks down the case of the teen girl hidden away in a homemade coffin and how difficult it will be to get the evidence to determine what really caused her death. Dave Mack joins in on the search for facts, and Valerie Tindall.
Transcript
00:01:02 Discussion of 173 days without knowing location of your child
00:02:26 Valerie Tindall, 17, and missing
00:03:29 Mother said Patrick Scott acted like jealous boyfriend
00:04:21 Discussion of age difference
00:06:55 Valerie Tindall is missing
00:10:00 Talk about Forensic Anthropology
00:11:28 Disturbed areas of soil in backyard
00:12:30 17-year-old girl bonds with 59-year-old man, odd
00:13:22 What does FBI mean to a case
00:14:32 The neighbor Valerie has “bond” with charged with lying to police
00:16:03 Discussion of providing false hope to lure out suspect
00:17:24 Investigators wonder if someone is helping her stay gone
00:18:29 Victim has been missing since June
00:22:24 Bright Orange fingernail polish Valerie Tindall was wearing
00:23:29 Taking down a structure, burning, why?
00:27:17 Talk about the VHS tapes found in box
00:29:11 Discussion of murder weapon, a belt
00:30:56 Suspect claims he is the victim?
00:32:29 Discussion about condition of the body
00:33:39 Why did the suspect dig holes in his property?
00:35:17 Talk about the story from the suspect does not make sense
00:36:35 Some evidence might have been lost
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Ezra Ralston, 29, moves in with his grandparents on their beautiful property on the water in the Pacific Northwest, and repays their love and kindness by coming up with a plan to create a commune on his grandparents property. The only thing he needs to do is kill his grandparents and steal their property to make his dreams come true.
Join Joseph Scott Morgan and Dave Mack as they take an in-depth look at death, fire, and the lies of Ezra Ralston on this episode of Body Bags.
Transcript Highlights
00:00:19 Joe Talks about finding save place for your family
00:01:18 Grandparents welcome 29-year-old grandson
00:02:15 Discussion about early 70s
00:03:47 Talk about the murder of Grandparents
00:04:46 Discussion of fire and explosion
00:06:16 Talk about arson, murder, investigation
00:09:02 Discussion about origin of fire in the house
00:11:05 Joe shares insight into recurring nightmare
00:13:09 Talk about finding the bodies of Joanna Gormley and Ted Ralston.
00:17:40 Discussion about gasoline used in fire
00:19:14 Joe explains assessing the bodies
00:23:02 Explaining what happens working a fire scene
00:24:54 Discussion of when to examine bodies
00:26:36 Looking around a fire scene is very confusing
00:27:47 Talk about the victims' wounds
00:32:03 Talk about plan to kill victims in their sleep
00:35:45 Ezra Ralston being encouraged by girlfriend
00:37:04 Discussion of using bleach to get rid of evidence
00:39:15 Fire creates more evidence
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Oscar Pistorius became famous for not allowing a handicap to stand in his way of track and field success.
After becoming a Paralympic Champion, he fought his way through the courts to be allowed to compete in non-disabled competitions. In 2012, he competed in the Summer Olympics in London and became one of the most famous people in the world, earning the nickname "Blade Runner" for the prosthetic legs he uses to run.
Less than six months after the Olympic Games, Pistorius claims he hears a noise in the middle of the night and thinks someone is breaking in, but what happens next lands him in jail, charged with murder!
Join Joseph Scott Morgan and Dave Mack as they break down the case of Oscar Pistorius. Did he kill his girlfriend in cold blood or was it a horrible mistake?
Transcript Highlights:
00:01:11 Oscar Pistorius getting out of prison
00:03:11 Pistorius fought to compete in non-disabled competition
00:04:02 Discussion of who Oscar Pistorius is and his fame at the time of this incident
00:06:58 Discussion of legs being amputated at 11 months old
00:10:56 How to figure out directionality of weapons that are fired
00:12:40 Pistorius and Steenkamp had dated only 90 days
00:13:45 Body Bags and Domestic Disputes
00:14:52 Discussion of waking up, hearing something
00:16:05 Pistorius claims he heard things, overcome with fear
00:17:37 Talk about Pistorius and guns
00:19:15 What happens when victim is in bathroom?
00:21:51 He claims that he shot her after he had put his legs on.
00:22:06 Story told by Pistorius doesn’t match facts
00:24:12 Discussion of victim being shot through the door
00:25:57 Discussion of stomach contents of victim
00:26:15 Time of morning, 3:19am
00:26:41Said there were four quick shots.
00:28:14 Did he retrieve his legs at this point in time and come back to?
00:29:34 Talk about scene, towels, debris, trying to stop bleeding
00:30:29 Discussion of the Blades giving him and advantage
000:31:33 Pistorius remains on scene, in kitchen, should have been in back of squad car
00:32:26 Three components in gunshot residue. We look for antimony, we look for barium and we look for lead.
00:33:43 Talk about prosthetics and if he had them on
00:34:38 Discussion about suspect is not in charge of investigation
00:35:35 Pistorius claims he kept her airway open with his fingers
00:36:35.Pistorius is scheduled to be released from custody in January of 2024
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Dylan Redwine is forced to spend Thanksgiving with his father in Colorado. He doesn't want to be there because he knows some things about his father, secret, disgusting things, and he just doesn't want to be around him. But due to his parent divorce he has to go. Dylan Redwine goes missing, his dad suggests a bear might have got him. It takes time, but in the end, Forensics will tell the entire story of what happened to Dylan Redwine.
Join Joseph Scott Morgan and Dave Mack as they break down a story that took years to finish and includes blood, sex, knives, and bones.
Time Code Highlights.
00:01:40 Redwine Murder was one of the first Joseph Scott Morgan covered in media
00:04:00 Dylan must go to his father’s house in Colorado for Thanksgiving
00:05:08 Mark Redwine house burned down previously
00:07:03 Discussion of children of divorce, Dylan did not want to be with his father
00:08:20 Talk about pictures Dylan and his brother saw on their dad’s computer
00:09:30 Joe talks the information he was given to cover story on network show
00:11:03 Pictures of Mark Redwine in lingerie, makeup, eating out of diaper
00:13:09 Joe tells story of being embarrassed comparing it to how Mark Redwine was embarrassed his children found out about secret pictures
00:15:00 Discussion about the boys confronting their father over his pictures
00:16:50 Talk about Mark Redwine responding to Corey about the pictures
00:19:25 Joe talks about Mark Redwine being humiliated and angry
00:20:45 Redwine claims he went to store, Dylan was gone when he got back
00:21:35 Discussion about Corey Redwine being several years older than Dylan
00:22:45 Talk about forensics and how nothing is ever hidden
00:24:04 Joe talks about a dog finding blood in the home
00:26:05 Blood from Dylan would have to have been from recent visit
00:30:04 Joe talks about a murder case without a body
00:31:00 Both femurs of Dylan Redwine found 8 miles from Mark Redwine home
00:32:43 Bones found on a road could have been drug by an animal
00:34:14 Determining whether the bones were separated by human using tools
00:36:05 Talk about Mark Redwine mentioning something to a friend about blunt force trauma and they would need to find his head
00:37:45 Dylan Redwine skull found
00:39:00 No animals in the area that would drag remains up the mountain
00:40:10 Talk about surface deposition
00:41:05 Mark Redwine said Dylan may have been attacked by a bear.
00:43:50 What the skull tells investigators. Took several months to identify
00:45:12 Joe explains using sinus for identification
00:46:45 Skull fractures show blunt force trauma. Two linear marks consistent with a knife blade found on skull.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Nohema Graber is a beloved Spanish teacher in the small town of Fairfield, Iowa. When she goes missing during her everyday after school walk in the park, the small town is worried. When her body is found in the park, hidden under a tarp, the town of less than 10,000 is shocked. Shock turns to disgust when police arrest two 16-year-old students for the murder after one of them writes on snapchat about the planning, execution, and disposal of evidence.
Join Joseph Scott Morgan and Dave Mack as they break down the story of Nohema Graber, a beloved teacher who deserved a much better fate and the two 16-year-olds that broke the heart of a small town.
Time Code Highlights.
00:02:54 Nohema Graber goes missing during her regular walk in the park
00:03:06 Body of Nohema Graber found in park under a tarp, Two 16-year-old students arrested
00:05:19 Joseph Scott Morgan talks about first homicide he worked was a brother who beat his brother to death with a baseball bat
00:07:11 discussion about what teachers are faced with every day
00:08:47 Talk about how this case begins with a bad grade
00:10:11 Talk about two students feeling like they were owed something
00:11:44 Discussion of Timeline of events
00:14:24 Talk about two friends decide to murder teacher
00:15:20 Discussion of the plan the perpetrators had and that it wouldn't change the grad
00:16:22 Talk about the type of weapons teens might have access, baseball bat is weapon of opportunity the routine of victim
00:19:40 Discussion of Both perpetrators were tracking victim in park
00:21:10 The perpetrators discuss the plan on snapchat
00:22:23 Discussion of Nohema Graber and people seeing Chaiden Miller arguing with her about his grade
00:24:03 Discussion of Nohema Graber van being driven away from park by two males and how perpetrators hide her body
00:25:11 Joseph Scott Morgan points out how everything used in a crime can be traced
00:26:27 Discussion of perpetrators taking the bloody bat, bloody clothes, back home. Friend shows snapchat messages to law enforcement
00:28:08 Discussion of damage bat can do to a body
00:30:44 Description of the marks the bat will make with contact
00:34:11 Talk about is it possible to determine who swung the bat
00:35:45 Discussion about Jeremy Goodale sentenced to life with possible parole after 25 years, Chaiden Miller sentenced to life with possible parole after 35 years
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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