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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In this episode of "Body Bags," Joseph Scott Morgan and Dave Mack delve into the chilling case of 76-year-old Leon Hignite, who was found abandoned in his home with gruesome injuries.
They explore the forensic details of blood spatter patterns and analyze the severity of Leon's injuries, the challenges faced by the medical team, and the disturbing circumstances surrounding the incident.
Time Codes:
0:00 - Introduction
01:17 - Overview and background
04:28 - Dave questions how the blood on the ceiling and wall could have resulted from Leon's supposed fall in the bathroom.
05:07 - Leon's limited ability to communicate due to his blindness and hearing impairment.
06:17 - The autopsy reveals that Leon sustained at least 30 blunt force impacts to his head.
07:42 - Paramedics find Leon in a deplorable state on the bedroom floor, surrounded by blood and waste.
09:46 - Leon’s feelings of helplessness and hopelessness.
10:10 - Leon is found after three days.
10:41 - Leon's medical condition, age, blindness, and other health issues.
11:04 - The police arrive to serve a search warrant and discover the house set on fire.
11:56 - Medical intervention needed for Leon's head trauma.
13:14 - Carol Hignite's claims she gave Leon ice chips to hydrate him.
14:39 - Were the injuries Leon sustained typical of a fall?
16:10 - The forensic implications of overlapping contusions and fractured areas.
18:05 - The pink hammer.
20:47 - The forensic challenges of blood being found on the hammer.
22:14 - The differences between blood spatter from impact vs. cast-off.
24:01 - Blood velocities and their relation to various weapons.
25:30 - What happened those 3 days before 911 was called?
27:40 - Outro
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Stephen Smith died mysteriously in 2015 in South Carolina.
Though his death was initially ruled a hit-and-run, it has more recently gained attention following the 2021 murders of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh, which lead to the reopening of his case two years ago. The Murdaugh family was mentioned in the initial investigation, but no charges were filed.
Smith was found dead with a large gash on his forehead, a partially dislocated shoulder, and cuts and bruises on his hand. Authorities initially thought Smith had been shot, but no bullet or fragments were found. In March 2023, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) officially ruled Smith's death as a homicide.
In this episode of Body Bags, forensics expert Joseph Scott Morgan and reporter Dave Mack discuss what types of injuries one sustains when hit by a vehicle, why Joe and Dave think the perpetrator was likely a local, exhumation, mirror strikes, and more.
Show Notes:
0:00 - Intro
1:26 - Encountering unexpected road obstacles
4:30 - Open homicide with lots to still investigate
6:45 - What happens when you call 911?
11:10 - Misidentifying a gunshot wound as a hit and run
13:00 - Joe describes types of injuries and evidence left on a vehicle when it strikes a pedestrian
20:40 - Why Joe and Dave think the perpetrator was likely a local
22:10 - Besides head trauma, what other physical damage would you expect to see in a hit and run case?
23:40 - What is a mirror strike?
27:25 - Exhumation and its challenges
34:00 - The importance of thorough examination including high-quality imaging and analysis
38:25 - Outro
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Edward LeClair, aged 57, was on trial in Denton, Texas for five counts of sexual abuse. While being read his conviction, he chugged an entire bottle of water in the courtroom.
LeClair was then transported to a holding cell and later when checked on by the bailiff was found unconscious. Emergency services were immediately called and LeClair was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.
In this episode of Body Bags, forensics expert Joseph Scott Morgan and special guest co-host Dave Mack discuss LeClair’s crimes, his decision to take his own life, sodium nitrate, what it does to your body, and more.
Show Notes:
0:00 - Intro
1:17 - Background
4:45 - Sentence for going after a minor
6:30 - The bottle of water
9:45 - LeClair’s decision to take his own life
11:50 - Would he have been allowed in with his own bottle of water?
14:55 - What substance was in the bottle?
17:50 - Sodium Nitrate
20:50 - What does Sodium Nitrate do to your body?
25:00 - Other times Sodium Nitrate has been used and what the toxicology tells us
28:15 - Can you reverse the effects of poisons? Could LeClair’s death have been prevented?
30:10 - Wrap up
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On March 15th in 44 B.C. Julius Caesar, the Roman dictator, was assassinated by a group of senators who stabbed him 23 times during a Senate meeting.
The senators claimed Caesar's concentration of power threatened the Roman Republic. However, their efforts to restore the Republic failed, and the aftermath led to a civil war and the rise of the Roman Empire. His death also led to the earliest recorded autopsy in history.
In this episode of Body Bags, forensics expert Joseph Scott Morgan and special guest co-host Dave Mack discuss the purpose of autopsies, Caesar's life, and leadership, the details of how he was attacked, the injuries sustained, and how this event shaped the course of history.
Show Notes:
0:00 - Intro
1:12 - Background and overview
2:35 - What’s the purpose of an autopsy?
4:05 - Caesar’s life and work as a leader
7:15 - The day of Caesar’s assassination
9:15 - How the attack happened
10:50 - Caesar’s autopsy
13:20 - After someone is stabbed multiple times does blood keep flowing or will it eventually stop after a few hours?
17:10 - Could the doctor have attributed Caesar’s death to blood loss?
20:10 - What was the assassination plan for Caesar? Were there other injuries and what was Caesar's condition afterward?
22:10 - Where was the autopsy done?
23:40 - The start of 3D modeling
25:30 - How this event shaped history
27:05 - Outro
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Megan Hess, a former owner of the Colorado funeral home, Sunset Mesa, has pleaded guilty to secretly dissecting corpses and selling body parts without consent from relatives of the deceased.
Hess and her mother, Shirley Koch, launched a non-profit donor service organization in 2009. They forged dozens of body donor consent forms and sold the body parts for profit. They have both been convicted and sentenced for their crimes.
In this episode of Body Bags, forensics expert Joseph Scott Morgan and special guest co-host Dave Mack discuss the purpose of funeral homes, how one decides what is done with a loved one's remains, the legal procedures for deciding what is done with bodily remains, using bodies for medical purposes, and much more.
Show Notes:
0:00 - Intro
0:45 - Background
2:40 - What is the purpose of a funeral home?
5:05 - Gross Anatomy
5:50 - Deciding what is done with a body after death
8:10 - Donor Services and Megan Hess
13:35 - Can you tell if someone’s ashes aren’t real?
16:00 - Legal procedures for remains
18:10 - Non-transplant anatomical donation
19:30 - Jeff Peacock and finding out his parents were victims of Hess
23:40 - Body parts sold having certain diseases
25:30 - Using bodies for medical purposes
27:50 - Sentencing for Megan Hess and her mother Shirley Koch
28:30 - Wrap-up
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Debbie Collier, a Georgia resident, is reported missing on September 10th, 2022 after sending her daughter, Amanda, a Venmo payment for $2,385 with a message saying, “They are not going to let me go, love you.” She was found dead the next day in a ravine more than an hour north from her home. The newly released autopsy report reveals that when her body was found 80% of it was covered in second and third degree burns. Which is one of many reasons why the public was surprised to hear that the death has been ruled a suicide.
In this episode of Body Bags, forensics expert Joseph Scott Morgan and special guest co-host Dave Mack discuss Collier’s burns, the state of her clothing, the lack of debris found in her trachea, why police have ruled this a suicide, and much more.
Show Notes:
0:00 - Intro
0:52 - Background and overview of case
4:45 - Debbie Collier’s clothing and what it tells us
8:45 - The autopsy report and Collier’s burns
11:30 - Burning to kill vs. burning to cover something up
13:05 - No evidence of debris in her trachea
15:05 - Police ruling this a suicide
18:25 - Carboxyhemoglobin level and hydrocodone
19:50 - Is there an indication that the burning took place after death?
22:10 - Manner of death
24:00 - Was this really a suicide?
25:40 - Do police sometimes downplay what they’ve seen to the public?
29:00 - Outro
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We revisit the Murdaugh trial in which South Carolina lawyer, Alex Murdaugh, is currently facing trial for the murder of his wife Maggie, and his son Paul. As the trial continues, we are learning more information about the nature of the crimes and how exactly they played out.
In this episode of Body Bags, forensics expert Joseph Scott Morgan and special guest co-host Dave Mack discuss the specifics of both Paul and Maggie’s injuries, why the prosecution uses diagrams vs. photographs when showing evidence in court, whether Paul had any defensive wounds, and much more.
Show Notes:
0:00 - Intro
1:18 - Background and overview of the case
2:35 - Using diagrams in court vs. photographs
6:05 - Paul Murdaugh’s injuries
11:15 - The second shot to Paul Murdaugh’s head
14:50 - Paul’s face left intact
19:25 - Were there any type of defensive wounds on Paul?
20:30 - Maggie Murdaugh’s injuries
23:30 - Stippling around Maggie’s wounds
26:00 - Shot to the abdomen
29:00 - Was this overkill?
31:00 - Wrap up and outro
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On May 9th, 2021, in St. John’s County, Florida, 13 year old Tristyn Bailey goes missing. She was last seen by her sister just after midnight and is reported missing that morning by her family. The police and community begin searching for her that same day and at 6 p.m. that night her body is found by a neighbor in a remote area in the woods. She had been stabbed more than 100 times.
In this episode of Body Bags, forensics expert Joseph Scott Morgan and special guest co-host Dave Mack discuss the timeline of this case, how police track and identify suspects using surveillance footage, the different kinds of stab wounds, the importance of taking photographs of potential suspects, and more.
Show Notes:
0:00 - Intro
1:32 - Background and overview of case
3:40 - Thrill killing
6:20 - The timeline
8:50 - How can investigators get blood out of something that’s already been washed?
13:30 - How do police identify and track a suspect from footage used for evidence?
16:00 - Mother’s day and siblings not finding Tristyn in her bedroom
17:40 - Different kinds of stab wounds
23:00 - Presenting medical evidence in court and defensive vs. non-defensive wounds
26:10 - Tristyn attempting to fight off the killer
27:20 - Importance of taking photographs of potential suspects and all parts of their body
30:40 - Aiden Fucci
32:50 - Aspects of premeditation and Fucci’s mother’s awareness of the crime
34:50 - Fucci pleading not guilty, his story constantly changing, and then finally pleading guilty
36:30 - Wrap-up and outro
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Ana Walshe, a property manager for Tishman Speyer, goes missing January 1, 2023. She is reported missing by her employer and by her husband Brian Walshe. Her husband is arrested on January 8th and charged with misleading the police investigation. Police then obtained a search warrant to the couple’s home where in the basement they find a damaged and bloody knife.
In this episode of Body Bags, forensics expert Joseph Scott Morgan and Jackie Howard discuss the timeline of Ana’s disappearance, the bloody knife found in the basement, the logistics of dismembering a body, looking at suspects deviating from their behavior, and much more.
Show Notes:
0:00 - Intro
1:18 - Background and overview of the case
2:45 - The disappearance timeline
4:20 - Bloody knife in the basement
7:20 - Evidence found from blood
10:40 - The husband and tracking his moves
14:20 - Hacksaw
15:20 - Dismembering a body
18:45 - Determining the search radius for a missing body
23:00 - Suspects deviating from their regular behaviors
26:20 - Investigators relying on intuition
28:20 - Death threats
29:45 - Outro
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
On the evening of February 16th, 2022 Jared Bridegan is dropping off his daughter at his ex-wife’s home. On the drive over he has to stop because there’s a tire in the middle of the road and he cannot go around it. He steps out of the car to go and move it whereupon he is shot multiple times. Henry Tenon has been charged with Bridegan’s murder. His only known connection to Bridegan is that he is a former tenant of a property owned by Bridegan’s ex-wifes current husband.
In this episode of Body Bags, forensics expert Joseph Scott Morgan and Jackie Howard discuss the longevity and complexity of this case, the logistics of the shooting itself, the charges against the suspect, the evidence found from the tire and shell casings, and much more.
Show Notes:
0:00 - Intro
1:18 - Background and overview of the case
3:25 - The logistics of the shooting
6:25 - Charges against the suspect
10:00 - Tenon’s truck
11:15 - Evidence from the tire
13:15 - Car rims and fingerprints
15:40 - Planning and pre-meditation
20:20 - The choke point and Florida climate
24:55 - Shell casings
30:15 - Video surveillance and tracking down the owner of the blue truck
32:45 - The longevity and complexity of this case
35:00 - Outro
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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