MITLOO Minis: Murder in the Land of Antarctica

Rodney Marks was an astrophysicist who tragically died while overwintering in Antarctica in 2000. His cause of death was unknown, and his body stayed in Antarctica for five months after his death, as the below-freezing temperatures prevented his body from being flown back to be examined. When an autopsy was conducted, it was shockingly revealed that Rodney had died, not from natural causes as suspected, but from methanol poisoning. The 32-year-old was a genius scientist, working a dream job in a place he adored, who was talking about marrying his girlfriend.

Suicide seemed unlikely, but to the fifty people living on the Admunsen-Scott South Pole Station, murder seemed impossible.

EPISODE NOTES:

Rodney Marks has become known, not for his scientific discoveries, but for being the first possible murder victim in Antarctica.

Rodney Marks did more in his 32 years on this planet than I, personally, could ever achieve in five million lifetimes. He was beyond smart, was friendly, quirky, and well-liked by his colleagues in Antarctica. In his short time on Earth, he helped work on project that have both answered and asked more questions about our universe.

The explanation for Rodney’s death has never been uncovered. For decades, the options have floated before investigators and those in Rodney’s life who still wonder – suicide, homicide, or accidental death? So many things have hampered the answering of these questions, from the complicated jurisdictional legalities at play in Antarctica, to inadequate medical care, to the possibly intentional suppression of the investigation by American organisations.

Articles about Rodney litter the internet, here’s a small sample of those we used for this episode:

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/579732/mysterious-death-rodney-marks-scientist-who-was-poisoned-antarctica

http://www.igpp.ucla.edu/public/mkivelso/refs/PUBLICATIONS/polar%20death.pdf

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10561811

https://www.mensjournal.com/features/a-mysterious-death-at-the-south-pole-20131125/

And this is the CARA memorial page: https://www.southpolestation.com/trivia/blueflash/comments.html

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