Murder or Suicide? The Death of Jeffrey Epstein - The Best of Body Bags

Lorenzen Wright, an NBA star basketball player, goes missing on the night of July 18th, 2010 leading to a 10-day search that ends when investigators find Lorenzen Wright’s remains in a heavily wooded area near Germantown, Tennessee. By the time his body is found, the 6’11” star athlete has decomposed to the point of his remains totaling only 57 pounds, just one of the many struggles that investigators need to overcome in order to solve this case. It took over 7 years, but investigators finally found the gun that they believe was used to murder Lorenzen Wright, leading to multiple convictions related to 1st Degree Murder. In this episode of Body Bags, forensics expert Joseph Scott Morgan and Jackie Howard provide details on Lorenzen’s life including the death of one of his children, the financial troubles that may have played a role in the motives behind his murder, and why it can be so difficult to find sufficient evidence in a forensic investigation that starts ten days after a death has occurred.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

19 Jul 202245min

Emily Noble goes missing on the night of her 52nd birthday. Leaving behind her phone, keys, ID, wallet, and car, with no signs of a forced entry, and her husband claiming that he went to bed in the couple's guest room; Emily Noble has essentially vanished in the middle of the night. In this episode of Body Bags, forensics expert Joseph Scott Morgan and Jackie Howard detail the search effort, potential pathways to solve any case that begins with almost no tangible evidence, and the unfortunate scene when Emily Noble's body is finally found.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

13 Jul 202249min

Tammy Jo Blanton's body is found in her bathtub by police responding to a welfare check request. Just the night before, September 10th, 2014, Blanton called 911, saying that her ex-boyfriend, Joseph Oberhandsley, would not leave the front of her home. The welfare check had been requested by Blanton's friend and co-worker when Blanton did not show up for work. When police arrive at the home, Joseph Oberhandsley answers the door, covered in blood. Police find signs of a forced entry, and ultimately Tammy Jo Blanton's body. She has not only been stabbed repeatedly, but her body mutilated and also cannibalized.  In this episode of Body Bags, forensics expert Joseph Scott Morgan and Jackie Howard discuss the differences between dismemberment and mutilation, the perspective of the judge and jury when it is revealed that injuries to the body are post-mortem, and the horrific details in the case of Tammy Jo Blanton’s murder.   Show Notes: 0:30 - Introducing Tammy Jo Blanton’s murder 1:30 - Tammy Jo Blanton calls the police because her ex-boyfriend, Joseph Oberhansley would not leave her home 3:00 - Describing the initial murder scene 5:00 - Cause of death: sharp force injuries. Multiple stab wounds all over her body. 10:00 - How exactly does the body stop functioning when you are stabbed to death? 12:30 - Post-mortem vs Antemortem  13:30 - The additional “twisting of the knife” when injuries to a deceased body are post-mortem 14:00 - Section 2: Walking into the crime scene 16:30 - A section of Tammy Jo’s chest is open, a parts of her heart and a lung are missing 18:00 - The differences between dismemberment and mutilation 20:00 - A jigsaw was found on the scene. This continues to show evidence of how much time it took to mutilate the body 23:00 - Section 3: Joseph Oberhansley’s mental state and the trial for this case 27:00 - Oberhansley’s criminal record included shooting his own mother, shooting and killing the teenage mother of his child. He had also shot himself, attempting suicide in the past. 29:30 - An exploration into the different types of cannibalism 33:00 - Joseph Oberhansley was sentenced to life in prison, without the possibility of paroleSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

5 Jul 202234min

College freshman AJ Hadsell returns home for spring break, March 2015. Five weeks later her body is discovered face-down in a ditch, covered by a sheet of plywood. Investigators immediately identify that foul play is involved. Deep bruises are visible on Hadsell's torso and face. Hadsell has been murdered. Detectives turn their attention towards AJ’s stepfather, Wesley Hadsell, as their primary suspect, but why?   AJ Hadsell dies of a heroin overdose, but the family is adamant that AJ did not use drugs. Here is the first connection to the stepfather. Wesley Hadsell has been kicked out of the family home by AJ’s mother due to his drug use, heroin specifically. Then, authorities find suspicious items in his car, including some of AJ’s belongings, as well as duct tape and a shovel.    In this episode of Body Bags, forensics expert Joseph Scott Morgan and Jackie Howard explore and explain the details of AJ’s murder, the difficulties of investigating a body that has been outside and exposed to the elements for weeks, and why AJ’s stepfather, Wesley Hadsell, was the first suspect in this case.   Show Notes: 01:00 - Introducing the case; 18 year old AJ Hadsell, found face-down in a drainage ditch. 05:00 - The murder investigation begins immediately upon finding AJ Hadsell’s body. 06:40 - Why it was obvious that this was a death caused by another person, from the autopsy table. 11:00 - Once a body has excessive decomposition, it can be very difficult to ascertain cause, method, and/or modes of death. 15:30 - The unique and morbid skillset that Medical Death Investigators need to have in order to be successful in their jobs. 16:00 - The mode of death in the case of AJ Hadsell.  21:00 - With three times the lethal amount of Heroin found in her body, AJ Hadsell’s life had a horrific ending. 24:00 - Heroin as a mode of murder and the search for AJ’s killer. 25:30 - Drug testing via hair follicle and how this helped authorities rule out self-administered accidental Heroin overdose. 30:00 - Who had access to AJ Hadsell and could remove her from her home without signs of distress? 31:00 - Wesley Hadsell’s history of violence against women and other evidence used by investigators to charge Wesley with the murder of AJ Hadsell 32:30 - The tragedy in this case continues to intensify as details about the positioning of AJ’s clothing on her body when she was found. 37:30 - Determining assault can be extremely difficult after weeks of decomposition. 38:00 - Wesley Hadsell was found guilty of First-degree Murder and Concealment of a Dead Body in February, 2022. He maintains his innocence. He has been sentenced to Life + 15 years in prison.    Rest in peace, Anjelica “AJ” Hadsell. 1996 - 2015.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

28 Jun 202238min

Murdered in a uniquely gruesome and prolonged series of events; Reggie and Carol Sumner are the helpless victims of a month-long plan carried out with the help of a familiar face. Buried alive in a pre-dug hole near the Florida/Georgia line, these two high-school sweethearts suffer their terrible end at the hands of Tiffany Cole, her boyfriend Michael James Jackson, Alan Wade, and Bruce Kent Nixon, Jr. Tiffany Cole buys a vehicle from the Sumner family and travels to Jacksonville regularly to pay down her debt. That is, until her new boyfriend,  Michael James Jackson,  hatches a plan that ends in the Sumners' deaths. After being buried alive, under hundreds of pounds of dirt, an autopsy determines that the couple's cause of death is mechanical asphyxiation (i.e. physical interference with breathing and or circulation).    In this episode of Body Bags, forensics expert Joseph Scott Morgan and Jackie Howard take a closer look at these horrifying deaths.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

21 Jun 202235min

The body of Gloria Satterfield, longtime housekeeper for disgraced South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh, will be exhumed. Satterfield died after a trip and fall accident at the Murdaugh home. No autopsy was performed and her manner of death listed as natural. Now,  after the string of deaths linked to the Murdaugh name, investigators want to know more.  Exhumations are not ordered for just any old case, but when a court orders the  embalmed remains of a human being be uninterred,  everyone pays attention, including our forensics expert Joseph Scott Morgan.   In this episode of Body Bags, Joseph Scott Morgan and Jackie Howard discuss what exhumation is, and why exhumation must be handled with the utmost of care.   Subscribe to Body Bags with Joseph Scott Morgan : Apple Podcasts Spotify iHeart   Show Notes:Introduction [02:00]Events that lead to the pending exhumation of Gloria Satterfield  [03:32]Judiciary regulations regarding exhumations  [05:58] The effect that embalming (or not) has on exhumations, and factors that impact a successful exhumation and investigation [08:31]   Joseph Scott Morgan describes the investigative process, vital medical records, and test results he would study prior to the exhumation of Gloria Satterfield [17:08]The impact that medical intervention, autopsy, and body preparation for burial have on the investigation of a trauma-related death, and the particular problem with the Gloria Satterfield case [20:24]Information investigators will be looking for when reviewing Gloria’s body [27:27]The types of professionals who perform autopsies of exhumed bodies, and concerns regarding the omission of the South Carolina medical-legal community in the Satterfield case  [29:46]Kathleen Savio, Shele Danishefsky Covlin, and other high-profile exhumation cases in the US [32:36]See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

14 Jun 202236min

Beloved chef Daniel Brophy is found shot to the death in the kitchen of the culinary institute where he works. There is no sign of forced entry at the Oregon Culinary Institute Instructor, in fact, the door is locked. Students coming into class that day say it's normal for Brophy to come in early, set up the day's instruction, then open the door to students. On this day, that didn't happen. Another instructor had to open the door and that's when Brophy is found shot twice. Who killed Dan Brophy, and why? Ultimately, police build a circumstantial case against Nancy Crampton Brophy, the chef's wife. Where's the proof?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

7 Jun 202238min

December 9th, 2001, novelist Michael Peterson calls 911 telling the operator that he's found his wife at the bottom of stairs in their home. She is still breathing, but there's lots of blood coming from her head. Kathleen Peterson later dies. When police and emergency personnel first enter the home, Peterson's injuries are characterized as accidental and the scene is not handled properly, forensically. Soon, however, the facts do not add up and Michael Peterson is charged with murder. Kathleen Peterson has seven head injuries. So where does the owl come in? The owl theory speculates that an owl attacked Kathleen, precipitating her fall, but in fact, this theory never makes it into court. Michael Peterson is found guilty at trial, and sentenced to life in prison. Eight years later, he is granted a new trial after evidence comes to light that a prosecution witness lied. Peterson is eventually released. New charges aren't filed because Michael Peterson takes an Alford plea. This allows him to not admit guilt, but rather acknowledge that the state has enough evidence to convict. Peterson said he simply didn't want to go through another trial ordeal. He was sentenced to time served.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

26 Mai 202241min