Disclaimer: the victim written about is my friend who wanted to be the subject of a scenario. I’m not that awful of a person to write of her murder without her knowledge. “Her math proofs are just too good! She’s never wrong! ” Millard Newton, the longlost descendant of Sir Isaac Newton, exclaimed as he planned her demise. “It is possible that one day my nemesis Celine will surpass the influence and superiority of great grandpa Isaac! ” His plan? Send her an invitation to a fake prestigious math conference in the most treacherous place outside of the continental United States – Alaska.
His intent? Murder. The moment Celine arrived at the conference, Millard swept her away with exciting news of a discovery of primitive math found written on cave walls only 10 miles from the conference center! Little did Celine know, this so-called “primitive math” was simply chalk nonsense sprawled on the wall of an abandoned mine shaft. He convinced her to go with him, and they soon arrived at the entrance to the mine. Upon investigation, Celine realized that it was all a facade.
There was no way humans from 15 thousand years ago were better than her at abstract algebra, a methodology that emerged around the start of the 20th century – it just didn’t add up! But alas, it was too late. Upon first examination, the skeleton doesn’t appear to be a recent death. The fact that the bones are dry, riddled with drying cracks, and light in color combined with typical weather patterns of the area indicate that time of death could have been anywhere between 2 months and 8 years (E). These remains indicate that the victim was a female of European descent.
This is evident in the shape, size, and features of the pelvis as well as the shape of the incisors and orbit shape (G, H). It might be possible to identify the remains due to the hip replacement of the left leg, as well as help determine the age of the victim at death since most hip replacement procedures are on those aged 60-80 (F). Once the authorities could identify these remains as the self-proclaimed “math princess” Celine, thanks to the lot number on her hip implant, the rest of the story seemed to write itself. The cause of death was ruled to be a bullet to the head.
Judging by the shape of the wound, she was shot by someone slightly shorter standing to her right. This can be determin nined by of the oval shape of the wound, indicating a notquite perpendicular shot angle, as well an exit wound on the left temporal classified by outward beveling (A). Not only was she shot in the head, she was also dismembered by Millard. The wide striations indicate that the saw used had fewer, larger teeth. The fact that the striations vary in direction are evidence that he used a handsaw to complete the act and cut from anterior to posterior based off the breakaway spur (B).
After Millard left her in the mine shaft, it is obvious that both rodents and carnivores found the body, by flat-floored grooves on the humerus and punctures, scoring and furrows (C, D). With Millard going free, the sad demise of Celine remains a math myth that haunts students everywhere. Scenario 2 This is quite an interesting case of a man who may have partied a little too hard celebrating America’s birthday. On first observation, it looks like this guy could have died within a couple hours, however, upon further investigation, it can be determined that time of death was between midnight and 2 AM on July 5th (G).
This assumption can be backed up by multiple findings. With a temperature of 89° and in accordance with the onset of algor mortis, death can be determined to be around 1 AM on the 5th (A). The presence of rigor mortis further supports this estimation. The fact that rigor was “broken” at an unspecified earlier time indicates that this earlier encounter with his elbow occurred within five hours of death (D). The fact that livor mortis was present across the entirety of his back indicates that he must have been moved to his side since the blood settles in the lower portion of the body post mortem (B).
Due to the description of blood rushing back to the location livor mortis, it can be ruled that death was less than 24 hours prior to investigation (C). Finally, the lack of visible maggots suggests that death was most likely less than 10 hours ago, because of the specifications of the blow fly lifecycle. The absence of maggots also indicates that death may have occurred in the late night or early morning since these flies are diurnal (E). But how did this man meet his cruel fate early that morning? The severe trauma of three missing fingers and the lack of tissue on the right cheek points to two conclusions.
In a very intoxicated state and eager to celebrate, this man may have blown his fingers off in a freak firework accident, or a carnivore may have found him deceased and made a little snack of his fingers and cheek (F). What carnivore could have possibly devoured this man in a safe suburban backyard? Why none other than the yappy dog! My speculation is that its owners got a bit too tipsy and forgot to feed it, leaving it to find its own breakfast of human face with a side of fingers. The only other feasible option is that the owners of the house threw a shindig which got out of hand.
This unfortunate guest drank too much and died of alcohol poisoning. Not wanting to deal with the consequences, the owners of the house let their killer chihuahua, Angel, loose to take care of the body and destroy the evidence (H). In conclusion, it seems that the only murderer in this case is alcohol. Scenario 3 This scenario tells the heart-breaking story of a boy who had a rather rough time in school. Not only were these remains found behind a male boarding school, the heart-shaped inlet and tall/ narrow characteristics of the pelvis further confirm that they belong to a male(G).
The fact that the third molars have not erupted and the second molars are only partially erupted indicate that the skeleton is that of a pre-teen, around 12 years of age (H). The victim was also of Asian descent, suggested by the shape of his incisors and the sutures found on his skull (D). Prior to his death, this kid had a couple accidents. Both his radii show signs of antemortem trauma, evident by bone calluses, as well as an injury to the midshaft of his left ulna (C, E). Another injury that may have been antemortem was a nasal fracture.
The blunt edges of the break lead me to believe that this was blunt force trauma, caused by a bat or club (F). The cause of death looks to be two wounds to the skull. These round wounds are fairly small in diameter, possibly a very small caliber bullet. These two wounds did not occur simultaneously seen in the patterns of the radiating fracture lines. The lines from the earlier wounds continue uninterrupted, whereas the fracture lines from the second wound end when they meet the first (A, B). I’m left wondering if there was skeletal damage from not only th bulldozer but the environment as well.
Since he was buried in a wooded area, there is a high chance that the roots from trees and the pH of the soil may have deteriorated more evidence (1). Scenario 4 The infamous Fox River Killer had struck again- a double homicide. My estimated time of death for the first body is approximately 4-5 days before discovery. Not only is the body in the advanced stage of decomposition, but the fly pupae in the 3rd instar wandering stage indicate that the victim died about a week prior (A). This killer has access to decent power tools, concluded by the cleanliness of the cut of the foot.
The polished kand lack of visible striations are characteristics of a circular power saw (C). Although it may seem like the killer also dismembered the left arm (who knows, maybe their trying out a new calling card), however, since the scapula is still attached, the arm was most likely removed by carnivores (B). The second body seems to be a little “fresher” than the first. Since the corpse is still has a bloated, green abdomen, and has maggot activity in the eye sockets, I am lead to believe that it is in the early stage of decomposition, with the PMI to be about 2-4 days (D, E).
Like the first body, this victim also shows evidence of carnivore activity, seen in the exposure of the facial skeleton and furrows on the maxillae (E). This victim was also of African descent per both rectangular orbits and alveolar prognathism (F). There are a couple interesting peculiarities to this second victim. For starters, the severe skin discoloration that is only present on left side of the body indicates a more advanced stage of decomposition than the bloated green abdomen does, or this victim has a very strange tattoo (H).
Secondly, the presence of the unclosed metopic suture is unique, since this only persists in about 10% of the population (G). Most importantly, this second body (presumably) has both feet still attached. Why, if removing the foot is their calling card, does the second victim still have both feet? Is this really a double homicide? My theory is that only the first body found is a victim of this Fox River Killer. After all, I think they are smart enough not to risk putting two bodies in the same field when they have the land along all 142 miles of the Fox River to use as a dumping ground. Then what do we make of the second body?
I have an inkling that someone knew the real identity of the Fox River Killer and followed them out to the field after they sawed off the first victim’s foot. Upon confrontation, the killer was so shocked and taken aback that his little murder spree was ending, that he went into sudden cardiac arrest and died in that field, becoming the second “victim. ” The unnamed third party went and reported the discovery of two bodies a couple days later. You, dear reader, may ask why they did not contact the police immediately, to which I have a simple answer. Would you call and rat out your twin brother?
