“[0:00] [Guitar music] [0:02] [Leslie] Everyone dies. [0:04] And when it's our time to go, [0:05] some of us will be embalmed, buried, some cremated. [0:09] [Denton] When you're dead, you're dead. [0:11] [Davis] Decomposition is all part of the process of life and death. [0:15] [Leslie] But there's a place where our bodies still tell stories long after our death. [0:20] It's called the Forensic Anthropology Center, [0:22] better known by its nickname, the Body Farm. [0:25] [Music fades] [0:33] [Bass] I said... [0:35] "I need some land to put dead bodies on." [0:37] [Guitar music] [0:40] [Leslie] It all started with an obscure phone call 4 decades ago. [0:44] Today, it's a world-renowned facility located in Knoxville, Tennessee. [0:48] A site where the decomposition of human bodies aids in forensic research. [0:53] [Bass] I mean, I hadn't done this before. [0:55] In fact, nobody had done this before. [0:58] This was the first facility of this in the world. [1:02] [Leslie] Rewind the clock and in 1981, [1:05] the Body Farm was just getting started. [1:07] [Bass] But the reason we're doing this is because there is no data [1:10] that exists on this at all. [1:12] Law enforcement officers bring me a skeleton. [1:15] We simply are guessing at how long that individual's been dead. [1:19] [Leslie] Dr. Bill Bass was working as an anthropologist [1:21] for the University of Tennessee. [1:23] His office and classrooms, underneath the famed Neyland football stadium. [1:28] [Bass] Time goes by and I'm called for various cases. [1:32] And one day the phone rang and it was a detective from Clarksville, Tennessee. [1:38] They had a body they wanted me to take a look at, [1:40] but I didn't know where to put it. [1:42] The restroom right outside of my office, [1:45] the janitor used the shower area for him to store janitorial supplies. [1:52] And I thought, "Well, I don't have anywhere else to put it." [1:55] And the best chewing out I ever had [1:58] was from a janitor in South Stadium Hall. [2:01] He goes in to get his janitorial supplies [2:03] and here's this really smelly decaying body. [2:07] He shook his finger and said, "Don't you ever do that again." [2:11] Okay, I never did that again. [2:13] [Leslie] Bass needed a solution. [2:15] [Bass] So I went up to see him and I said, [2:16] "Dean, I need some land to put dead bodies on." [2:21] Well, that was the beginning of the Body Farm. [2:23] [Music continues] [Crickets chirping] [2:25] [Leslie] Along the winding Tennessee River, [2:27] Dr. Bass was given three acres settled in the back corner [2:30] near the UT Medical Center's parking lot. [2:32] [Slides clicking] [2:34] But funds were scarce [2:35] so Bass and students did most of the startup work themselves. [2:39] [Bass] We didn't have anything in the budget for this. [2:41] So here I am cutting trees and so forth. [2:44] [Jantz] The facility itself was really quite small. [2:46] It was the original chain-link cage. [2:49] They had some burials outside the cage [2:51] that they did the original buried body studies in. [2:54] But that was really it. [2:55] [Leslie] For a time, the facility was off the radar. [2:58] [Reporter] This site is located somewhere here in the Knoxville area [3:01] but Dr. Bass asked that we not divulge the location [3:04] for fear that local curiosity seekers would come by [3:07] and ruin some of the scientific data. [3:09] [Leslie] Not everyone was thrilled with the prospects of the research. [3:13] [Jantz] There was a protest. [3:14] It was the only protest that we've ever had. [3:16] And now, we know that the community loves us and supports us. [3:20] [Leslie] News of the small facility would spread [3:22] thanks to a New York Times bestseller. [3:25] [Bass] Up until this time, [3:27] I had an obscure little research facility [3:30] in the hills of Tennessee. [3:32] When she did this, [3:33] it was internationally known right off the bat. [3:36] [Leslie] The notoriety in literature didn't stop there. [3:38] Bass has co-authored his own 15 novels based off of the Body Farm. [3:42] But what's happening inside these gates is far from fiction. [3:46] It's valuable science, [3:48] and his foundation for the facility has grown into a legacy carried on today. [3:54] And for the last 40 years, the Body Farm has built on that legacy. [3:58] But the research site isn't open for tours, [4:00] and it's rare to get a look inside. [4:02] [Mysterious music] [4:05] [Jantz] The facility is not anything like what you imagine it is. [4:09] Yes, we have a lot of dead bodies out there. [4:13] [Vidoli] You know, you have these two fences. [4:14] You have the privacy fence and then the chain-link [4:17] with the razor wire on top to keep people out. [4:20] So when you first walk in, [4:21] you're on a nice gravel pathway, [4:24] and then your focus shifts [4:26] as soon as you start looking a little to the left and to the right [4:29] and the gravel pathway continues. [4:31] You start seeing black plastic on the ground, [4:34] and you realize underneath that black plastic [4:36] is where we have placed the donors. [4:39] [Leslie] The Forensic Anthropology Center in Knoxville, Tennessee [4:43] has been the final resting place for thousands over the last 40 years. [4:47] [Vidoli] It is, I think, this interesting sort of juxtaposition [4:51] where you feel like you're going for a walk in the woods. [4:53] There's these trails and there's trees and it's a really nice scenery, [4:57] but there are various burials or surface remains around you. [5:02] [Jantz] People have these pictures of, you know, [5:05] it being horribly smelly and just being awful. [5:09] And it's not. [5:10] You're just out in the woods. [5:11] You can be standing right next to one that's decomposing and not smell it [5:15] or you can be standing 10 feet away and really smell it. [5:18] [Steadman] We have typically between about 150 and 200 donors [5:22] who are out of the facility at any one particular time. [5:25] [Leslie] Some bodies are exposed to Mother Nature. [5:28] Weather, temperature, and insects [5:30] all play an important role in the progression of decay. [5:34] [Davis] We are out there doing research, doing science [5:38] to learn more about the human condition. [5:42] Decomposition is all part of the process of life and death. [5:46] [Owings] You can just see all the hundreds of people who made that altruistic gift [5:52] to give their bodies to the advancement of science and forensic science. [5:56] People think it's a spooky place, [5:58] but I actually think it's a place that's just full of hope [6:01] and it's very peaceful. [6:03] [Music fades] [6:06] [Musical stinger] [6:07] [Leslie] Sitting on a hillside overlooking the Tennessee River, [6:10] UT's Body Farm is a peaceful spot, [6:12] but it's also quite busy. [6:14] Not a day goes by that someone isn't there. [6:17] Students and researchers [6:18] and the many coroners, investigators, and detectives [6:21] who travel from all over the world [6:23] to gain valuable skills in crime scene investigation. [6:27] [Vidoli] I'm really proud of our training program. [6:29] We have students who are law enforcement [6:31] and have lots of experience under their belts [6:34] and other students who have never seen, [6:36] you know, a deceased individual before. [6:38] We are able to modify our courses [6:43] to really match their experience and comfort level. [6:46] [Leslie] Whether it's estimating time of death, [6:48] learning to identify skeletal remains, [6:51] or excavating mass graves. [6:53] [Clattering] [6:54] On this day it's a group of experts from south of the border. [6:57] [Vidoli] We have crime scene investigators, anthropologists, archaeologists, [7:01] individuals who work in the kidnapping units in Mexico, [7:04] and they're working on a burial. [7:06] They need to find it, [7:07] excavate it, [7:08] document it. [7:10] So my team, right now, is working on trowling away at the dirt and screening it. [7:16] Hopefully, encounter some human remains. [7:18] [Leslie] And yes there's rotting flesh, dead bodies, and bones. [7:21] But the forensic anthropologists who work here on a daily basis [7:25] want people to understand this isn't a scary movie set. [7:28] [Davis] The Body Farm is not a place of sensationalism and... [7:34] we don't place our donors out for, you know, grotesque displays. [7:39] We have the utmost respect for our donors. [7:42] [Leslie] While what happens behind these gates is kept private, [7:45] the team hopes the power of their research [7:48] will impact those beyond the gates for years to come. [7:51] [Steadman] So that they can see that the facility is not just this big black scary box, [7:57] but something that they can feel a part of. [8:00] They can understand how this research helps people. [8:03] That brings a sense of community and pride to what we do. [8:09] [Musical stinger] [8:10] [Leslie] Popular crime shows often portray forensic anthropologists [8:13] as confronting a killer [8:15] and finding that one clue that will crack the murder case. [8:18] In real life, things look a little different. [8:20] [Davis] Bones makes it look easy. [8:22] [laughs] [8:23] [Vidoli] They always have much nicer technology than we have. [8:27] [Davis] We can't solve a case in an hour. [8:29] [laughs] [8:30] [Vidoli] It's always that balance between entertainment and the truth. [8:33] [Leslie] The truth is what they do is significant, [8:36] and they aren't afraid to get their hands dirty. [8:38] Their research on trauma and decomposition of bodies and skeletal remains [8:42] can give law enforcement a better picture of what happened at a crime scene. [8:46] But it's their job to stick to the science. [8:49] [Vidoli] We never go and talk to suspects or family members. [8:54] You know, there is this division of the investigation [8:58] what the investigator does [9:00] and what we do in the lab. [9:02] [Leslie] The Forensic Anthropology Center isn't solving cases. [9:05] But again, the research they do does aid investigators. [9:09] [Owings] One of the biggest things that we're working on right now [9:12] is trying to improve the methods that we use in forensics [9:17] to determine how long someone has been dead. [9:19] That's one of the most crucial questions [9:22] in a, you know, in a death investigation or in a murder. [9:25] [Leslie] And the Body Farm provides a training ground [9:27] for officials to sharpen their own skills [9:30] for whatever scene they might encounter. [9:32] [Elkins] Just really helps an investigator to understand what the body does [9:37] and being able to look at a body and tell the difference [9:39] between animal activity like rodent gnawing versus trauma to the body. [9:44] [Leslie] What law enforcement learns and applies to cases today, [9:47] all came from a foundation laid by forensic anthropologist Dr. Bill Bass. [9:52] In the early days of his time in Tennessee, [9:54] Bass was a legendary figure at local crime scenes. [9:57] [Bass] I've done a little over 700 cases in my career. [10:01] Every death is a puzzle to see if you can figure out what happened. [10:06] [Leslie] And sometimes those puzzles are still unfinished. [10:09] Housed in the Bass Skeletal Collection are about 50 remains [10:12] from unsolved cases that law enforcement can revisit. [10:16] [Jantz] We get to a point where we've done everything we can [10:18] and then something new comes up [10:19] and so we pull it out and reevaluate. [10:22] The more eyes that we can have on it the better. [10:24] [Elkins] I went down on a cold case that I still have [10:27] and we sat the bones back out to look at those and we went over them. [10:31] Looking at that, you're looking at history, right? [10:33] You're looking at the evidence. [10:34] The only person that really knows what happened are those remains. [10:38] [Leslie] And this team is invested. [10:39] They care about the outcome of these cases. [10:42] So many individuals who remain unidentified [10:45] who deserve a name and their story told. [10:48] [Jantz] I want to get them all identified. [10:50] [Steadman] We also have incredible empathy [10:51] for the people who come to us as forensic cases. [10:54] We want to find out answers for the families [10:56] and for the criminal justice system. [10:58] [Music fades] [11:01] [Leslie] It's a big decision to make, choosing to donate your body. [11:05] But the legacy that lives on in the Forensic Anthropology Center today [11:09] is because of the dead, [11:10] those who have chosen a final gift to science. [11:13] [Steadman] Every day, we work with the Body Donation Program [11:16] where we are answering questions from potential donors, [11:19] bringing in donors who have passed away. [11:22] [Leslie] The moment a donor arrives at the Forensic Anthropology Center, [11:25] the research begins. [11:26] [McKee-Zech] There's not a day when [11:28] [laughs] [11:28] someone's not out there taking a photo, doing research. [11:31] We have a database of over a million photos [11:34] of donors throughout decomposition. [11:37] [Steadman] So when we receive a donor, [11:38] depending on the research that they're enrolled in, [11:41] they're typically out at the facility for a year to two years. [11:45] [Leslie] After the decomposition process is complete here, [11:49] the donor's skeletal remains are recovered [11:51] and brought to the Bass Forensic Anthropology Building [11:54] to be cleaned by students. [11:56] [Water trickling] [11:57] [McKee-Zech] They're going to clean off the dirt. [11:59] Make them safe to handle with bare hands. [12:02] They will use dental picks and brushes over the sink with just water. [12:08] We can get a skeleton done in an afternoon if it's just a little bit dirty. [12:12] [Leslie] It's a lab with hints of a home. [12:15] [Clattering] [12:15] [McKee-Zech] Crockpots are what we use for [12:17] small amounts of mummified tissue and cartilage. [12:19] So when we have really stubborn tissue that is not coming off, [12:22] we just heat the water up [12:25] so that it's not boiling, just so that it's warm, [12:28] and that causes that tissue to loosen up [12:29] so that it can then be scraped off with a dental pick [12:32] or just pulled off with forceps. [12:34] After they are finished cleaning, [12:36] they'll put the tray on the clean rack [12:38] and we'll do an inventory at the end [12:40] once the entire donor has been finished being cleaned. [12:43] [Sliding] [12:44] [Leslie] Next those bones make their way to Strong Hall [12:47] where they are cataloged and labeled [12:49] and kept forever inside the Bass Skeletal Collection. [12:52] [Steadman] We have received over 2,000 donors since 1981 [12:57] when Dr. Bass first initiated the Body Donation Program. [13:01] [Leslie] But those thousands of bones aren't sitting collecting dust on the shelf. [13:05] [Steadman] We like to believe there's no end to the gift of body donation here [13:08] because we use the skeletons from 1981 [13:12] today for research and for training [13:14] and we have people come from all over the world to take part in that. [13:19] [Leslie] One current research project will help law enforcement better interpret fire deaths. [13:24] [Steadman] Many times we'll get a case of people who die in fires in residences [13:30] and the police have to ask the question, [13:32] "Did they die in the fire?" [13:34] "Or did something happen to them before?" [13:36] And it can be very very difficult to tell that [13:40] because the fire itself creates so much fragmentation of the body. [13:45] So we can see lots of broken bones, [13:47] but we can't necessarily tell... [13:49] did those happen before the fire or as a result of the fire? [13:52] And that's going to be a game-changer [13:55] with how we interpret fire deaths. [13:58] [Leslie] Anthropologists aren't the only ones who are privy to the research. [14:02] [Steadman] Families can come and sit with remains [14:04] or learn what we've learned about them. [14:06] Jantz: Families do continue to call [14:08] and they want to know what projects their loved one has been incorporated into. [14:12] They may want to know step by step what happened, [14:15] you know, from the time we receive the donor, the body. [14:18] What do we do with it? [14:19] And then, you know, we talk about it. [14:20] They may want to see what's in the files. [14:23] [McKee-Zech] The donors that donate their bodies, [14:24] we could not do it without them. [14:25] It is the greatest gift in the world to donate your body to science [14:28] because it helps endless people. [14:30] [Music] [14:32] [Leslie] The end of one life that can give an eternal gift in the name of science. [14:36] [Music fades] [14:38] [Denton] When you're dead, you're dead. [14:39] [Mischevious music] [14:40] I think the older you get, the more comfortable you are with death. [14:46] [Leslie] And when it's Lucinda Denton's time to go, [14:49] her final resting place won't be in a casket [14:52] deep in the ground [14:53] among tombstones and manicured green grass. [14:56] It will look quite different. [14:58] [Denton] I'm going to the Body Farm. [15:00] And I decided to do that because I'd like for my body to be useful after I'm dead. [15:07] [Leslie] Denton is one of 5,000 people who are pre-donors [15:11] and have already been accepted into the Body Donation Program [15:14] at the Forensic Anthropology Center. [15:16] [Denton] I want it to be used for something good so I feel like [15:20] the Body Farm and all of the scientists there [15:24] can have use for my body. [15:27] I won't know what, [15:29] but whatever it is, I'm game. [15:31] [Music continues] [15:32] [Leslie] And while most might feel talking about their death plans is macabre, [15:37] Denton proudly wears it on a t-shirt. [15:39] [Denton] Oh! My son gave me this for my birthday several years ago, [15:44] and I have great fun wearing it. [15:46] [Leslie] For Denton, it was a decision in the making, even as a young child [15:50] when she remembers spending a lot of time at the family plot. [15:54] [Denton] So every Sunday, we would have to go [15:57] to the cemetery to fix the flowers and fix the grass. [16:02] And I was just a little girl. [16:03] And they made me take a toothbrush [16:06] and a little bucket of water [16:07] to clean the bird poop off of the tombstone. [16:11] [laughs] [16:12] So I have a very negative feeling about tombstones. [16:16] [Leslie] As she got older, [16:17] Denton became an avid reader of Dr. Bill Bass's books about the Body Farm [16:21] and its impact on forensic research. [16:24] She began to feel a draw to the Body Donation Program. [16:27] [Denton] The more I read them, the more I thought, "Yes! Yes!" [16:31] [Leslie] It's a simple process of filling out paperwork to apply. [16:34] [Denton] And I had to submit a picture as well [16:37] and then a description of any special things about my body. [16:42] And I have a shoulder replacement, [16:45] three knee replacements, [16:46] hip replacements, [16:47] pin in my foot. [16:49] So that all went into the description. [16:52] [Davis] We will send them an acceptance letter and a donor card. [16:56] And that donor card they can carry in their wallet [17:00] or keep with their important paperwork [17:01] to help them make their wishes known. [17:03] [Leslie] Not everyone is accepted. [17:05] There are some reasons why they will decline a body. [17:08] [Davis] If they have a history of infectious disease... [17:11] things like tuberculosis or hepatitis [17:14] or if they have an active infection at the time of death [17:17] like MRSA, COVID. [17:20] [Leslie] While it's a personal decision to become a donor, [17:23] your family should understand your wishes. [17:25] [Steadman] So that the families know what you want to do and why you want to do it. [17:30] [Vidoli] I don't need this vessel anymore so I would be fine donating my body. [17:35] But in the end, it's, you know, it's always about the living, right? [17:39] It's not about the dead. [17:40] And so it would really depend on what the living, [17:43] whether it's my husband, my children, or my family, [17:46] want to happen to my body. [17:48] [Leslie] After a donor dies, their journey begins with a phone call. [17:51] [Steadman] I do spend a lot of time with donors' families. [17:53] A lot of that is on the phone dealing with them in their... [17:58] sometimes their worst day. [17:59] They've just lost somebody. [18:00] We guide them through, you know, gently, what we need to do [18:03] and what I found is that it gives them a tremendous sense of peace. [18:08] [Davis] We will make arrangements with the funeral home, if that's where they are, [18:13] or the hospital or the medical examiner's office [18:17] to go and pick them up. [18:19] [Leslie] The donor is processed for research [18:21] then laid to rest at the Body Farm. [18:24] No embalming, no casket, or engraved stone. [18:27] Donors are placed above the ground with a small metal tag and a number. [18:31] A peaceful resting spot with an important purpose to serve science. [18:36] [Denton] The idea of being buried... [18:39] you know, that's the end. [18:41] But if you go to the Body Farm, then you're useful. [18:45] You're useful for research. [18:47] [Leslie] The Body Farm wouldn't be what it is today [18:49] without countless people choosing their final resting place to be here. [18:54] [Denton] I'm thrilled that I'll have the opportunity to help. [19:00] [Music ends]”