Original subtitles

[GUNSHOT]

Narrator: MURDER IS AS OLD AS TIME...

...AND SO IS THE QUEST TO FIND THE KILLERS.

AND WHEN SLEUTHING MEETS SCIENCE,

NEW FORENSIC TOOLS ARE BORN.

IN 1897 CHICAGO, THE CASE OF A MISSING WOMAN

WOULD CHANGE THE WAY THAT CRIMINALS ARE CAUGHT.

Man: THEY FOUND A FEW SMALL BONE FRAGMENTS.

THE QUESTION WAS, WERE THESE ANIMAL BONES

OR WERE THEY HUMAN BONES?

Narrator: THE BREAKTHROUGH... FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGY...

A WAY TO UNCOVER THE DARK SECRETS HIDING IN BONES.

Man: THE BONES, THEY DON'T FORGET,

AND THEY ALWAYS TELL THE TRUTH.

Narrator: FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGY REVOLUTIONIZES CRIME FIGHTING.

BUT A CENTURY LATER,

IT FACES ONE OF ITS BIGGEST CHALLENGES...

TRYING TO UNRAVEL THE HORRIFYING CRIMES

OF A SADISTIC SERIAL KILLER

KNOWN AS THE KILLER CLOWN.

Man: HE PROBABLY KILLED CLOSE TO 50 PEOPLE.

Narrator: DECEMBER 1978.

POLICE ARE SEARCHING FOR A MISSING TEENAGE BOY

IN NORWOOD PARK TOWNSHIP, ILLINOIS.

ARMED WITH A WARRANT,

THEY BEGIN TO PULL APART THE HOME OF A LOCAL SUSPECT.

BUT WHAT BEGINS AS AN INVESTIGATION

INTO A TEENAGER'S DISAPPEARANCE...

...WILL SOON EXPOSE SOMETHING FAR MORE DISTURBING...

THE HIDDEN LAIR

OF ONE OF AMERICA'S MOST NOTORIOUS SERIAL KILLERS.

10 DAYS EARLIER,

15-YEAR-OLD ROBERT PIEST VANISHES FROM A NEARBY PHARMACY.

Joseph Kozenczak: HE INITIALLY WAS SEEN AT THE DRUGSTORE

BY HIS MOTHER WHO HAD DRIVEN TO THE DRUGSTORE TO PICK HIM UP.

HE WENT OUT THE DOOR,

AND AFTER A LENGTH OF TIME,

THE MOTHER DECIDED TO GO OUTSIDE

AND SEE WHERE THE BOY WAS AT,

AND HE WAS NOWHERE AROUND, HE HAD DISAPPEARED.

Narrator: EARLIER THAT DAY,

WITNESSES HAD SEEN THE BOY TALKING TO A LOCAL CONTRACTOR

NAMED JOHN WAYNE GACY.

Kozenczak: GACY DENIED ANY KNOWLEDGE WHATSOEVER

OF BEING ANYWHERE AROUND THE YOUNG MAN

OR EVEN TALKING TO THE YOUNG MAN.

Narrator: AT FIRST GLANCE, GACY LOOKS LIKE A MODEL CITIZEN.

Kozenczak: HE WAS A COMMUNITY ACTIVIST,

HE HOSTED ALL THEME PARTIES, LIKE FOURTH OF JULY,

AND HIS NEIGHBORS THOUGHT HE WAS THE GREATEST GUY AROUND.

Terry Sullivan: HE WAS GREGARIOUS,

AND HE ALSO WENT TO ENTERTAIN KIDS, ET CETERA, AS A CLOWN.

THAT'S TRULY WHAT HE DID A LOT OF,

AND HE WAS RESPECTED FOR THAT.

Narrator: BUT BEHIND THE MASK IS A MAN

WITH SOME VERY DARK SECRETS.

Kozenczak: JOHN WAYNE GACY HAD A CRIMINAL HISTORY

AND ACTUALLY HAD SERVED TIME IN THE STATE OF IOWA

FOR SEXUALLY ASSAULTING YOUNG BOYS.

AND THE MINUTE WE HEARD THAT,

WE KNEW THAT WE WERE PROBABLY FOCUSING

ON MR. GACY AS A SUSPECT.

Narrator: GACY'S CRIMINAL HISTORY MAKES HIM A PRIME SUSPECT

IN ROBERT PIEST'S DISAPPEARANCE.

AND POLICE HOPE IT'S NOT TOO LATE TO SAVE THE BOY.

Kozenczak: WE WENT TO THE HOUSE TO LOOK FOR ROBERT.

WE DIDN'T KNOW IF HE WAS BEING HELD A PRISONER

OR IF HE WAS BURIED DOWN THERE.

Narrator: POLICE TAKE GACY INTO CUSTODY ON A MINOR DRUG CHARGE

AND THOROUGHLY INSPECT HIS HOME.

THERE'S NO SIGN OF ROBERT,

BUT SOMEONE NOTICES AN AWFUL SMELL DOWN BELOW.

THE SEARCH QUICKLY SHIFTS TO THE CRAWLSPACE UNDER THE HOUSE.

Kozenczak: IN THE SEAL OF THE GROUND BEING BROKEN,

YOU COULD START TO SMELL SOMETHING DISINTEGRATING

UNDERNEATH THE HOUSE.

AND ONE OF THE DETECTIVES SAID THERE'S SOMETHING GOING ON,

IT SMELLS LIKE THE MORGUE.

Narrator: POLICE BRACE THEMSELVES

FOR THE DISCOVERY OF THE MISSING BOY'S BODY,

BUT THAT'S NOT WHAT THEY FIND.

Kozenczak: THEY DISCOVERED WHAT APPEARED TO BE...

BONES.

Narrator: BUT ROBERT PIEST HAS ONLY BEEN GONE A FEW DAYS.

EVEN IF HE'S DEAD, THESE BONES CAN'T BE HIS.

AS POLICE KEEP DIGGING,

THEY EXHUME A COMPLETE SKELETON...

THEN A SECOND...

AND A THIRD.

IT'S STARTING TO LOOK LIKE

THE MAN WHO DRESSED LIKE A CLOWN AT KIDS' BIRTHDAY PARTIES

MIGHT BE A SERIAL KILLER.

Sullivan: THERE'S A PHOTOGRAPH OF ONE OF THE BODIES,

AND THEY HAD UNCOVERED THE SKULL,

AND YOU COULD JUST SEE, EVEN IN THE PHOTOGRAPH,

THE ABSOLUTE FEAR IN THAT SKULL.

AND UNTIL THE DAY I DIE,

I WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER THE FEAR THAT I SAW RIGHT THEN.

Kozenczak: I WONDERED IF THIS WAS ALL...

FOR REAL.

LIKE, NEVER IN OUR WILDEST MIND DID WE EVER THINK

THAT THIS GUY WAS A MULTIPLE KILLER.

Narrator: IT LOOKS LIKE GACY HAS BEEN COMMITTING MURDER

ON A GRAND SCALE,

AND THIS CRAWLSPACE IS HIS OWN PRIVATE BONEYARD,

FULL OF FACELESS, NAMELESS VICTIMS.

IT'S CLEAR THAT GACY IS THE KILLER,

BUT POLICE WANT TO BE ABLE TO PROVE IT.

FIRST, THEY'LL HAVE TO FIGURE OUT WHO THESE PEOPLE WERE

AND WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM.

AND THEY'LL DO IT BY STUDYING THEIR BONES.

DEAD MEN DON'T TELL TALES,

BUT IN FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGY, THEIR BONES CERTAINLY DO.

Dr. Douglas H. Ubelaker: FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGISTS

ARE PEOPLE WHO HAVE SPENT THEIR CAREERS

LEARNING WHAT THERE IS TO KNOW

ABOUT THE RECOVERY AND ANALYSIS OF HUMAN BONES.

Narrator: THE EARLIEST ATTEMPTS TO MAP THE HUMAN SKELETON

GO BACK ALMOST 2,000 YEARS

TO A PHYSICIAN KNOWN AS GALEN OF PERGAMON.

HE WAS THE FIRST PERSON TO CLEARLY MAP

THE INNER GEOGRAPHY OF THE HUMAN BODY,

INCLUDING THE SKELETON.

DOCTORS RELIED ON THE INFORMATION HE PROVIDED

FOR CENTURIES.

BUT GALEN ACTUALLY BASED SOME OF HIS OBSERVATIONS

ABOUT HUMAN ANATOMY

ON THE BODIES OF ANIMALS, NOT PEOPLE.

IN THE 1500s, A DOCTOR NAMED ANDREAS VESALIUS

FINALLY SET OUT TO CREATE A MORE ACCURATE PICTURE

OF THE HUMAN PHYSIQUE.

VESALIUS, THE FATHER OF MODERN HUMAN ANATOMY,

BOILED AWAY TISSUE

SO THAT HE COULD LITERALLY ASSEMBLE A SKELETON,

BONE BY BONE, IN HIS KITCHEN.

BUT IT WASN'T UNTIL 1878 THAT HARVARD PROFESSOR THOMAS DWIGHT

REALIZED THAT A PERSON'S BONES COULD REVEAL SPECIFIC DETAILS...

SUCH AS WHETHER THEY CAME FROM A MAN OR A WOMAN.

IN THE LATE 19th CENTURY,

THAT GROWING KNOWLEDGE WOULD HELP SOLVE A CRIME

FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME.

MAY 1, 1897,

A WOMAN NAMED LOUISA LUETGERT IS REPORTED MISSING

TO CHICAGO POLICE.

LOUISA'S HUSBAND IS ADOLPH LUETGERT,

BETTER KNOWN

AS THE SAUSAGE KING OF CHICAGO.

Robert Loerzel: ADOLPH LUETGERT WAS ONE OF THE LEADING

SAUSAGE MANUFACTURERS IN CHICAGO,

AND HE OWNED THE SAUSAGE FACTORY NEXT TO HIS HOUSE

ON DIVERSEY BOULEVARD IN CHICAGO.

Narrator: CHICAGO POLICE CAPTAIN HERMAN SCHUETTLER

AND A TEAM OF DETECTIVES

PRESS LUETGERT ABOUT HIS WIFE'S DISAPPEARANCE.

SHE'S BEEN GONE FOR WEEKS,

BUT HE SEEMS STRANGELY CALM ABOUT IT.

Loerzel: HE SUGGESTED THAT MAYBE SHE JUST LEFT HOME

TO GO VISIT SOME COUSINS OR OTHER RELATIVES.

THE POLICE WERE PRETTY SUSPICIOUS RIGHT FROM THE GET-GO

OF ADOLPH LUETGERT.

THEY EVEN NOTED THAT A YEAR OR TWO EARLIER

HE HAD GONE TO THE POLICE WHEN ONE OF HIS DOGS DISAPPEARED.

BUT IF HIS WIFE IS MISSING, HE DOESN'T BOTHER TO REPORT IT.

THAT JUST SEEMED ODD TO THE POLICE.

Narrator: BUT CAPTAIN SCHUETTLER WILL NEED MORE THAN INSTINCT

TO MAKE HIS CASE.

HE QUESTIONS THE FACTORY WORKERS,

WONDERING IF THEY'VE SEEN ANYTHING UNUSUAL.

SURE ENOUGH, THEY DID.

BEFORE LOUISA WAS REPORTED MISSING,

LUETGERT WAS HARD AT WORK.

Loerzel: HE WAS DOING VARIOUS STRANGE OPERATIONS

IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT,

RUNNING STEAM AND CHEMICALS INTO THESE VATS.

AND THE NEXT MORNING WHEN HIS FAMILY WOKE UP FOR BREAKFAST,

HIS WIFE LOUISA LUETGERT WAS MISSING.

Narrator: CAPTAIN SCHUETTLER CHECKS OUT THE VATS

WHERE LUETGERT MADE HIS FAMOUS SAUSAGE...

THE SAME VATS HE WAS WORKING WITH THAT NIGHT.

Loerzel: ADOLPH LUETGERT HAD TOLD HIS EMPLOYEES

THAT THESE VATS IN THE BASEMENT OF HIS FACTORY

WERE FILLED WITH THIS GOO.

AND HE DIDN'T EXPLAIN TO THEM WHAT THIS STUFF WAS,

BUT HE JUST TOLD THEM

YOU'VE GOT TO CLEAN UP THE BASEMENT IN MY FACTORY.

THERE WAS STILL SOME OF THIS MYSTERIOUS BROWN, REDDISH FLUID

IN THE BOTTOM OF THE VAT.

Narrator: AND WHEN POLICE DRAIN THE REMAINING FLUID

AND SCRAPE THE BOTTOM,

THEY DISCOVER SOMETHING WORRISOME...

A WOMAN'S RING.

MAYBE A FEMALE EMPLOYEE LOST IT WHILE GRINDING MEAT.

BUT AS POLICE CONTINUE SIFTING THROUGH THE DRAINAGE,

THEY FIND SOMETHING ELSE.

Loerzel: THEY FOUND WHAT APPEARED TO BE

A FEW SMALL BONE FRAGMENTS.

Narrator: LUETGERT CLAIMS THEY'RE JUST THE REMAINS

OF AN ANIMAL GROUND INTO SAUSAGE.

Loerzel: THE MEAT WAS BROUGHT IN FROM THE STOCKYARDS,

AND IT WAS GROUND UP INTO SAUSAGE THERE,

RIGHT THERE AT THE LUETGERT SAUSAGE FACTORY.

SO, YOU KNOW, GIVEN THAT SORT OF SITUATION,

IT WOULDN'T BE THAT SURPRISING

TO FIND SOME ANIMAL BONES THERE AT THE FACTORY.

Narrator: CAPTAIN SCHUETTLER ISN'T BUYING IT.

UNFORTUNATELY, HE CAN'T PROVE IT.

HE'S GOT NO BODY AND NO EVIDENCE OF FOUL PLAY.

HIS ONLY HOPE... FIND SOME WAY TO PROVE

THAT THESE ARE THE BONES OF LOUISA LUETGERT.

IN 19th CENTURY CHICAGO,

A WOMAN'S DISAPPEARANCE TURNS ON A CRITICAL QUESTION...

ARE THE BONES FOUND

IN HER HUSBAND'S SAUSAGE-MAKING FACTORY ANIMAL OR HUMAN?

IN THIS ERA, EVEN MOST DOCTORS CAN'T ANSWER THAT QUESTION,

LET ALONE THE POLICE.

SO LEAD INVESTIGATOR HERMAN SCHUETTLER

CALLS IN REINFORCEMENTS.

Loerzel: HE NEEDED SOME EXPERT HELP TO FIGURE OUT

WHAT ALL THIS STUFF WAS.

Narrator: DESPERATE FOR INSIGHT,

SCHUETTLER TURNS TO THE FIELD MUSEUM OF CHICAGO.

IN JUST A COUPLE OF YEARS,

IT'S ALREADY MADE A NAME FOR ITSELF

FOR HAVING ONE OF THE BIGGEST COLLECTIONS OF BONES

IN THE WORLD.

Loerzel: THE FIELD MUSEUM OF CHICAGO IS WELL-KNOWN

FOR HAVING DINOSAUR BONES AND HUMAN SKELETONS

AND ALL SORTS OF ANTHROPOLOGICAL EXHIBITS.

Narrator: AND IN THESE HALLOWED HALLS

WORKS A VERY UNCONVENTIONAL SCIENTIST...

ANTHROPOLOGIST GEORGE DORSEY.

DORSEY HAS TRAVELED ALL OVER THE WORLD

STUDYING HUMAN REMAINS.

Loerzel: HE WAS ONE OF THE FIRST PEOPLE IN THE UNITED STATES

TO GET A PhD IN ANTHROPOLOGY,

AND WAS VERY FAMILIAR WITH BEING ABLE TO RECOGNIZE

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN, SAY, A BONE FROM A PIG OR A COW

OR SOME OTHER ANIMAL.

Narrator: WHAT DORSEY'S HOPING TO DO THIS TIME IS MUCH TOUGHER.

ALL HE'S GOT ARE THESE BONE FRAGMENTS.

THAT'S NOT MUCH TO GO ON

AS HE TRIES TO FIGURE OUT WHETHER THEY'RE HUMAN OR NOT.

FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGIST DOUGLAS UBELAKER

FROM THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION'S

MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

HAS WORKED WITH THE FBI FOR MORE THAN THREE DECADES.

AND HE KNOWS JUST WHAT DORSEY WAS UP AGAINST.

Ubelaker: THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF A BEAR PAW.

THE CLAWS ARE GONE,

AND YOU'RE LEFT WITH AN ARTICULATED BONE PATTERN

THAT LOOKS SIMILAR TO WHAT WE SEE IN HUMAN FEET.

AND IT CAN BE MISTAKEN,

BUT THE DETAILS OF THE BONES ARE DISTINCT

AND ALLOW IT TO BE DISTINGUISHED.

Narrator: DORSEY WANTS TO ELIMINATE ANY CHANCE OF ERROR,

SO HE COMPARES THE SAUSAGE-FACTORY BONE FRAGMENTS

TO EVERY DIFFERENT KIND OF SKELETON

HE CAN GET HIS HANDS ON.

EVERYTHING FROM PIGS,

TO COWS,

AND, OF COURSE, HUMANS.

EACH OF THESE SKELETONS HAS SOME AREAS OF STRUCTURAL OVERLAP,

AND SOME VERY BIG DIFFERENCES.

BUT EVEN IF DORSEY KNEW FOR SURE IT WAS A HUMAN BONE,

THERE ARE 206 OF THEM IN THE HUMAN BODY,

AND THESE FRAGMENTS COULD HAVE COME FROM ANYWHERE.

Loerzel: WELL, THE PROCESS THAT GEORGE DORSEY USED

WAS ESSENTIALLY TO LOOK AT THE BONES

THAT WERE FOUND IN THE FACTORY

AND FIGURE OUT WHERE MIGHT THIS PIECE OF BONE

FIT INTO THIS SKELETON.

Narrator: TODAY, MORE THAN A CENTURY LATER,

FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGISTS STILL USE DORSEY'S HANDS-ON APPROACH.

Ubelaker: TODAY WE ALSO DO THAT...

WE ALSO RELY ON COMPARATIVE COLLECTIONS

AND THE APPEARANCE OF THE BONE.

Narrator: AFTER CAREFULLY STUDYING EACH FRAGMENT

AND COMPARING THEM TO HUNDREDS OF SKELETONS,

DORSEY HAS FINALLY IDENTIFIED THE BONES.

HE CONCLUDES THAT SOME OF THE FRAGMENTS ARE FROM A TOE,

A RIB, AND A FEMUR, OR THIGHBONE.

BUT HE HAS NO QUESTION ABOUT THEIR ORIGIN.

Loerzel: HIS CONCLUSION WAS NO,

THE ONLY PLACE THAT THESE BONES WOULD FIT

WOULD BE IN THE HUMAN SKELETON.

Narrator: ARMED WITH DORSEY'S CONCLUSIONS,

SCHUETTLER OFFICIALLY CHANGES LOUISA LUETGERT'S STATUS

FROM MISSING PERSON...

...TO MURDER VICTIM.

AND TOPPING THE SUSPECT LIST IS LOUISA'S HUSBAND,

ADOLPH LUETGERT.

Loerzel: ADOLPH LUETGERT WAS REALLY THE ONLY SUSPECT

THAT THE POLICE HAD.

SOME WITNESSES TALKED ABOUT

SEEING ADOLPH CHASE HIS WIFE AROUND WITH A GUN

ON ONE OCCASION.

SO THAT LENT SOME CREDIBILITY

TO THE IDEA THAT HE MIGHT HAVE LOST HIS TEMPER FINALLY

AND DID HER IN.

Narrator: CHICAGO POLICE ARREST LUETGERT

AND CHARGE HIM WITH HIS WIFE'S MURDER.

AND THE STORY INSTANTLY BECOMES A MEDIA SENSATION.

LUETGERT'S SAUSAGES HAD BECOME A SENSATION

AT THE CHICAGO WORLD'S FAIR,

MAKING HIM VIRTUALLY A HOUSEHOLD NAME.

Loerzel: PEOPLE ARE ALWAYS INTERESTED

WHEN SOMEONE IN A POSITION OF POWER

IS CHARGED WITH A CRIME.

BUT PERHAPS MORE THAN ANYTHING,

IT WAS THE, BOTH THE GRUESOMENESS

OF HOW LOUISA LUETGERT WAS SUPPOSEDLY DISSOLVED,

AND THIS UNDERLYING MYSTERY

OF WHETHER A MURDER HAD EVEN HAPPENED.

Narrator: DORSEY HAS ALREADY CONVINCED POLICE

THAT LOUISA WAS MURDERED.

BUT NOW HE'LL HAVE TO MAKE THAT CASE TO A JURY.

AND IT'S GOING TO BE A TOUGH BATTLE.

IT'S A MURDER CASE WITH NO BODY

AND NO EYEWITNESSES.

FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER,

PROSECUTORS ARE HOPING A FEW BONE FRAGMENTS

CAN BRING DOWN A COLD-BLOODED KILLER.

A CENTURY LATER, IN 1978,

POLICE ON THE JOHN WAYNE GACY CASE

AREN'T TRYING TO PROVE MURDER.

THEY'RE HOPING TO FIGURE OUT WHO WAS KILLED AND HOW.

IT ALL STARTS WITH THE BONES...

THE ONLY THING THAT'S LEFT OF THE THREE VICTIMS

FOUND BENEATH THE HOME OF JOHN WAYNE GACY.

Sullivan: MY REACTION WAS JUST PLAIN,

"WOW, YOU KNOW, WHAT HAVE I UNCOVERED HERE?"

IT'S SOMETHING THAT, OBVIOUSLY, I HAD NEVER SEEN.

AND IT WAS JUST, IT WAS JUST WAY TOO MUCH FOR ME

EVEN TO COMPREHEND AT THAT TIME, TO BE VERY HONEST WITH YOU.

Narrator: LEAD DETECTIVE JOE KOZENCZAK CONFRONTS GACY

ABOUT THE GRISLY DISCOVERY.

AND TO HIS SURPRISE,

GACY STARTS TALKING ABOUT LURING YOUNG MEN TO HIS HOME,

BINDING OR HANDCUFFING THEM, AND THEN STRANGLING THEM.

BUT HE'S COY.

HE WON'T ADMIT HOW MANY VICTIMS MET THEIR FATE HERE,

OR WHO THEY ARE.

Sullivan: GACY TOLD US ONLY THINGS

THAT HE WANTED US TO KNOW.

HE ACTUALLY DID SAY AT ONE POINT

THAT WE COULD NEVER PROVE THE CASE,

BECAUSE HE ACTUALLY BUILT HIS HOUSE

ON AN INDIAN BURIAL GROUND.

THIS WAS PART OF HIS WHOLE DEFENSE.

I THINK HE REALLY DID BELIEVE THAT WE COULDN'T PROVE IT.

Narrator: BUT FORENSIC SCIENCE HAS COME A LONG WAY

SINCE THE DAYS OF THE SAUSAGE KING.

BY THE LATE 1970s,

FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGISTS CAN DO MORE

THAN JUST DISTINGUISH AN ANIMAL FROM A PERSON.

THEY CAN DETERMINE GENDER, STATURE, AGE RANGE,

AND EVIDENCE OF INJURY.

AND ONE OF THE LEGENDS IN THE BONE FIELD

IS FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGIST DR. CLYDE SNOW.

HE HELPED IDENTIFY THE REMAINS OF KING TUT

AND NAZI "ANGEL OF DEATH" JOSEF MENGELE.

NOW HE'LL FACE HIS BIGGEST CHALLENGE...

PUTTING NAMES AND FACES TO THE BONES

FOUND UNDER JOHN WAYNE GACY'S HOUSE.

AND IT'S JUST THE BEGINNING.

Reporter: TODAY, POLICE FIND FOUR MORE BODIES

IN JOHN WAYNE GACY'S SUBURBAN HOME.

Narrator: EACH DAY, THE MEDICAL EXAMINER ANNOUNCES

THE DISCOVERY OF MORE SKELETONS.

Sullivan: LITERALLY, THE HOLE IN THE FLOORBOARD BECAME BIGGER,

DAYS THERE BECAME LONGER,

THE CRIME JUST SEEMED TO BECOME BIGGER.

Narrator: IT TAKES TWO MONTHS FOR A FULL EXCAVATION.

THE FINAL TALLY IS 29 VICTIMS.

POLICE NOW HAVE MORE THAN ENOUGH EVIDENCE

TO PUT GACY AWAY FOREVER.

BUT THEY'RE STILL TRYING TO ASSEMBLE THE PUZZLE

OF GACY'S KILLING SPREE.

Dr. Clyde Snow: THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME

THAT A FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGIST HAD BEEN ASKED

TO EXAMINE THIS NUMBER OF BODIES, OF VICTIMS,

FROM A SINGLE CASE.

Narrator: THERE ARE SO MANY VICTIMS

THAT IDENTIFYING EVERY ONE OF THEM COULD TAKE MONTHS,

EVEN YEARS.

SO FIRST, POLICE WANT TO GET AN OVERVIEW OF GACY'S CRIMES

AND SEE IF THERE'S A COMMON THREAD.

DR. SNOW TURNS TO THE BONES FOR HELP,

AND STARTS WITH THE MOST BASIC QUESTION OF IDENTITY...

HOW OLD WERE THESE VICTIMS WHEN THEY DIED?

Ubelaker: TO ASSESS AGE AND DEATH OF JUVENILES,

FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGISTS FREQUENTLY LOOK AT

THE SIZE OF THE BONES.

IT PROVIDES SOME CLUES AS TO AGE.

IN ADDITION, YOU CAN SEE HOW THESE BONY CAPS

ON THE ENDS OF THE BONES OF THE GROWING CHILD ARE SEPARATE.

AS THE BONE CONTINUES TO GROW,

THESE CAPS WILL GROW RIGHT ON OUT WITH THAT BONE

UNTIL THEY FUSE, AND THEN THEY LOOK LIKE THAT.

Narrator: THIS IS COMMON KNOWLEDGE

FOR FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGISTS TODAY,

BUT IT TOOK OVER 60 YEARS OF RESEARCH

AFTER THE LUETGERT CASE

TO DETERMINE THE GROWTH PATTERNS OF INDIVIDUAL BONES.

WHEN THE BONES FUSE, THAT MEANS THEY'VE STOPPED GROWING.

AND DIFFERENT BONES STOP AT DIFFERENT AGES.

THE HANDS AND FEET AT ABOUT 15,

THE THIGH BONE AT ROUGHLY 17,

AND THE COLLARBONE... THE LAST BONE TO STOP GROWING...

AT APPROXIMATELY AGE 28.

WHEN SNOW CHECKS THE COLLAR BONES

OF THE SKELETONS FOUND UNDER GACY'S HOUSE,

NONE OF THEM ARE FULLY FUSED.

THE FIRST PIECE OF THE IDENTIFICATION PUZZLE

NOW FALLS INTO PLACE...

THESE VICTIMS WERE ALL LESS THAN 30 YEARS OLD.

THE NEXT QUESTION... WHAT WERE THE GENDERS OF GACY'S TARGETS?

FIRST, DR. SNOW WILL FOCUS ON

THE SIZE AND SHAPE OF THE FEMUR, OR THIGHBONE.

Ubelaker: THE HEAD OF THE FEMUR,

THE PART THAT FITS INTO THE PELVIS,

TENDS TO BE MUCH LARGER IN MALES THAN IT DOES IN FEMALES.

Narrator: THIS IS A STRONG INDICATOR

OF WHETHER A SKELETON WAS A MAN OR A WOMAN.

FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGISTS CAN ALSO LOOK TO OTHER BONES

FOR CLUES... LIKE THE PELVIS.

FEMALES USUALLY HAVE A WIDER, ROUNDER PELVIS

TO ACCOMMODATE CHILDBIRTH.

Snow: AND NOT ONLY THE PELVIS,

BUT ALSO THERE ARE DIFFERENCES,

PARTICULARLY IN ADULTS, IN THE SKULL.

MALES, FOR EXAMPLE, HAVE THE VERY HEAVY BROW RIDGES

ABOVE THE, ABOVE THE EYES HERE,

THEY HAVE BIG MASTOID PROCESSES,

THIS LUMP OF BONE RIGHT BEHIND YOUR EAR...

A NUMBER OF DIFFERENCES.

Narrator: POLICE HAVE RECOVERED VERY COMPLETE SKELETONS,

SO DR. SNOW HAS ENOUGH MARKERS TO CONFIRM EACH VICTIM'S GENDER.

BASED ON THESE BONES,

THE OVERALL SNAPSHOT OF GACY'S VICTIMS

COMES MORE CLEARLY INTO FOCUS.

THEY'RE NOT ONLY YOUNG, THEY'RE ALL MALE,

LIKE THE BOY WHO VANISHED FROM THE PHARMACY.

NOW DR. SNOW LOOKS FOR CLUES

THAT WILL TELL HIM THEIR ANCESTRAL BACKGROUND.

ETHNIC FEATURES ARE LESS CONCLUSIVE

THAN THE ONES THAT SHOW GENDER OR AGE.

BUT THEY DO OFFER CLUES.

Snow: THOSE DIFFERENCES ARE REFLECTED

IN THE SKELETON OF THE FACE.

Narrator: AND SNOW NOTICES THESE SKULLS

SHARE MANY SIMILAR CHARACTERISTICS...

NARROW, TRIANGULAR NOSE OPENINGS,

UNPROTRUDING JAWS,

AND CHEEK BONES THAT AREN'T VERY PRONOUNCED.

THESE ARE ALL SIGNS

THAT POINT TO THE SKELETONS BEING CAUCASIAN.

POLICE NOW BELIEVE THAT ALL OF THE REMAINS

FOUND IN JOHN WAYNE GACY'S HOUSE ARE WHITE MALES,

IN THEIR TEENS OR EARLY 20s.

AND THEY KNOW FOR SURE THAT THIS IS NO INDIAN BURIAL GROUND.

THE 29 BODIES IN THIS BASEMENT

WERE ALL LEFT HERE WITHIN THE LAST FEW YEARS.

BUT WHO WERE THEY?

AND WHERE DID THEY COME FROM?

KILLER CLOWN JOHN WAYNE GACY ISN'T SAYING,

SO POLICE WILL HAVE TO TURN BACK TO THE BONES FOR ANSWERS.

Reporter: INVESTIGATORS HAVE FOUND NINE BODIES IN THREE DAYS

OF SEARCHING THROUGH JOHN WAYNE GACY'S

SUBURBAN CHICAGO HOME.

THEY EXPECT TO FIND AT LEAST FOUR MORE BODIES EACH DAY

FOR THE REST OF THE WEEK.

Narrator: USING JUST THE BONES

FOUND IN THE CRAWLSPACE OF JOHN WAYNE GACY'S HOME,

FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGIST CLYDE SNOW HAS CREATED A PROFILE

OF THE SERIAL KILLER'S TARGET OF CHOICE...

YOUNG, WHITE AND MALE.

BUT WHO ARE THESE VICTIMS?

THEIR FAMILIES ARE OUT THERE SOMEWHERE,

WAITING FOR NEWS.

SO POLICE ARE GOING TO TRY TO FIND MORE ANSWERS

BY SENDING DR. SNOW BACK TO THE BONES.

Snow: THE BONES, THEY DON'T FORGET,

AND THEY ALWAYS TELL THE TRUTH.

NOW, WHEN THEY TALK TO US AND THEY TELL US THEIR STORIES,

SOMETIMES YOU CAN'T SHUT 'EM UP.

Narrator: IN COURT, PROSECUTORS WILL WANT TO PROVE

EXACTLY HOW GACY KILLED HIS VICTIMS.

GACY HAS ADMITTED TO STRANGLING SOME OF THEM,

BUT HE'S NOT EXACTLY A CREDIBLE WITNESS.

SO DR. SNOW CHECKS A PARTICULAR BONE IN THE NECK...

ONE THAT USUALLY CONTROLS TONGUE MOVEMENT.

Snow: THIS IS THIS LITTLE KIND OF HORSESHOE-SHAPED BONE

UP IN YOUR THROAT... THE HYOID.

AND WITH A FAIR DEGREE OF FREQUENCY,

THAT BONE BECOMES FRACTURED DURING MANUAL STRANGULATION.

Narrator: BASED ON WHAT HE FINDS IN THE HYOID BONE

OF MOST OF THESE SKELETONS,

HE'S SUDDENLY ABLE TO CONFIRM WITHOUT A DOUBT

GACY'S GRUESOME METHOD OF MURDER.

Sullivan: WE SAW A GENERAL TREND OF HIS,

WHICH WAS THE ROPE AROUND THE NECK,

AND ONCE HE TWISTED THAT, THEY ASPHYXIATED.

FOR ALL PRACTICAL PURPOSES, THE KIDS DIDN'T HAVE A PRAYER.

Narrator: THAT BROKEN HYOID BONE CONFIRMS

THAT MANY OF GACY'S VICTIMS WERE STRANGLED.

BUT POLICE STILL HAVE NO IDEA WHO THEY ARE.

THE CHICAGO POLICE FILES ARE FULL OF RUNAWAYS

WHO'VE NEVER BEEN FOUND.

AND SOME OF GACY'S VICTIMS COULD BE FROM OTHER CITIES.

FORTUNATELY, SNOW'S ANTHROPOLOGICAL PROFILE

HAS ALREADY HELPED POLICE

NARROW DOWN THE POOL OF POSSIBLE CANDIDATES.

Snow: THEY COMPARE IT WITH MISSING PERSONS,

WITH THEIR PROFILES,

AND THAT CAN LEAD US TO CANDIDATES

FOR EVENTUAL POSITIVE IDENTIFICATION.

Reporter: POLICE ARE GETTING HUNDREDS OF CALLS

FROM ALL OVER THE COUNTRY

FROM PEOPLE WHO WANT TO KNOW WHETHER A MISSING SON OR BROTHER

HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED AMONG THE DEAD.

Narrator: THIS WILL BE A LONG, SLOW PROCESS.

BUT LONG BEFORE THE AGE OF DNA ANALYSIS,

AND WITH NO SKIN ON THEIR FINGERS TO PRINT,

THERE'S ONE LAST FORENSIC TOOL FOR IDENTIFYING VICTIMS...

THEIR TEETH.

LIKE BONES, TEETH CAN REVEAL A WEALTH OF INFORMATION,

INCLUDING AGE.

THE PATTERNS OF TOOTH ERUPTION AND WEAR

CAN CLEARLY SHOW HOW OLD SOMEONE WAS.

Ubelaker: THIS IS A LOWER JAW, A MANDIBLE OF A YOUNG CHILD.

AND BASICALLY WE CAN LOOK AT

THE STAGE OF FORMATION OF THESE TEETH

AND CALCULATE THE AGE MORE EXACTLY

THAN WE CAN FROM LOOKING AT THE LENGTH OF THE BONES.

Narrator: EXPERTS, CALLED FORENSIC ODONTOLOGISTS,

CAN ALSO TELL FROM CERTAIN TYPES OF EROSION

WHETHER SOMEONE IS A SMOKER.

A PERSON'S MOLARS AND INCISORS CAN EVEN REVEAL

HOW WELL-OFF THEY WERE,

BASED ON THE QUALITY OF THEIR DENTAL CARE.

BUT WHEN IT COMES TO FORENSICS,

THE BEST THING ABOUT TEETH

IS THAT THEY HELP IDENTIFY PEOPLE.

THAT'S WHAT THE FAMILIES

OF JOHN WAYNE GACY'S SUSPECTED VICTIMS

ARE COUNTING ON.

Reporter: GREGORY'S MOTHER HOPES HE'S STILL ALIVE.

Woman: I REALLY DO WANT TO BELIEVE THAT.

Narrator: ON DECEMBER 12, 1976,

17-YEAR-OLD GREGORY GODZIK,

AN EMPLOYEE AT GACY'S CONTRACTING COMPANY,

DISAPPEARED AFTER DROPPING HIS DATE OFF AT HER HOUSE.

HIS CAR WAS FOUND THE NEXT DAY.

BUT GREGORY WAS NEVER SEEN AGAIN.

Kozenczak: IF THEY SUSPECTED THEIR SON

MIGHT HAVE BEEN A VICTIM OF GACY'S,

THEY WOULD BRING DENTAL WORK FROM THEIR DENTIST

INTO THE COUNTY MORGUE

TO DO COMPARISONS.

SO IT WAS A DIFFICULT, TEDIOUS PROCESS.

Narrator: WITH 29 BODIES TO IDENTIFY,

POLICE HAVE A LONG ROAD AHEAD,

AND NOT EVERY VICTIM HAS DENTAL RECORDS TO MATCH AGAINST.

Sullivan: AFTER SIX WEEKS OR SO,

WE HAD ONLY IDENTIFIED LESS THAN HALF OF THE BODIES.

Narrator: AND 17-YEAR-OLD GREGORY GODZIK IS ONE OF THEM,

DASHING THE HOPES OF HIS MOTHER,

WHO HAD PRAYED HE WAS STILL ALIVE.

AND WITHOUT FINGERPRINTS OR DNA TO HELP HIM,

DR. SNOW COULD BE OUT OF OPTIONS.

BUT HE HAS AN INNOVATIVE IDEA FOR TRYING TO I.D. MORE VICTIMS.

SNOW AND A FORENSIC ARTIST NAMED BETTY PAT GATLIFF

HAVE BEEN PIONEERS IN EFFORTS TO PUT FLESH ON SKULLS,

ALLOWING THEM TO SEE WHAT VICTIMS LOOKED LIKE

BEFORE THEY DIED.

SNOW AND GATLIFF BEGAN USING FACIAL RECONSTRUCTION

TO IDENTIFY PLANE CRASH VICTIMS BACK IN THE '60s.

BUT AROUND THE TIME OF THE GACY CASE,

THE METHOD IS GETTING PERFECTED.

Karen T. Taylor: THIS IS A SCULPTURE

DONE FOR A VERY SPECIFIC PURPOSE,

NOT MADE TO GO IN A MUSEUM OR TO LOOK GOOD.

IT'S MADE TO ACHIEVE ITS PURPOSE

OF GETTING SOMEONE IDENTIFIED.

Narrator: EVERY SKULL HOLDS CLUES

AS TO HOW THE FLESH FOLDED AROUND IT,

WHERE THE EYES ONCE SAT,

AND HOW WIDE FEATURES LIKE THE NOSE AND MOUTH ONCE WERE.

Taylor: WE ARE UNIQUELY DIFFERENT

IN OUR LAYOUTS OF OUR FACES,

AND CAPTURING THAT IS WHAT THE FORENSIC ARTIST NEEDS TO DO

TO TRIGGER RECOGNITION.

IT'S KEY.

Narrator: ONE OF THE MOST CRITICAL STEPS IN THE PROCESS

IS TO USE SIMPLE VINYL ERASER TIPS

TO ESTABLISH THE AVERAGE THICKNESS OF THE SKIN.

Taylor: THEY ARE ACTUALLY APPLIED

ON VARIOUS ANTHROPOLOGICAL LANDMARKS AROUND THE FACE.

THEN IT BECOMES A MATTER OF STARTING TO CONNECT THOSE DOTS,

STARTING TO BUILD UP THE SOFT TISSUE USING CLAY

TO REVEAL WHAT THE CONTOURS MIGHT HAVE LOOKED LIKE

ON THE SURFACE IN LIFE.

Narrator: THE SKULL DOESN'T GIVE ANY CLUES

ABOUT A PERSON'S HAIR OR EYE COLOR.

BUT IT DOES SHOW THE MORE SUBTLE FEATURES

THAT FORENSIC ARTISTS CAN REPLICATE.

Taylor: WE TEND TO THINK THAT WE RECOGNIZE SOMEBODY WE KNOW

BY JUST THEIR EYES OR SOME INDIVIDUAL THING,

BUT, IN FACT, WHAT WE REALLY ARE DOING

IS PICKING UP ON THE LAYOUT,

THE SPATIAL RELATIONSHIPS

BETWEEN THE FEATURES OF THE MID-FACE,

THIS MID-FACE TRIANGLE OF EYES, NOSE, MOUTH.

AND LITTLE DIFFERENCES MAKE A BIG, BIG IMPACT

ON RECOGNIZABILITY.

Narrator: NOW POLICE HAVE FINALLY GIVEN FACES

TO NINE OF GACY'S UNIDENTIFIED VICTIMS.

BUT CAN THEY FIND THE NAMES TO GO WITH THEM?

SOON THEY RELEASE THE IMAGES TO THE MEDIA,

HOPING THAT SOMEONE SOMEWHERE WILL BE ABLE TO RECOGNIZE THEM.

WITH THE GACY CASE,

AT LEAST POLICE HAD FULL SKELETONS

AND CLEAR EVIDENCE

THAT THEY WERE DEALING WITH A SERIAL KILLER.

BUT 100 YEARS EARLIER,

ALL POLICE HAVE ARE A FEW BONE FRAGMENTS

AND REPORTS OF A MISSING WOMAN.

THERE'S STILL NO PROOF

THAT LOUISA LUETGERT IS A MURDER VICTIM,

OR THAT CHICAGO'S FAMOUS SAUSAGE KING KILLED HER.

Loerzel: THE KEY LEGAL QUESTION THAT CAME UP

IS SOMETHING CALLED CORPUS DELICTI,

WHERE YOU HAVE TO PROVE THE BODY OF EVIDENCE

THAT THERE WAS A CRIME.

SO THE FIRST QUESTION IS, WAS THERE A MURDER?

AND SOME PEOPLE IN CHICAGO, AND ADOLPH LUETGERT AMONG THEM,

INSISTED THAT NO MURDER HAS HAPPENED HERE,

LOUISA LUETGERT JUST RAN OFF.

Narrator: ANTHROPOLOGIST GEORGE DORSEY

TELLS A DIFFERENT STORY.

HE BELIEVES THAT LOUISA WAS KILLED.

AND HE'S TRYING TO PROVE IT WITH A FEW STRAY BONE FRAGMENTS,

SOMETHING NO ONE'S EVER DONE BEFORE.

Loerzel: THIS WAS THE FIRST TRIAL

WHERE ANTHROPOLOGISTS TESTIFIED AS EXPERT WITNESSES.

AND WHEN GEORGE DORSEY TESTIFIED,

HE CAME ACROSS AS VERY CREDIBLE.

HE SOUNDED VERY DEFINITIVE

WHEN HE IDENTIFIED THESE SPECIFIC BONES

AS BEING FROM SPECIFIC PARTS OF THE HUMAN SKELETON.

Narrator: AND THEN DORSEY GOES EVEN FURTHER.

WHEN HE LOOKS AT THE SIZE OF ALL THE BONES TOGETHER,

THE FEMUR, THE RIB, AND TOE...

HE NOTES THEY ARE ALL SMALLER IN COMPARISON

TO THE SIZE OF AVERAGE MALE BONES.

HIS CONCLUSION?

THE BONES BELONG TO A WOMAN.

AND LOUISA LUETGERT WAS A WOMAN OF SMALL STATURE.

Loerzel: THE DEFENSE ATTORNEYS CROSS-EXAMINED DORSEY,

BUT NO MATTER HOW THEY TRIED TO TRIP HIM UP,

HE WOULD NOT BUDGE FROM HIS STORY.

Narrator: THE PROSECUTION HAS MADE A COMPELLING CASE,

BUT THEY'RE RELYING ON CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE

AND AN ANTHROPOLOGIST WHO'S NEVER TESTIFIED

IN A CRIMINAL CASE BEFORE.

SO THE DEFENSE TRIES TO REMIND THE JURY

THAT THIS IS JUST ONE EXPERT'S OPINION.

Loerzel: SO THE DEFENSE ATTORNEYS KEPT HAMMERING AWAY AT THAT,

TRYING TO HAVE THIS DOUBT IN THE MINDS OF THE JURORS.

Narrator: LUETGERT'S TEAM THEN COUNTERS

THE PROSECUTION'S STAR WITNESS WITH THEIR OWN EXPERT...

NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY ANATOMY INSTRUCTOR DR. WALTER ALLPORT.

AND AFTER EXAMINING SOME OF THE RIB FRAGMENTS,

HE DRAWS HIS OWN VERY DIFFERENT CONCLUSION.

Loerzel: DR. ALLPORT LOOKED AT THE SAME BONES

THAT GEORGE DORSEY LOOKED AT

AND SAID THAT SOME OF THESE BONES WERE FROM A HOG.

Narrator: PIG RIBS AND HUMAN RIBS

HAVE SIMILAR CHARACTERISTICS,

WHICH MAKES ALLPORT'S ASSERTION HIGHLY PLAUSIBLE.

Loerzel: LIKE MANY TRIALS TODAY,

YOU ENDED UP WITH WARRING EXPERTS ON THE WITNESS STAND.

Narrator: IF THE JURY BELIEVES IN DORSEY'S TAKE ON THEM,

THE SAUSAGE KING IS GOING AWAY FOR A LONG, LONG TIME.

BUT IF THEY DON'T, AN ACCUSED KILLER WILL BE SET FREE.

AT THE TURN OF THE CENTURY,

THE WIFE OF CHICAGO'S SAUSAGE KING IS PRESUMED DEAD,

AND THESE BONE FRAGMENTS ARE THE KEY EVIDENCE

AGAINST HER ALLEGED KILLER,

HER OWN HUSBAND.

BUT ARE THE BONES HUMAN OR NOT?

ANTHROPOLOGIST GEORGE DORSEY,

WHOSE LIFE'S WORK IS THE STUDY OF BONES, SAYS YES.

AND HE'S METHODICALLY COMPARED THE BONES

TO DOZENS OF DIFFERENT ANIMAL SPECIES IN ORDER TO PROVE IT.

ANATOMY INSTRUCTOR DR. WALTER ALLPORT, HOWEVER,

INSISTS THAT HE CAN JUDGE THE SOURCE OF THESE BONE FRAGMENTS

JUST BY LOOKING AT THEM.

SO PROSECUTORS VOW TO PUT HIM TO THE TEST.

Loerzel: THEY WERE BRINGING OUT SOME VARIOUS BONES

DURING CROSS-EXAMINATION,

AND THEY HANDED SOME BONES TO HIM,

AND HE LOOKED AT THEM AND SAID THEY WERE FROM A DOG.

THE PROSECUTION POINTED OUT

THAT IT WAS ACTUALLY FROM A MONKEY,

WHICH PROMPTED SOME LAUGHTER,

AND HIS WAY OF TRYING TO RECOVER FROM THIS MISTAKE

WAS TO SAY, WELL, MAYBE IT WAS A DOG-MONKEY.

AT THAT POINT, THE JURORS ARE PROBABLY THINKING

THIS GUY DOESN'T KNOW WHAT HE'S TALKING ABOUT.

SO THAT REALLY UNDERMINED SOME OF THE DEFENSE TESTIMONY

ON THE BONES.

Narrator: LUETGERT'S DEFENSE IS LOOKING SHAKY,

BUT THE BURDEN OF PROOF IS STILL ON THE PROSECUTION.

YES, MAYBE THOSE ARE HUMAN BONES,

BUT DORSEY STILL HASN'T PROVED THAT ANYONE WAS KILLED...

AT LEAST NOT YET.

DORSEY HAS ALREADY ESTABLISHED THAT SOME OF THE BONE FRAGMENTS

WERE FROM A TOE, A RIB, AND A PART OF THE THIGHBONE.

BUT THEN COMES A STARTLING NEW REVELATION...

ANOTHER FRAGMENT IS PART OF THE VICTIM'S SKULL.

ON CLOSER OBSERVATION,

DORSEY NOTICES A TRACE OF THE EAR CANAL

LEFT ON A PIECE OF THE BONE.

WHICH MEANS THIS IS THE TEMPORAL BONE,

A PART OF THE SKULL LOCATED NEAR THE EAR.

THE GRISLY DISCOVERY CLINCHES THE ARGUMENT

THAT THIS IS A MURDER CASE.

Sue Black: IF YOU LOSE THE TOP OF YOUR LITTLE FINGER,

YOU COULD STILL QUITE FUNCTIONALLY BE ALIVE.

HOWEVER, IF IT TURNS OUT TO BE A BIT

THAT COMES RIGHT FROM THE SIDE OF YOUR HEAD HERE,

CHANCES OF YOU WALKING AROUND ALIVE ARE PRETTY SLIM.

Narrator: FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER,

BONES ARE USED TO HELP MAKE THE CASE AGAINST A KILLER.

Loerzel: THE 12 JURORS FIND HIM GUILTY.

INSTEAD OF GIVING HIM THE DEATH PENALTY,

WHICH SOME PEOPLE THOUGHT HE DESERVED

FOR COMMITTING SUCH A GRUESOME CRIME,

THEY SENTENCED HIM TO LIFE IN PRISON.

Narrator: A FEW SMALL BONES,

A DEDICATED EXPERT,

AND A PROSECUTION WILLING TO TAKE SOME VERY BIG RISKS

CONSPIRE TO MAKE HISTORY.

THE SCIENCE OF FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGY

HAS JUST PROVED ITS VALUE.

AND IT'S ABOUT TO MAKE EVEN GREATER STRIDES.

IN 1936, FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGY AND LAW ENFORCEMENT

FORM AN OFFICIAL PARTNERSHIP WHEN THE FBI REACHES OUT

TO THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION'S

NATIONAL MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

FOR ASSISTANCE IN SOLVING

SOME OF THEIR TOUGHEST HOMICIDE CASES.

IN 1945, FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGISTS' EXPERTISE

CROSSES INTO THE BATTLEFIELD,

HELPING TO I.D. THE BONES OF UNKNOWN CASUALTIES

FROM WORLD WAR II.

AND IN 1949,

BONE DETECTIVES TAKE ON THEIR FIRST SERIAL KILLER,

PIECING TOGETHER THE REMAINS OF SIX VICTIMS

AT THE HAND OF JOHN GEORGE HAIGH,

ALSO KNOWN AS THE ACID BATH MURDERER.

AND BY 1978, POLICE HOPE THAT FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGY

CAN HELP CLOSE THE BOOKS ON THE JOHN WAYNE GACY MURDER CASE.

MOST OF THE 29 SKELETONS FOUND UNDER GACY'S HOUSE

HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED.

BUT THERE ARE STILL A FEW UNKNOWNS.

FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGIST CLYDE SNOW

AND ARTIST BETTY PAT GATLIFF

HAVE USED THE VICTIMS' SKULLS TO CREATE FACIAL RECONSTRUCTIONS

THAT COULD HELP THEIR FAMILIES RECOGNIZE THEM.

Snow: IT'S YOUR LAST SHOT.

YOU'VE EXHAUSTED ALL NORMAL LEADS

OR METHODS OF GETTING LEADS FOR AN IDENTIFICATION.

Narrator: AT LAST THEY GET A HIT

ON ONE OF THE ANONYMOUS SKELETONS.

THEY IDENTIFY A 15-YEAR-OLD NAMED TIMOTHY McCOY.

A TEENAGER FROM IOWA,

TIMOTHY WAS RETURNING HOME FROM A CHRISTMAS TRIP

IN JANUARY OF 1972

WHEN HE DISAPPEARED FROM A CHICAGO BUS STATION,

20 MINUTES FROM GACY'S HOUSE.

BASED ON THE DATE OF HIS DISAPPEARANCE,

TIMOTHY McCOY IS BELIEVED TO BE GACY'S FIRST MURDER.

OVERALL, FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGISTS

PUT NAMES TO MORE THAN 20 OF GACY'S VICTIMS.

IN A GRUESOME TWIST,

POLICE ALSO FIND FOUR MORE CORPSES IN NEARBY RIVERS

THAT FORENSIC EVIDENCE SHOWS TO BE GACY'S HANDIWORK,

INCLUDING THE BODY OF ROBERT PIEST,

THE BOY WHOSE DISAPPEARANCE

FIRST BROUGHT AUTHORITIES TO GACY'S DOORSTEP.

ON FEBRUARY 6, 1980,

GACY STANDS TRIAL

FOR THE MURDERS OF 33 YOUNG MEN AND BOYS.

THE WORLD OF FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGY

HAS CLEARLY COME A LONG WAY

SINCE THE DAYS OF THE SAUSAGE KING.

THE BONES FOUND IN GACY'S CRAWLSPACE

ARE POWERFUL AND UNDENIABLE EVIDENCE.

Sullivan: THE DEFENSE WAS OSTENSIBLY ONE OF INSANITY,

WHICH WAS REALLY THE KIND OF DEFENSE THAT WE EXPECTED,

PRETTY MUCH THE ONLY DEFENSE

THAT I THINK WAS AVAILABLE TO HIM AT THAT TIME.

Narrator: WHILE GACY PLEADS INSANITY,

PROSECUTORS USE THE REMAINS OF HIS VICTIMS

TO WEAVE A STORY OF A SOCIOPATH

WHO KNOWINGLY LURED YOUNG MEN AND BOYS INTO HIS HOME

AND RUTHLESSLY KILLED THEM.

WITH THE BONES OF GACY'S MANY VICTIMS

HELPING TO MOUNT THE CASE AGAINST HIM,

THE VERDICT IS NO SURPRISE.

Kozenczak: GACY WAS FOUND GUILTY

OF ALL 33 COUNTS OF MURDER,

AND WAS SUBSEQUENTLY SENTENCED TO DEATH.

Narrator: ON MAY 10, 1994,

GACY IS EXECUTED BY LETHAL INJECTION.

TODAY GACY'S STREET LOOKS LIKE ANY OTHER.

HIS HOUSE HAS BEEN TORN DOWN,

AND THE MASS GRAVE HAS LONG SINCE BEEN FILLED IN.

BUT THE LEGACY OF GACY'S CASE LIVES ON,

MOSTLY BECAUSE OF HOW IT LAUNCHED FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGY

INTO THE LIMELIGHT.

AND THIS FIELD HAS BECOME EVEN MORE POWERFUL SINCE THEN.

NOW STATE-OF-THE-ART TOOLS, LIKE HIGH-POWERED MICROSCOPES,

ARE HELPING FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGISTS GO FAR BEYOND

WHAT THEY EVER IMAGINED POSSIBLE.

Ubelaker: IT ALLOWS US TO LOOK INSIDE THE BONES,

AND THAT PRODUCES INFORMATION THAT'S RELEVANT

TO MANY AREAS OF INTERPRETATION IN FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGY,

AND MAY PRODUCE SOME EXCITING BREAKTHROUGHS.

Narrator: TECHNOLOGY LIKE DIGITAL ANIMATION

ALSO ALLOWS FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGISTS

TO GET MORE DETAILED INFORMATION FROM OLD BONES.

Taylor: I'VE BEEN ABLE TO SCAN THESE FRAGMENTARY SKULL ELEMENTS

AND VIRTUALLY ASSEMBLE THEM

USING THE INPUT OF A FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGIST

INTO THE CORRECT ORIENTATION TO HAVE A VIRTUAL SKULL.

AND IN THE PAST, I WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN ABLE TO DO ANYTHING

TO HELP PUT A FACE ON THAT SKULL.

Narrator: AND NOW FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGISTS

ARE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE LATEST TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES

ON AN EPIC SCALE.

DR. CLYDE SNOW IS CURRENTLY WORKING IN GUATEMALA,

TRYING TO IDENTIFY THOUSANDS OF UNKNOWN SKELETAL REMAINS

BURIED IN A MASS GRAVE.

THEY ARE BELIEVED TO BE VICTIMS OF POLITICAL ASSASSINATIONS.

Snow: HERE IS A GUNSHOT WOUND TO THE BACK OF THE HEAD,

A SINGLE GUNSHOT WOUND,

ENTERING THAT SKULL AT THE BASE.

CAN YOU IMAGINE THAT THE PERPETRATORS OF THESE CRIMES

EVER IN THEIR WILDEST NIGHTMARES

THOUGHT THAT WE WOULD BE FINDING THE VICTIMS?

Man: NO, I'M SURE THEY COUNTED ON THE FACT

THAT NOBODY WOULD EVER LOOK FOR THESE GUYS.

Snow: YEAH, YEAH.

Narrator: FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGY IS STILL JUST A CENTURY OLD,

BUT MODERN DAY BONE DETECTIVES ARE TAKING THE SCIENCE

TO A LEVEL ONCE THOUGHT IMPOSSIBLE...

SOLVING MURDERS AND IDENTIFYING THE DEAD

USING NOTHING MORE THAN A VICTIM'S BONES.