Original subtitles

[GUNSHOT]

Narrator: MURDER IS AS OLD AS TIME...

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

WHEN SLEUTHING MEETS SCIENCE,

NEW FORENSIC TOOLS ARE BORN.

SCOTLAND, 1935.

THE DISMEMBERED BODIES OF TWO WOMEN

ARE FOUND IN A RAVINE.

Man: ANYTHING THAT COULD HAVE HELPED TO IDENTIFY

WHO THESE POOR PEOPLE WERE

HAD BEEN REMOVED.

Narrator: BUT DETECTIVES FIND AN UNEXPECTED ALLY

IN THE FIGHT AGAINST CRIME...

INSECTS.

Man: IT WAS REALLY, QUITE A SORT OF, UM,

FLASH OF INSPIRATION,

THAT ANYONE CONSIDERED THAT THE INSECTS

COULD HAVE ANY ROLE TO PLAY AT ALL.

Narrator: THESE SILENT WITNESSES PROVIDE A CRITICAL CLUE

AND SHINE A SPOTLIGHT

ON THE EMERGING WORLD OF FORENSIC ENTOMOLOGY...

...NEARLY 70 YEARS LATER,

AFTER AN ENTIRE FAMILY IS MURDERED.

Man: THE CRIME SHOOK OUR COMMUNITY TO THE CORE.

Narrator: DETECTIVES ONCE AGAIN PUT BUGS TO THE TEST,

BUT IN A WHOLE NEW WAY.

Woman: I GOT A PHONE CALL FROM THE BAKERSFIELD POLICE,

ASKING WHETHER OR NOT WE COULD TELL

WHERE A VEHICLE HAD BEEN

BASED ON THE INSECTS THAT WERE ON THE RADIATOR.

I DON'T KNOW, BUT LET'S TRY.

Narrator: JULY 2003,

BAKERSFIELD, CALIFORNIA.

IT'S NOT A TYPICAL TUESDAY MORNING

AT THE HARPER HOUSE.

THINGS ARE MUCH TOO QUIET.

[PHONE RINGING]

IT'S BEEN A COUPLE OF DAYS SINCE JOANIE HARPER,

A MOTHER OF THREE, HAS ANSWERED HER TELEPHONE.

HER BEST FRIEND, KELSEY SPANN, IS WORRIED...

SO SHE DECIDES TO CHECK ON JOANIE AND THE KIDS.

WITH A GROWING SENSE OF DREAD, SHE MOVES THROUGH THE HOUSE.

AND WHEN SHE OPENS THE BEDROOM DOOR...

IT'S HER WORST NIGHTMARE.

JOANIE,

HER THREE CHILDREN,

AND HER MOTHER, ERNESTINE,

HAVE BEEN SAVAGELY MURDERED.

AN ENTIRE FAMILY IS GONE.

Jeff Watts: THE CRIME SHOOK OUR COMMUNITY TO THE CORE.

IT WAS SOMETHING THAT THE CITY OF BAKERSFIELD

HAD NEVER DEALT WITH BEFORE.

IT REALLY RATTLED THE POPULATION.

Narrator: POLICE COMB THE HARPER HOUSE

LOOKING FOR FORENSIC EVIDENCE

THAT WOULD POINT THEM TO THE KILLER.

ALL OF THE VICTIMS WERE SHOT EXECUTION STYLE,

AND JOANIE HARPER ALSO HAS MULTIPLE STAB WOUNDS.

BUT NONE OF THE NEIGHBORS HEARD ANYTHING OUT OF THE ORDINARY.

THEY FIND NO SIGN OF FORCED ENTRY,

AND NOTHING OF VALUE APPEARS TO BE MISSING.

THERE ARE NO STRANGE FINGERPRINTS,

OR HAIR OR FIBERS,

NOTHING OF FORENSIC VALUE TO GUIDE DETECTIVES.

BUT THEY DO LEARN THAT ONE FAMILY MEMBER IS MISSING.

Watts: WE DETERMINED THAT

THE ESTRANGED HUSBAND OF JOANIE HARPER WAS OUTSTANDING.

WE WANTED TO MAKE A DETERMINATION

IF VINCENT BROTHERS HAD INFORMATION

THAT WOULD AID US IN OUR INVESTIGATION.

Narrator: VINCENT BROTHERS IS A WELL-RESPECTED

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL VICE PRINCIPAL.

BUT JOANIE AND VINCENT SEPARATED A FEW MONTHS EARLIER

AMID RUMORS OF MARITAL INFIDELITY.

POLICE QUICKLY TRACK DOWN VINCENT BROTHERS.

DEVASTATED, VINCENT TELLS DETECTIVE JEFF WATTS

THAT HE'S BEEN AWAY,

VISITING RELATIVES IN OHIO.

AND HE'S GOT RECORDS TO BACK IT UP.

Watts: THERE HAD BEEN CREDIT CARD ACTIVITY

ON VINCENT BROTHERS' CREDIT CARD

ON SUNDAY, JULY 6th...

...IN COLUMBUS, OHIO.

Narrator: BROTHERS WAS 2,200 MILES AWAY

THE DAY HIS FAMILY WAS MURDERED.

IT LOOKS LIKE THE GRIEVING HUSBAND AND FATHER

IS EXACTLY THAT.

Watts: THERE WAS NOTHING INDICATING

HE COMMITTED THESE CRIMES.

Narrator: WHILE BAKERSFIELD MOURNS,

DETECTIVE WATTS AND HIS TEAM SCOUR THE EVIDENCE,

LOOKING FOR ANY CLUES TO THE KILLER.

AND POLICE CONTINUE TO CANVASS THE NEIGHBORHOOD

LOOKING FOR WITNESSES...

BUT THEY COME UP WITH NO SOLID LEADS.

THEY TURN BACK TO VINCENT BROTHERS FOR HELP.

THEY ARE SHOCKED TO FIND THAT THE GRIEVING FATHER

IS NOW ANYTHING BUT.

IN FACT, HE COMPLETELY STONEWALLS DETECTIVES.

Watts: WHAT I WAS MET WITH

WAS UNCOOPERATIVENESS WITH THE POLICE.

IF THOSE WERE MY CHILDREN THAT HAD BEEN MURDERED,

I'D WANT TO KNOW FROM THE POLICE,

WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO SOLVE THIS CRIME?

HOW WERE THEY MURDERED?

WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP?

Narrator: WITH GROWING SUSPICION,

DETECTIVE JEFF WATTS DECIDES TO TAKE A CLOSER LOOK

AT BROTHERS' ALIBI.

RECEIPTS CONFIRM THAT HE FLEW FROM BAKERSFIELD, CALIFORNIA,

TO COLUMBUS, OHIO, ON JULY 2nd,

FOUR DAYS BEFORE THE MURDERS.

Watts: WHEN HE ARRIVED IN COLUMBUS,

HE RENTED A DODGE NEON

THAT HE CLAIMED HE HAD ONLY USED

TO OPERATE IN THE COLUMBUS AREA.

Narrator: BUT WHEN DETECTIVE WATTS STUDIES

THE RENTAL CAR RECORDS...

HE'S IN FOR A HUGE SURPRISE.

Watts: VINCENT BROTHERS HAD PUT 5,424 MILES ON THIS VEHICLE.

Narrator: WHEN ASKED,

VINCENT BROTHERS HAS NO EXPLANATION

FOR THE HIGH MILEAGE.

DETECTIVE WATTS, HOWEVER, THINKS HE DOES.

Watts: IT WAS CLEAR TO US

THAT THIS VEHICLE COULD HAVE BEEN DRIVEN

FROM COLUMBUS TO BAKERSFIELD AND BACK.

Narrator: WHICH MEANS IT'S POSSIBLE

THAT VINCENT BROTHERS HAD THE OPPORTUNITY

TO KILL HIS FAMILY.

BUT DETECTIVE WATTS HAS SOME OBSTACLES IN HIS WAY

BEFORE HE CAN PROVE IT.

FIRST, THERE'S THE PAPER TRAIL.

IT PUTS BROTHERS SQUARELY IN COLUMBUS DURING THE MURDERS.

SECOND, THERE'S THE QUESTION OF EVIDENCE

CONNECTING BROTHERS TO THE ACTUAL CRIME.

HIS FINGERPRINTS AND STRAY HAIRS ARE ALL OVER THE HOUSE.

BUT UNTIL NOT LONG AGO,

VINCENT BROTHERS LIVED IN THAT HOUSE.

SO NONE OF IT PROVES HE'S A MURDERER.

THE EVIDENCE IS USELESS.

WHICH MEANS DETECTIVE WATTS WILL HAVE TO THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX

IF HE WANTS TO DISPROVE BROTHERS' ALIBI.

FIRST, HE FLIES TO OHIO

TO INSPECT VINCENT BROTHERS' RENTED DODGE NEON.

Watts: WE WERE FORTUNATE IN THIS CASE

THAT THIS RENTAL CAR,

WE WERE ABLE TO TRACK FROM DAY ONE,

FROM THE DAY IT WAS PUT IN SERVICE, MILE ONE,

WE KNEW WHO THE FIRST FOUR DRIVERS WERE.

ALL FOUR OF THOSE DRIVERS NEVER LEFT THE COLUMBUS AREA

OR THE OHIO AREA.

Narrator: WATTS SEARCHES THE CAR FROM TOP TO BOTTOM.

Watts: WHEN YOU GET A VEHICLE,

YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR.

SOMETIMES EVIDENCE JUST KIND OF COMES TO YOU.

I WAS HOPING TO FIND A FIREARM.

I WAS HOPING TO FIND THE KNIFE USED IN THE CRIMES.

BUT NONE OF THAT WAS THERE.

Narrator: IT APPEARS THE CAR WAS WASHED

BY THE RENTAL CAR COMPANY.

BUT THE ONE THING WATTS DOES FIND IS BUGS.

AND SOON WATTS COMES UP WITH AN IDEA SO UNORTHODOX

THAT IT ALMOST SOUNDS IMPOSSIBLE.

IS THERE A CHANCE THAT THE INSECTS

COULD SOMEHOW REVEAL WHERE THIS CAR HAS BEEN?

IT'S A LONG SHOT, TO SAY THE LEAST.

Watts: WE DIDN'T KNOW IF IT WAS GONNA WORK OR NOT.

I MEAN, IT WAS A HUNCH,

BUT SOMETIMES YOU JUST GOT TO PLAY YOUR HUNCHES.

Narrator: NOBODY ON THE BAKERSFIELD POLICE FORCE

HAS EVER USED DEAD INSECTS TO DISPROVE AN ALIBI,

AND DETECTIVE WATTS WILL NEED ALL THE HELP HE CAN GET.

SO HE TURNS TO AN EXPERT IN INSECTS...

AN ENTOMOLOGIST.

PEOPLE HAVE BEEN STUDYING INSECTS FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS.

IN 1828, WHILE STUDYING THEOLOGY AT CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY,

CHARLES DARWIN BECOMES OBSESSED WITH COLLECTING BEETLES

FROM THE ENGLISH COUNTRYSIDE.

HIS RECORDS OF THE COLLECTION ARE DETAILED IN THE BOOK,

"ILLUSTRATIONS OF BRITISH ENTOMOLOGY."

IN 1902, BRITISH DOCTOR SIR RONALD ROSS

DISCOVERS A MALARIAL PARASITE

IN THE GASTROINTESTINAL TRACT OF A MOSQUITO,

LEADING TO THE REALIZATION

THAT THE DEADLY DISEASE IS TRANSMITTED BY MOSQUITOS.

HIS WORK LAYS THE FOUNDATION FOR COMBATTING MALARIA

AND SAVES MILLIONS OF LIVES.

IN 2004, SCIENTISTS DISCOVER

THAT A FOSSIL FOUND IN 1928

CONTAINS THE OLDEST KNOWN INSECT,

A 400-MILLION-YEAR-OLD SPECIMEN.

TODAY THERE ARE UPWARDS OF 1.3 MILLION

KNOWN SPECIES OF INSECTS,

AND SCIENTISTS ARE STILL DISCOVERING SPECIES

AT A RATE OF NEARLY 20,000 A YEAR.

ESTIMATES ARE THERE MAY BE CLOSE TO 30 MILLION SPECIES OF INSECT

ON THE PLANET.

HOWEVER, USING INSECTS AS A FORENSIC TOOL

HAD NOT EVEN BEEN CONSIDERED UNTIL 1935...

...WHEN A BRUTAL MURDER SHOCKED A TOWN IN SCOTLAND.

ON A COLD SEPTEMBER MORNING IN EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND,

A WOMAN IS OUT FOR A SUNRISE STROLL.

Alan Moss: AND AS SHE'S ADMIRING THE VIEW,

TO HER HORROR,

SHE SAW WHAT SHE THOUGHT WAS A HUMAN ARM

ON THE RIVERBANK.

THE POLICE CAME ALONG

AND WENT DOWN TO THE RIVERBANK,

AND SURE ENOUGH, IT WAS A HUMAN ARM.

Narrator: BUT THE SEVERED ARM IS ONLY THE BEGINNING.

Moss: THE POLICE STARTED TO SEARCH

THE WHOLE OF THE RIVERBANK.

AS THEY SEARCHED FURTHER AND FURTHER,

THEY FOUND MORE AND MORE PARTS OF HUMAN REMAINS.

IN THE END, THEY DISCOVERED NO FEWER THAN 70

DIFFERENT PARTS OF HUMAN BODIES.

Narrator: TWO OF THE CAST-OFFS ARE HUMAN HEADS,

SO THICK WITH MAGGOTS, THEY'RE BARELY RECOGNIZABLE.

THE REMAINS ARE SENT TO THE LAB,

AND POLICE PATHOLOGISTS ASSEMBLE THE BODY PARTS.

SOON, A VAGUE PICTURE OF THE VICTIMS

STARTS TO TAKE SHAPE.

Moss: THEY KNEW IT WAS TWO BODIES,

BECAUSE THEY FOUND TWO HEADS.

THEY KNEW FROM THE LENGTH OF THE BONES,

BROADLY SPEAKING,

WHAT HEIGHT THEY WOULD BE.

AND THEY HAD ONE HUMAN TRUNK, WHICH WAS FEMALE,

SO THEY KNEW A WOMAN WAS INVOLVED.

BUT THE FACE, THE FACIAL SKIN HAD BEEN REMOVED.

THERE WERE NO EYES.

THE HAIR HAD BEEN REMOVED.

AND SO IT WAS ALMOST AS THOUGH THEY WERE DEALING WITH A SKULL

THAT COULD'VE BEEN THERE FOR SOME TIME.

Narrator: BUT HOW LONG?

IT WON'T BE AN EASY QUESTION TO ANSWER.

BUT INVESTIGATORS HAVE AN UNUSUAL IDEA...

PERHAPS THE MAGGOTS MIGHT PROVIDE A CLUE.

Martin Hall: BACK IN 1935,

IT WAS REALLY QUITE A SORT OF FLASH OF INSPIRATION

THAT ANYONE CONSIDERED THAT THE INSECTS

COULD HAVE ANY ROLE TO PLAY AT ALL.

Narrator: BUT INVESTIGATORS HAVE LITTLE ELSE TO GO ON.

THE MAGGOTS MIGHT BE THEIR ONLY HOPE.

1935, OUTSIDE EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND,

POLICE HAVE UNCOVERED A PAIR OF CORPSES

THAT THEY HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO IDENTIFY.

DETECTIVES HAVE NO LEADS AND LITTLE HOPE

OF SOLVING THIS BAFFLING CASE.

ALL THEY HAVE TO GO ON IS MAGGOTS.

SO POLICE REACH OUT TO THE ONE PERSON IN TOWN

WHO KNOWS ABOUT BUGS...

ALEXANDER MEARNS,

A PhD AT THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH.

Hall: FOR THE FORENSIC INVESTIGATORS

TO ACTUALLY COLLECT AND PRESERVE

AND THEN ASK AN ENTOMOLOGIST TO LOOK AT THESE SPECIMENS

WAS REALLY QUITE REMARKABLE.

Narrator: BUT MEARNS KNOWS ABOUT MAGGOTS

AND THEIR CONNECTION TO DEAD BODIES.

Mark Benecke: IN EARLIER TIMES,

PEOPLE THOUGHT THAT THE MAGGOTS JUST COME, GROW, APPEAR

OUT OF A DEAD BODY WHEN YOU DIE OR WHEN YOU DECOMPOSE.

Narrator: IT TOOK ONE OF THE PIONEERS OF MODERN BIOLOGY

TO PROVE OTHERWISE.

IN THE 1600s, THE ITALIAN PHYSICIAN FRANCESCO REDI

ANALYZED TWO JARS OF ROTTING MEAT,

AND FIGURED OUT THAT IT WAS FLIES THAT BRED MAGGOTS.

HE COVERED ONE JAR,

BUT LEFT THE OTHER UNCOVERED.

FLIES WERE ATTRACTED TO BOTH.

BUT ONLY THE UNCOVERED JAR BECAME INFESTED WITH MAGGOTS.

IN THE 1800s, FRENCH PHYSICIAN BERGERET D'ARBOIS

STUDIED THE LIFE CYCLES OF INSECTS

AND HYPOTHESIZED THAT A TIME OF DEATH

COULD BE DETERMINED

BY INSPECTING THE INSECTS ON A DECAYING CORPSE.

IN 1894, ENTOMOLOGIST DR. JEAN PIERRE MEGNIN

WROTE "THE FAUNA OF CORPSES,"

WHICH SHOWED THAT THERE ARE EIGHT STAGES OF DECOMPOSITION

AND THAT BLOWFLIES ARE THE FIRST BUGS TO ARRIVE ON A DEAD BODY.

BUT IT IS ALEXANDER MEARNS IN 1935,

WHO, FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER,

IS TAKING THE KNOWLEDGE OF HIS PREDECESSORS

AND APPLYING IT TO A MURDER CASE.

AND HE'S BLAZING A TRAIL WITH VERY LITTLE DATA.

TODAY, OUTSIDE KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE,

WILLIAM BASS CONTINUES DR. MEARNS' STUDIES

AT A RESEARCH FACILITY HE STARTED IN 1981

CALLED "THE BODY FARM."

IT'S A TWO-AND-A-HALF-ACRE PLOT OF LAND

THAT LOOKS LIKE A WELL-DRESSED SET FOR A HORROR FILM.

EVERYWHERE YOU LOOK, CORPSES...

FRESH, ANCIENT,

AND HALFWAY IN BETWEEN.

PEOPLE HAVE DONATED THEIR BODIES IN THE NAME OF SCIENCE.

AND THEIR REMAINS ARE BEING STUDIED

TO FURTHER HONE KNOWLEDGE OF BUGS, BODIES AND DEATH.

William Bass: LITERALLY, IN EVERY MURDER CASE,

THE QUESTION IS HOW LONG HAVE THEY BEEN DEAD?

WELL, THAT'S A DIFFICULT QUESTION TO ANSWER.

Narrator: THE BODY FARM PROVIDES FORENSIC ENTOMOLOGISTS

WITH CRITICAL INFORMATION.

THEY EXPOSE THE CORPSES TO A WIDE VARIETY OF ELEMENTS...

VARIOUS TEMPERATURES, LOCATIONS, AND SITUATIONS...

ALL OF WHICH AFFECT THE CALCULATIONS OF TIME OF DEATH.

AND INSECTS PLAY A CRITICAL ROLE,

SINCE THEY ARE THE FIRST ONES ON THE SCENE.

Bass: BLOWFLIES ARE THE FIRST ONES TO LAY THEIR EGGS.

BLOWFLIES WILL BE ATTRACTED TO A BODY

EVEN BEFORE THE BODY IS DEAD.

AND THEY CAN SMELL A DEAD CARCASS A MILE AWAY.

Narrator: A FEMALE BLOWFLY CAN LAY UP TO 250 EGGS.

Bass: THE EGGS HATCH INTO MAGGOTS.

THE MAGGOTS GO THROUGH A GROWTH PROCESS.

Narrator: AS THE MAGGOTS FEED ON THE BODY,

THEY GET LARGER OVER A PERIOD OF DAYS.

Bass: WHEN YOU COLLECT THE MAGGOTS FROM A BODY,

YOU WANT TO COLLECT THE LARGEST MAGGOTS,

BECAUSE THEY REPRESENT THE FIRST HATCH.

Narrator: THESE FIRST HATCH MAGGOTS

WERE BORN AT OR NEAR THE MOMENT OF DEATH.

Bass: IT WILL TELL YOU HOW LONG THE BODY HAS BEEN THERE.

Narrator: USING MAGGOTS AS A RELIABLE CALENDAR

IS THE SAME METHOD DR. MEARNS WAS USING IN 1935.

BUT DR. MEARNS DOESN'T HAVE ACCESS TO RESEARCH FACILITIES

LIKE THE BODY FARM,

SO HE MUST DISCOVER THESE COMPLEX CALCULATIONS ON HIS OWN,

WHICH IS NOT EASY.

THERE ARE 1,100 SPECIES OF BLOWFLY,

AND MAGGOTS FROM EACH ONE MATURE AT THEIR OWN PARTICULAR RATE.

SO TO GET ACCURATE DATA,

FIRST DR. MEARNS NEEDS TO KNOW

EXACTLY WHICH KIND OF MAGGOT HE'S STUDYING.

Hall: TO MOST PEOPLE, A MAGGOT'S A MAGGOT.

AND IT'S EXTREMELY HARD TO DIFFERENTIATE

CLOSELY RELATED SPECIES.

SO IT'S REALLY CRITICAL

THAT IDENTIFICATION IS MADE SOUNDLY.

DR. MEARNS IDENTIFIED THE FLY LARVAE

AS BELONGING TO A SPECIES CALLED CALLIPHORA VICINA.

Narrator: OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE BLUE BOTTLE FLY.

WITH THE MAGGOTS' IDENTITY ESTABLISHED,

MEARNS MOVES ON.

Hall: HIS NEXT TASK WOULD HAVE BEEN TO TRY TO AGE THEM.

HOW LONG WAS IT

SINCE THEY'D BEEN LAID ON THE BODY PARTS

BY THE FEMALE FLIES?

Narrator: BLUE BOTTLE FLY EGGS FOLLOW A PATTERN LIKE CLOCKWORK.

THE EGGS HATCH IN THE FIRST 24 HOURS.

OVER THE FIRST ONE TO TWO DAYS

THEY GROW TO ABOUT FIVE MILLIMETERS.

THEN THEY MOLT AT DAY TWO OR THREE.

IN THE NEXT STAGE, AT FOUR TO FIVE DAYS,

THEY REACH APPROXIMATELY 10 MILLIMETERS.

AT SIX OR SEVEN DAYS, IN THE FINAL LARVAL STAGE,

THEY CAN REACH 14 TO 16 MILLIMETERS.

THEN, AT AROUND 14 DAYS, THE LARVAE BECOME PUPAS,

THE LIFE STAGE WHERE METAMORPHOSIS OCCURS.

AND FINALLY, AFTER AROUND THREE WEEKS,

THE ADULT FLY EMERGES.

DR. MEARNS CONCENTRATES ON THE LARGEST MAGGOTS HE'S RECOVERED.

THESE MAGGOTS ARE CLOSE TO 15 MILLIMETERS

AND IN THE THIRD AND FINAL LARVAL STAGE.

WHICH MEANS THEY ARE ABOUT 12 TO 14 DAYS OLD.

DR. MEARNS COUNTS BACK AND DETERMINES

THAT THE BODY PARTS WERE LEFT BY THE KILLER IN THE RAVINE

SOMETIME WITHIN A THREE-DAY PERIOD...

SEPTEMBER 16th, 17th OR 18th.

Moss: THIS IS THE FIRST TIME

THAT THE STUDYING OF INSECTS

HAD ACTUALLY LED TO A SPECIFIC EVIDENCE

ABOUT THE TIME OF DEATH.

Narrator: THE MAGGOTS HAVE GIVEN INVESTIGATORS

THEIR FIRST AND ONLY CLUE.

Hall: WHILE IT DIDN'T NECESSARILY PINPOINT

A NAME FOR A MURDERER,

IT GAVE THE POLICE A WINDOW OF TIME

IN WHICH THEY COULD FOCUS THEIR INVESTIGATIONS.

Narrator: THE OFFICERS SEARCH FOR ANY MISSING PERSONS

REPORTED ANYWHERE IN THE BRITISH ISLES

AROUND THAT TIME.

ONE REPORT CATCHES THEIR ATTENTION.

IT WAS FILED 165 MILES SOUTH OF EDINBURGH,

IN LANCASTER, ENGLAND.

Moss: POLICE NOTICED THAT THERE WAS ACTUALLY

A REPORT OF A MISSING WOMAN

CALLED MARY ROGERSON.

SHE WAS IN HER EARLY 20s.

AND SHE HAD BEEN THE MAID TO A DOCTOR IN LANCASTER

CALLED DR. BUCK RUXTON.

Narrator: POLICE CONTACT DR. BUCK RUXTON

AND LEARN THAT THE LAST TIME HE SAW MARY,

SHE'D LEFT WITH HIS WIFE ISABELLA KERR

TO GO TO EDINBURGH...

...AND NEITHER OF THEM HAD RETURNED HOME.

IT CAN'T BE A COINCIDENCE.

Moss: THEY KNEW FROM THE AGES

THAT MARY ROGERSON WAS IN HER EARLY 20s,

ISABELLA RUXTON WAS ABOUT 40.

THEY KNEW FROM HOW THE SKULLS HAD DEVELOPED,

THAT WAS CONSISTENT WITH THE AGES.

Narrator: INVESTIGATORS TURN TO

OTHER CUTTING-EDGE FORENSIC TECHNIQUES

TO TRY AND PROVE THAT THE BODIES FOUND IN THE RAVINE

ARE MARY ROGERSON AND ISABELLA RUXTON.

Moss: THEY DID FIND A HAND

IN A VERY POOR STATE OF DECOMPOSITION.

AND THEY MANAGED TO SOAK THAT HAND IN HOT WATER,

AND THEY MANAGED TO TAKE

A SET OF VERY ACCEPTABLE FINGERPRINTS

FROM THAT HAND.

Narrator: POLICE CHECK THE FINGERPRINT

AGAINST KNOWN PRINTS OF MARY ROGERSON...

AND THERE'S A MATCH.

POLICE NEXT SEARCH FOR A CONNECTION

BETWEEN THE OTHER BODY

AND RUXTON'S MISSING WIFE, ISABELLA.

BUT WITH NO OTHER USEABLE FINGERPRINTS,

THEY MUST ATTEMPT DIFFERENT METHODS OF IDENTIFICATION.

Moss: THEY HAD THE SKULL.

THEY ALSO HAD A VERY GOOD PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPH

OF ISABELLA RUXTON.

THEY TOOK A PICTURE OF THE SKULL

AT EXACTLY THE SAME ANGLE

THAT CORRESPONDED TO THAT PHOTOGRAPH.

AND IT MATCHED EXACTLY.

Narrator: POLICE TRAVEL BACK TO LANCASTER

TO INFORM DR. BUCK RUXTON, A RESPECTED FAMILY PHYSICIAN,

THAT HIS WIFE AND HOUSEKEEPER HAVE BEEN SAVAGELY MURDERED.

BUT RUXTON BARELY REACTS.

POLICE ARE NOW VERY SUSPICIOUS.

Moss: SO DR. RUXTON THEN STARTED TO BECOME A SUSPECT.

Narrator: THEY ASK HIM WHERE HE WAS

ON SEPTEMBER 16th, 17th AND 18th,

THE DAYS DR. MEARNS CONCLUDED

THE VICTIMS HAD BEEN LEFT ON THE RIVERBANK.

Moss: HE ESTABLISHED THAT HE WAS A DOCTOR,

AND SO HE'D DONE SORT OF VARIOUS CALLS.

Narrator: RUXTON INSISTS THAT HE WAS SEEING PATIENTS

RIGHT THERE IN TOWN.

IT'S A PLAUSIBLE ALIBI,

AND PATIENT AFTER PATIENT VOUCHES FOR RUXTON'S STORY.

BUT THERE IS ONE GAP IN THE EYEWITNESS ACCOUNTS...

NO ONE SAW RUXTON ON SEPTEMBER 16th,

A DAY THAT FALLS WITHIN

DR. MEARNS' ESTIMATED TIMEFRAME OF DEATH.

IF POLICE CAN NARROW THE TIME OF DEATH TO A SPECIFIC DAY,

IT'LL BOLSTER THEIR CASE AGAINST RUXTON.

THEIR ONLY HOPE... RETURN TO THE EVIDENCE

THAT GOT THEM THIS FAR IN THE FIRST PLACE...

THE MAGGOTS.

2003, BAKERSFIELD, CALIFORNIA.

INVESTIGATORS AREN'T COUNTING ON MAGGOTS

OR TIME OF DEATH TO SOLVE THEIR CASE.

THEY'RE COUNTING ON A WIDE VARIETY OF INSECTS

TO HELP THEM CATCH THEIR PRIME SUSPECT,

VINCENT BROTHERS, IN A LIE.

BROTHERS CLAIMS HE WAS IN OHIO

WHEN HIS WIFE JOANIE HARPER, THEIR THREE CHILDREN,

AND HIS MOTHER-IN-LAW, ERNESTINE,

WERE ALL BRUTALLY KILLED.

BUT DETECTIVE WATTS ISN'T BUYING IT.

AND HE'S ASKED ENTOMOLOGIST DR. LYNN KIMSEY FOR HELP.

Lynn Kimsey: I GOT A PHONE CALL FROM THE BAKERSFIELD POLICE

ASKING WHETHER OR NOT WE COULD TELL

WHERE A VEHICLE HAD BEEN

BASED ON THE INSECTS THAT WERE ON THE RADIATOR.

AND I SAID, "I DON'T KNOW, BUT LET'S TRY."

Narrator: EVEN THOUGH THE RENTAL CAR HAD BEEN WASHED,

THE RADIATOR IS STILL PACKED WITH BUGS.

STEP ONE... DR. KIMSEY REMOVES

EVERY PIECE OF INSECT SHE CAN FIND.

Kimsey: WHEN I THINK OF A CAR RADIATOR,

I THINK OF THINGS SMASHED TO SMITHEREENS.

SO WE WERE EXPECTING TINY FRAGMENTS.

Narrator: THE SHEER NUMBER OF POSSIBLE INSECTS

SHE'S DEALING WITH IS STAGGERING.

IN THE UNITED STATES,

THERE ARE CLOSE TO 200,000 KNOWN SPECIES OF INSECTS.

Kimsey: INSECT DIVERSITY IS ENORMOUS.

IN CALIFORNIA ALONE,

I WOULD ESTIMATE THERE ARE ABOUT

100,000 DIFFERENT KINDS OF INSECTS.

Narrator: AND TO KEEP TRACK OF THIS STAGGERING NUMBER,

ENTOMOLOGISTS RELY ON COLLECTIONS

LIKE THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION'S

NATIONAL INSECT COLLECTION,

ONE OF THE LARGEST IN THE WORLD.

HERE, THEY HOUSE OVER 35 MILLION KNOWN SPECIMENS

IN MORE THAN 130,000 DRAWERS,

33,000 JARS OR VIALS,

AND 23,000 SLIDES.

THE COLLECTION HELPS SCIENTISTS COMPARE INSECTS TO KNOWN SPECIES

AND PROVIDE CRITICAL INFORMATION

ABOUT THEIR GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION.

Kimsey: THERE WERE PROBABLY PIECES

OF MAYBE AS MANY AS 100 DIFFERENT INSECTS

ON THE RADIATOR,

AND A FEW ON THE AIR FILTER.

Narrator: DR. KIMSEY FINDS A NUMBER OF HOUSE FLIES,

WHICH ARE FOUND ALL ACROSS THE UNITED STATES...

HONEY BEES, ONE OF THE MOST WIDESPREAD INSECTS

IN THE ENTIRE WORLD.

AND THEN, FINALLY, SHE FINDS SOMETHING THAT STANDS OUT...

A PORTION OF A GRASSHOPPER.

Kimsey: THE GRASSHOPPER WAS INTERESTING,

BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, GRASSHOPPERS,

THEY LOOK KIND OF SIMILAR FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY.

BUT THIS ONE HAD BRIGHT RED LEGS,

CALLED THE RED-SHANKED GRASSHOPPER.

THE COLORATION WAS VERY DISTINCTIVE.

Narrator: WHAT'S ALSO DISTINCTIVE

IS THAT THE RED-SHANKED GRASSHOPPER

IS NOT NATIVE TO OHIO.

IN FACT, IT'S USUALLY FOUND IN WESTERN REGIONS,

LIKE OKLAHOMA AND NORTH TEXAS.

Kimsey: WE'RE GOING, WOW, WE CAN ACTUALLY DO THIS.

THIS IS VERY COOL.

WE CAN ACTUALLY SAY, "YES, THE CAR HAD TO BE HERE."

Narrator: SO HOW DID THE RED-SHANKED GRASSHOPPER

GET INTO THE RADIATOR OF A RENTAL CAR FROM OHIO?

VINCENT BROTHERS CLAIMS HE AND HIS DODGE NEON

NEVER LEFT THE STATE.

BUT THIS LITTLE GRASSHOPPER PROVES HE'S LYING.

IN BAKERSFIELD, CALIFORNIA,

ENTOMOLOGIST LYNN KIMSEY HAS DISCOVERED A CLUE

THAT BLOWS A HUGE HOLE

IN MURDER SUSPECT VINCENT BROTHERS' ALIBI.

IN THE RADIATOR OF HIS RENTAL CAR...

THE LEG OF A RED-SHANKED GRASSHOPPER.

THE SPECIES IS NATIVE TO STATES LIKE TEXAS AND OKLAHOMA.

BUT VINCENT BROTHERS CLAIMS

HE NEVER DROVE THE RENTAL CAR OUT OF OHIO.

Watts: INSPECTING THE RADIATOR IS A LONG SHOT.

WE DIDN'T KNOW IF IT WAS GONNA WORK OR NOT.

I MEAN, IT WAS A HUNCH,

BUT SOMETIMES YOU JUST GOT TO PLAY YOUR HUNCHES.

YOU KNOW, AND THIS ONE REALLY PAID OFF.

Narrator: THE PROBLEM IS THAT THE GRASSHOPPER EVIDENCE

SQUARELY CONTRADICTS CREDIT CARD RECEIPTS

THAT SHOW VINCENT BROTHERS MADE A PURCHASE IN OHIO

ON THE DAY OF THE MURDER.

SO WATTS DECIDES TO DIG A LITTLE DEEPER.

HE CONTACTS THE STORES WHERE BROTHERS MADE HIS PURCHASES.

Watts: WE WENT BACK AND SEIZED SURVEILLANCE TAPES

AT WAL-MART AND OTHER STORES.

Narrator: AND DETECTIVES ARE IN FOR A SHOCK.

Watts: CLEARLY, IT'S NOT VINCENT BROTHERS.

Narrator: IT'S ACTUALLY VINCENT BROTHERS' BROTHER

PURCHASING ITEMS AND SIGNING VINCENT'S NAME.

Watts: WELL, WITH THAT INFORMATION,

IT BECAME CLEAR TO ME THIS IS A FALSE ALIBI.

THIS VINCENT BROTHERS IS NOW HAVING HIS BROTHER GO OUT

AND BUY THESE THINGS

TO MAKE IT APPEAR THAT HE, HIMSELF, VINCENT,

WAS IN COLUMBUS, WHICH WASN'T THE CASE.

Narrator: IT'S AN EXPLOSIVE DISCOVERY.

AND WITH THIS LIE,

THE RESPECTED ELEMENTARY SCHOOL VICE PRINCIPAL

BECOMES THE ONE AND ONLY SUSPECT

IN THE MURDER CASE OF HIS WIFE AND CHILDREN.

Watts: YEAH, I THINK HE THOUGHT HE WAS THE ULTIMATE MASTERMIND.

I THINK HE THOUGHT HE WAS GONNA OUTSMART THE POLICE.

Narrator: BUT IF POLICE WANT TO

ARREST VINCENT BROTHERS FOR MURDER,

THEY'LL HAVE TO PUT HIM IN CALIFORNIA

WHEN JOANIE HARPER, HER MOTHER,

AND THE THREE CHILDREN WERE KILLED.

SO DETECTIVE WATTS RETURNS TO ENTOMOLOGIST LYNN KIMSEY

TO GATHER MORE INFORMATION.

Kimsey: THEY JUST WANTED TO KNOW

IF IT HAD BEEN WEST OF THE ROCKIES OR TO CALIFORNIA.

Narrator: KIMSEY HEADS BACK TO THE RENTAL CAR'S RADIATOR

AND CONTINUES TO INSPECT HER INVENTORY OF INSECT PARTS.

AND SHE FINDS EVEN MORE EVIDENCE

THAT THE CAR HAD BEEN OUTSIDE OF COLUMBUS, OHIO.

Kimsey: WE FOUND THREE OTHER INSECTS

THAT ACTUALLY SHIFTED IT EVEN FURTHER WEST,

TO SORT OF THE NEW MEXICO, COLORADO, UTAH AREA.

Narrator: AS EACH SPECIES IS DISCOVERED,

DR. KIMSEY MAPS OUT THEIR DISTRIBUTION.

SHE EVEN FINDS A BUG THAT SEEMS TO INDICATE

THAT THE CAR WAS DRIVEN AT NIGHT.

Kimsey: ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE FOUND

THAT WAS KIND OF INTERESTING

IS THAT WE FOUND INSECTS CALLED ANT LIONS,

WHICH FLY AROUND AT NIGHT.

SO THERE YOU'VE GOT A NOCTURNAL INSECT

AND ONE THAT'S NORMALLY ASSOCIATED

MORE WITH ARID REGIONS.

Narrator: ANT LIONS ARE ABUNDANT

IN THE DRY AREAS OF THE SOUTHWEST...

FURTHER EVIDENCE THAT THE CAR WAS DRIVEN OUTSIDE OF OHIO.

THEN DR. KIMSEY MAKES ANOTHER PROMISING DISCOVERY...

TWO BUGS IN A LARGE CATEGORY OF INSECTS CALLED "TRUE BUGS,"

WHICH INCLUDES MORE THAN 50,000 SPECIES.

Kimsey: THEY ALL HAVE TUBULAR MOUTH PARTS LIKE A SODA STRAW.

THEY DON'T HAVE JAWS,

SO THEY FEED BY PIERCING THINGS,

KIND OF LIKE APHIDS DO, SO THEY PIERCE AND SUCK.

Narrator: BUT THESE SPECIES OF TRUE BUG ARE NOT VERY COMMON.

SO DR. KIMSEY CHECKS WITH EXPERTS

AT THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION

TO HELP NAIL DOWN THE IDENTIFICATION.

WHAT THEY COME UP WITH IS THE PIESMID...

AND THE LYGAEID.

THE PIESMID HAS A DISTRIBUTION THAT IS SPECIFIC TO UTAH,

ARIZONA, AND THE BORDER OF CALIFORNIA.

AND THE LYGAEID DISTRIBUTION EXTENDS

EVEN A LITTLE FURTHER INTO CALIFORNIA.

Kimsey: THE TRUE BUGS DEFINITIVELY SHOWED

THAT THE RADIATOR, AT LEAST, HAD BEEN WEST OF THE ROCKIES.

Narrator: BUT THE TRUE BUGS' DISTRIBUTION

ARE ONLY PARTIALLY IN CALIFORNIA.

TO REALLY MAKE THEIR CASE

THAT VINCENT BROTHERS DROVE ALL THE WAY TO BAKERSFIELD,

THEY NEED TO DO BETTER THAN THAT.

THEN, AFTER IDENTIFYING CLOSE TO 50 SPECIES,

DR. KIMSEY GOES BACK TO THE RADIATOR

AND FINDS A BUG THAT CHANGES EVERYTHING.

IN EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND, 1935,

INVESTIGATORS ARE ALSO HOPING

THAT BUGS CAN DESTROY THE ALIBI OF DR. BUCK RUXTON,

THE MAIN SUSPECT IN THE DOUBLE HOMICIDE

OF HIS WIFE AND MAID.

MAGGOTS COLLECTED FROM THEIR DISMEMBERED CORPSES

SHOW THAT THE TWO WOMEN WERE MOST LIKELY KILLED

DURING A THREE DAY STRETCH IN MID-SEPTEMBER.

AND DR. RUXTON'S ALIBI IS SOLID FOR ONLY TWO OF THOSE DAYS.

SO INVESTIGATORS GO BACK TO ENTOMOLOGIST DR. MEARNS,

TO SEE IF HE CAN PUSH THE SCIENCE TO GET MORE SPECIFIC.

ON HIS FIRST PASS,

HE CONCLUDED THE BODY PARTS LANDED IN THE RAVINE

BETWEEN SEPTEMBER 16th AND SEPTEMBER 18th.

BUT DR. MEARNS HAS A REVOLUTIONARY IDEA

THAT MIGHT BE ABLE TO NARROW THE WINDOW EVEN FURTHER.

PERHAPS WEATHER HAS AN IMPACT ON MAGGOT GROWTH.

Hall: FLY LARVAE ARE COLD-BLOODED.

AND THEY DEVELOP AT A RATE THAT'S DEPENDENT ON TEMPERATURE.

SO THE WARMER IT IS, THE FASTER THEY DEVELOP,

AND CONVERSELY, THE COLDER IT IS,

THE SLOWER IS THEIR DEVELOPMENT.

Narrator: MEARNS DEVELOPS FORMULAS AND METHODS

FOR CALCULATING LARVAL AGE THAT FACTOR IN TEMPERATURE.

IT'S A SCIENTIFIC BREAKTHROUGH IN 1935,

AND THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF DR. MEARNS' TECHNIQUES

ARE STILL USED BY FORENSIC ENTOMOLOGISTS TODAY.

ONCE HE KNOWS THE AVERAGE AIR TEMPERATURES FOR THOSE DAYS,

MEARNS CAN CALCULATE MORE PRECISELY

THE RATE AT WHICH THE MAGGOTS MATURE.

AND WHEN HE LOOKS AT ALMANACS

FOR EDINBURGH ON SEPTEMBER 16th, 17th AND 18th,

HE NOTICES SOMETHING INTERESTING.

THOSE DAYS WERE MUCH COLDER THAN USUAL.

AND SINCE IN COOL WEATHER,

FLY LARVAE DEVELOP MORE SLOWLY,

IT MEANS THE WOMEN DIED

ON THE EARLIEST PART OF DR. MEARNS' FIRST ESTIMATE.

MORE PRECISELY... ON SEPTEMBER 16th.

IT'S THE ONE DAY THAT POLICE DETERMINE

BUCK RUXTON HAS NO ALIBI.

THE MAGGOTS HAVE PROVIDED THE CASE-BREAKING EVIDENCE.

BUT BUGS HAVE NEVER BEEN USED IN A MURDER CASE BEFORE,

AND INVESTIGATORS ARE NERVOUS.

Moss: THEY HAD TO BE CAREFUL,

BECAUSE BUCK RUXTON WAS A DOCTOR,

SOMEBODY OF STANDING IN THE COMMUNITY.

Narrator: THEY WANT TO MAKE SURE

THAT BUGS AREN'T THE ONLY THING

THAT COULD TIE RUXTON TO THE CRIME SCENE.

SO THEY ASK THE LOCAL MEDIA FOR HELP.

Moss: ONE THING THAT THE NEWSPAPERS DID,

AND INDEED THE BBC DID BROADCAST,

WAS APPEALS FOR WITNESSES.

Reporter: POLICE IN EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND,

ARE ASKING FOR INFORMATION

ABOUT ANY SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY ON SEPTEMBER THE 16th.

Narrator: TIPS FLOOD IN.

AND ONE SOUNDS PROMISING.

THERE WAS A HIT-AND-RUN IN EDINBURGH

ON SEPTEMBER 16th.

A SPEEDING DRIVER KNOCKED A MAN OFF HIS BICYCLE.

THE UNHARMED CYCLIST WAS ABLE TO JOT DOWN

THE LICENSE PLATE NUMBER OF THE CAR.

AND WHEN INVESTIGATORS TRACE THE PLATE,

THEY ARE IN FOR A HUGE SURPRISE.

DETECTIVES ARE INVESTIGATING A DOUBLE HOMICIDE,

AND THANKS TO THE WORK OF ENTOMOLOGIST

DR. ALEXANDER MEARNS,

THE ALIBI OF THEIR MAIN SUSPECT, BUCK RUXTON,

IS UNRAVELING.

AND NOW A CYCLIST WHO WAS RUN OFF THE ROAD

JUST BLOCKS FROM THE CRIME SCENE

GIVES POLICE THE PLATE NUMBER OF THE CAR.

AND WHEN DETECTIVES CHECK,

THEY FIND THE CAR BELONGS TO NONE OTHER THAN...

DR. BUCK RUXTON.

Moss: THAT BECAME PART OF THE OVERALL PICTURE

OF DR. RUXTON'S MOVEMENTS.

Narrator: IT'S YET ANOTHER DAMNING PIECE OF EVIDENCE.

RUXTON WAS IN SCOTLAND ON THE DAY OF THE KILLINGS.

ARMED WITH A SEARCH WARRANT FOR HIS HOUSE,

POLICE FIND EVEN MORE PROOF THAT RUXTON IS THE KILLER...

TRACES OF BLOOD.

Moss: THERE WAS SOME BLOOD-STAINED CARPET.

DR. RUXTON SAID HE'D CUT HIMSELF.

THERE WAS A BLOOD-STAINED SUIT, WHICH HE TRIED TO GIVE AWAY.

Narrator: POLICE THEORIZE THAT RUXTON MURDERED THE WOMEN

IN HIS HOUSE,

THEN DROVE THE BODIES TO EDINBURGH

TO DUMP THEM IN THE RAVINE.

IN OCTOBER 1935,

SCOTTISH AUTHORITIES ARREST BUCK RUXTON

AND CHARGE HIM IN THE DOUBLE HOMICIDE

OF ISABELLA RUXTON AND MARY ROGERSON.

THANKS TO INSECTS,

INVESTIGATORS HAVE SOLID PROOF THAT BUCK RUXTON'S THE KILLER.

BUT DESPITE THE WEIGHT OF THE EVIDENCE,

IT'S NO OPEN-AND-SHUT CASE.

Moss: THERE WEREN'T ACTUALLY ANY LIVING HUMAN WITNESSES

TO WHAT HAD OCCURRED.

THE ONLY WITNESSES WERE THOSE LITTLE BUGS.

Narrator: BUT PROSECUTORS WILL HAVE THEIR WORK CUT OUT FOR THEM

PROVING THAT INSECTS ARE A RELIABLE FORENSIC TOOL.

Hall: IT'S THE FIRST TIME THAT FORENSIC ENTOMOLOGY EVIDENCE

WAS ACTUALLY USED TO AID IN A CONVICTION.

Moss: ALL THE FORENSIC EVIDENCE WAS PRESENTED

IN A VERY, SORT OF TEXTBOOK WAY,

A MODEL OF OBJECTIVITY.

THE JUDGE WAS REALLY IMPRESSED

WITH THE WAY THAT VARIOUS MEDICAL EXPERTS

HAD GIVEN THEIR EVIDENCE.

Narrator: IN THE END,

THE COURT FINDS THE SCIENCE IS INDISPUTABLE.

JURORS CONVICT BUCK RUXTON

OF MURDERING ISABELLA RUXTON AND MARY ROGERSON.

AND DESPITE ARDENT APPEALS FOR CLEMENCY,

RUXTON IS HANGED AT STRANGEWAYS PRISON

IN MANCHESTER, ENGLAND.

A HANDWRITTEN LETTER FROM BUCK RUXTON

MARKED TO BE OPENED AFTER HIS DEATH

REVEALS A DETAILED CONFESSION TO THE KILLING.

BELIEVING THAT HIS WIFE WAS HAVING AN AFFAIR,

DR. RUXTON LAUNCHED AN ATTACK.

Moss: HE STRANGLED HER AND STABBED HER

IN A FIT OF RAGE.

BECAUSE MARY ROGERSON WAS A WITNESS TO IT,

THEN BUCK RUXTON KILLED HER AS WELL.

Narrator: THEN, WITH A SURGEON'S SKILL,

HE HACKED THE BODIES INTO UNIDENTIFIABLE PIECES.

Moss: WITHIN A NUMBER OF HOURS,

HE WENT BY CAR NORTH UP INTO SCOTLAND

AND THEN DISPOSED OF THE BODIES.

Narrator: THE KILLER PHYSICIAN

SEEMED TO HAVE THOUGHT OF EVERYTHING.

Moss: AND IT NEARLY SUCCEEDED.

Narrator: BUT THANKS TO THE VERY FIRST FORENSIC ENTOMOLOGIST,

DR. ALEXANDER MEARNS,

BUGS PROVED KEY INFORMATION

THAT HELPED POLICE CATCH A KILLER.

THE RUXTON CASE IS A FORENSIC FIRST.

FROM THIS POINT ON,

USING MAGGOTS AS A TOOL FOR CALCULATING TIME OF DEATH

IS LEGAL PRECEDENT.

AND DR. MEARNS' METHODS AND FINDINGS

WOULD BECOME THE STANDARD

FOR THE DEVELOPING FIELD OF FORENSIC ENTOMOLOGY.

Hall: IN MANY WAYS,

WHAT WE, AS MODERN FORENSIC ENTOMOLOGISTS DO,

IS JUST WHAT DR. MEARNS DID...

TAKE AN INSECT, IDENTIFY IT,

AND THEN TRY TO ESTIMATE HOW OLD IT IS.

Narrator: AND IN 2003, BAKERSFIELD, CALIFORNIA,

INSECTS ARE AT THE CENTER OF ANOTHER INVESTIGATION,

AS POLICE ARE CLOSING IN ON THEIR PRIME SUSPECT,

VINCENT BROTHERS.

BUT ENTOMOLOGIST DR. LYNN KIMSEY

IS NOT SEARCHING FOR A TIME OF DEATH.

INSTEAD, SHE'S USING DEAD BUGS FROM THE SUSPECT'S RENTAL CAR

TO TRACK HIS MOVEMENTS ACROSS THE COUNTRY,

AND PROVE THAT BROTHERS DROVE FROM OHIO TO CALIFORNIA

AND KILLED HIS ENTIRE FAMILY.

Kimsey: BAKERSFIELD P.D. AND THE PROSECUTION

WERE PRETTY STOKED

THAT WE COULD ACTUALLY GET SOME USEFUL INFORMATION

FROM THE RADIATOR.

Narrator: AND DR. LYNN KIMSEY

MAKES ONE MORE REMARKABLE DISCOVERY...

AN INSECT WITNESS THAT DESTROYS VINCENT BROTHERS' ALIBI

AND PROVES HE COULD HAVE DRIVEN TO CALIFORNIA

TO KILL HIS FAMILY...

A PAPER WASP.

Kimsey: THE ONLY INSECT THAT WE GOT FROM THE WEST

THAT'S FOUND VERY ABUNDANTLY IN CALIFORNIA

WAS THE PAPER WASP.

Narrator: THE PAPER WASP GETS ITS NAME

FROM THE PAPERY MATERIAL IT PRODUCES TO BUILD ITS NEST.

AND WHILE THERE ARE SEVERAL KINDS OF PAPER WASPS,

THE ONE FOUND ON THE GRILL OF VINCENT BROTHERS' RENTAL CAR

IS FOUND ONLY IN THE EXTREME SOUTHWEST,

ESPECIALLY CALIFORNIA.

IT'S THE EVIDENCE THAT DETECTIVE WATTS

HAD BEEN HOPING FOR.

Watts: WE WERE REALLY ABLE TO SAY,

"OKAY, NOW WE KNOW FOR A FACT

THAT HE DID SHOW UP IN THIS VEHICLE

IN BAKERSFIELD, CALIFORNIA."

Narrator: IN APRIL OF 2004,

AUTHORITIES ARREST VINCENT BROTHERS

AND CHARGE HIM WITH FIVE COUNTS OF MURDER.

IT'S ANOTHER COURTROOM TEST FOR FORENSIC ENTOMOLOGY.

Watts: HOW IS HE GONNA DEFEND PUTTING 5,400 MILES IN A...

DRIVING RIGHT THROUGH BUGS

THAT AREN'T IN THAT AREA OF THE COUNTRY?

I DON'T THINK IT WAS SOMETHING VINCENT BROTHERS

OR HIS DEFENSE TEAM EXPECTED.

Narrator: AT TRIAL,

THE PROSECUTOR LAYS OUT THE EVIDENCE...

THE EXCESSIVE MILEAGE,

THE STAGED CREDIT CARD PURCHASES,

AND THE MOST DAMNING EVIDENCE...

THE INSECTS THAT INDICATE A CLEAR TRAIL

ACROSS HALF A CONTINENT,

ALL THE WAY TO VINCENT BROTHERS' DOORSTEP.

Watts: VINCENT BROTHERS WAS FOUND GUILTY

ON EVERY COUNT WE HAD ASKED.

FIVE COUNTS OF MURDER ONE,

ALL CAPITAL CASES,

WHICH MEANT THAT HE WAS ELIGIBLE FOR THE DEATH PENALTY.

AND VINCENT BROTHERS WAS ULTIMATELY

SENTENCED BY THE JUDGE

TO EXECUTION,

DEATH IN SAN QUENTIN.

Narrator: VINCENT BROTHERS NEVER DOES CONFESS.

BUT A TRAGIC CASE THAT BEGAN WITH A GRIEVING FATHER

WITH A SEEMINGLY SOLID ALIBI

ENDS WITH A LYING MONSTER WHO KILLED TWO WOMEN

AND HIS OWN CHILDREN,

ALL IN AN ATTEMPT TO START OVER WITH A NEW LIFE

AND A NEW WOMAN.

Watts: HIS GOAL WAS TO BE UNENCUMBERED BY CHILDREN,

NOT PAYING CHILD SUPPORT,

MARRY THE GIRL THAT HE'D BEEN CHASING.

THAT WAS HIS ULTIMATE MOTIVE,

THIS GRANDIOSE LIFESTYLE THAT HE HAD DREAMED OF

IN HIS DEMENTED MIND.

Narrator: AND WITHOUT THE BUGS

AS SILENT WITNESSES TO HIS CRIMES,

BROTHERS MAY HAVE REACHED THAT GOAL.

TODAY, SCIENTISTS CONTINUE

TO PUSH THE STUDY OF FORENSIC ENTOMOLOGY.

BACK IN 1935,

DR. MEARNS WAS ABLE TO DETERMINE TIME OF DEATH

TO WITHIN ONE DAY.

NOW, THE USE OF 3D COMPUTER IMAGING

CAN GIVE SCIENTISTS SUCH A DETAILED VIEW OF AN INSECT,

AND ITS RATE OF GROWTH,

THAT IT COULD DETERMINE TIME OF DEATH TO WITHIN HOURS,

OR SOMEDAY, EVEN MINUTES.

Hall: USING VIRTUAL COMPUTER TECHNIQUES,

WE CAN SPIN THE PUPA AROUND AND CUT THROUGH IT,

TOP TO BOTTOM, BACK TO FRONT,

SIDE TO SIDE, YOU NAME IT.

EXPERTS CAN GATHER ROUND THE COMPUTER SCREEN

AND COME UP WITH A CONSENSUS ON THE AGE OF THE PUPA.

Narrator: BUT INSECTS AREN'T JUST BEING USED

TO ESTABLISH TIME OF DEATH.

IN THE SPECIALIZED FIELD OF ENTOMOTOXICOLOGY,

SCIENTISTS ARE ABLE TO ANALYZE INSECTS FOUND ON A DEAD BODY

AND SCREEN THEM FOR THE PRESENCE OF DEADLY TOXINS.

Hall: YOU CAN ACTUALLY EXTRACT TOXINS

THAT WERE IN THE BODY FROM THE INSECT.

Narrator: THIS CAN HELP INVESTIGATORS DETERMINE

IF DRUGS OR POISONS WERE USED

IN CASES WHERE BODIES ARE SEVERELY DECOMPOSED

AND DEVOID OF TISSUES, ORGANS OR BODILY FLUIDS.

IT'S NOW EVEN POSSIBLE TO EXTRACT A VICTIM'S DNA

FROM AN INSECT.

Hall: 20 YEARS AGO,

I WOULDN'T EVEN HAVE THOUGHT YOU COULD GET THE DNA

FROM THE VICTIMS.

SO WHAT'S AROUND THE CORNER IN ANOTHER 20 YEARS

IS ANYONE'S GUESS.

Narrator: THANKS TO THE GROWING ARSENAL OF FORENSIC ENTOMOLOGY,

SCIENTISTS CAN DETERMINE TIME OF DEATH,

SOMETIMES EVEN CAUSE OF DEATH,

AND CATCH A KILLER IN A LIE...

ALL BECAUSE OF INSECTS.

USUALLY THOUGHT OF AS A PESKY ANNOYANCE,

THEY ARE NOW ON THE FRONT LINES OF CRIME FIGHTING.