Saturday, August 30, 2014

A Little Forensic Mystery For Saturday...!

Just to be doing something a tad different, I figured I would post a good forensic story here for your enjoyment.

Sometimes the answer to what seems to be a total mystery can be a very simple one. This story will show what I mean!

Colonel William Shy’s Grave


9- william shy

The Facts: On December 15–16, 1864, the city of Nashville became a battleground for the already bloody American Civil War. William M. Shy, a Confederate Colonel of the 20th Tennessee Regiment, was shot in the head at point-blank range on the second day of the Battle of Nashville. This is where the story should have ended, but a 1977 excavation of his grave site proved that Colonel Shy was not yet through with the world.

The Weird: In December 1977, forensic anthropologist Dr. Bill Bass arrived in Nashville to investigate a case of vandalism at William Shy’s grave. The grave had been excavated, and a headless body had been propped upright on top of a 19th-century cast-iron coffin. The body appeared to be in an advanced state of deterioration and decay, but some discernible flesh and joints were still completely intact. Dr. Bass and the other forensic experts on the case made the natural assumption that the body had not belonged to the colonel, because his body should have already decomposed to dust.

After further examination, Dr. Bass declared that the body had been dead less than a year, and therefore definitely could not belong to Col. William Shy. But the inconsistencies kept piling up. Soon after the initial investigation, the body’s head was found—with a gunshot wound through the skull. Further, the clothes and casket did seem to be authentic Civil War-era artifacts. The answer was almost laughably simple, but it kept the forensic experts baffled for weeks. The cast-iron coffin—which was a rare privilege reserved for someone of Col. Shy’s social status—was secure enough to keep out all moisture, insects, and oxygen that would have progressed the decomposition process. With none of those present, the body was essentially trapped in a time capsule.

See what I mean? Simple answer if you know what to look for.

Coffee in the kitchen this morning. Raining lightly out on the patio.

8 comments:

Mamahen said...

That is amazing...Did they ever determine who disturbed the grave in the first place? Kitchen is good. How about so biscuits and home made peach jam :))

Chickenmom said...

Good one, Mr. Hermit! Now you just know I had to look further...
http://www.tennessee-scv.org/shy2.html
Coffee and Mamahen's biscuits and jam sound wonderful!

JO said...

You come up with some great investigating facts. Keeps us entertained and smart.

Coffee with friends is great no matter the location.

HermitJim said...

Hey Mamahen...
I'd love some biscuits and jam! Especially home made.

Thanks for coming over today!



Hey Phyllis...
Always more to look at when you are interested in finding the facts!

Gotta love this kind of story! Thanks for stopping in today!



Hey Jo...
I always try and find something interesting for everyone!

Thanks, sweetie, for dropping by this morning!

Sixbears said...

Sometimes the answers are simple -if one knows where to look.


Coffee still perking this morning. Late start to the day, but hey, it's a holiday weekend.

buddeshepherd said...

Who dug him up?

HermitJim said...

Hey Sixbears...
I reckon that simple is better most of the time.

Lots of interesting facts came out deuring this investigation, though.

Thanks for coming over today!



Hey Buddesheppard...
According to the link that Chickenmom provided, the folks that originally dug up the grave were common grave robbers.

Interesting how things get started, right?

Thanks for coming over today!

Dizzy-Dick said...

Simple answers ruin a lot of good mysteries.