Home

Damaged

Live Feed

Fittedin

Angela Grobben's Human Rights: My name is Charity Lee: My name is Charity Lee. In 1980, when I was only six years ol... http://t.co/VhKAG6Vr

Sunday, 15 April 2012 via AutoTweet Connector

Fittedin

About the Project: Angela Grobben: Human Rights Correspondent A life long human rights campaigner Angela's organisat... http://t.co/0pkXFeTy

Sunday, 15 April 2012 via AutoTweet Connector

Fittedin

Angela Grobben's Human Rights: Bill Pelke & The Journey of Hope: Journey of Hope…from Violence to Healing The ... http://t.co/wsyQWq1V

Sunday, 15 April 2012 via AutoTweet Connector

Fittedin

About the Project: Patron : Michael Mansfield QC Called to the Bar in 1967 Michael Mansfield has a BA Hons. degre... http://t.co/hXJPb2ed

Wednesday, 04 April 2012 via AutoTweet Connector

Fittedin

About the Project: FIP Supporters: Gareth Peirce – Solicitor specialising in defence work. She has represented too ... http://t.co/3Jt0cqLm

Wednesday, 04 April 2012 via AutoTweet Connector

Fittedin

About the Project: Trustee : Andrew David Barclay (Dave), BSc, MSc, DSc, FFSSoc. Expertise and Cases Dave ... http://t.co/lprjOtUG

Wednesday, 04 April 2012 via AutoTweet Connector

Fittedin

News: Unfit for Purpose: The Betrayal AccountabilityThe Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) had an opportunity to as... http://t.co/NnQQasAP

Monday, 20 February 2012 via AutoTweet Connector

Fittedin

News: Unfit for Purpose: Independence An Independent EyeLast year an important anniversary passed without note. Th... http://t.co/RgClKjCT

Monday, 20 February 2012 via AutoTweet Connector

Fittedin

Angela Grobben's Human Rights: Please help Ashot to stay in the UK: Urgent Action Appeal Please ... http://t.co/JZd6AwKa

Thursday, 02 February 2012 via AutoTweet Connector

Fittedin

Lynette White: In The Name of God, Go!: In The Name of God, Go! “You have sat too long here for for any good you h... http://t.co/E1rUtVpn

Tuesday, 31 January 2012 via AutoTweet Connector

Fittedin

Columbia: Eyes on the Prize: Mainstream AgainConservative hegemony over Colombia had waned at gunpoint thanks to ... http://t.co/Nr1qMZFR

Wednesday, 18 January 2012 via AutoTweet Connector

Fittedin

Columbia: The Assassination and its Aftermath: The Assassination The Liberal Party's candidate for the Presidency... http://t.co/w8ci7MNv

Wednesday, 18 January 2012 via AutoTweet Connector

Fittedin

Columbia: Conspiracy Theories – Ospina's Difficulties: The Cast of Incredible SuspectsThere was no shortage of ... http://t.co/ckI4nDO7

Wednesday, 18 January 2012 via AutoTweet Connector

Fittedin

Columbia: Conspiracy Theories – A Fertile Breeding Ground: The Patsy?Jorge Eliécer Gaitán Ayala, the People's... http://t.co/z5DCgbVA

Wednesday, 18 January 2012 via AutoTweet Connector

Fittedin

Columbia: An Absurd Conspiracy Theory: The Agent?The People's Champion Jorge Eliécer Gaitán Ayala was dead, mur... http://t.co/oWBb909p

Wednesday, 18 January 2012 via AutoTweet Connector

Fittedin

Columbia: Conspiracy Theories – Castro's Revenge: A Convenient PresenceFidel Castro Ruz overthrew the corrupt d... http://t.co/KqbrCyQ8

Wednesday, 18 January 2012 via AutoTweet Connector

Fittedin

Columbia: The Formative Years of the People's Champion: Viva Gaitán! It was a crime that spawned an industry of con... http://t.co/3jGcg8MJ

Thursday, 12 January 2012 via AutoTweet Connector

Fittedin

Columbia: The People's Champion Comes of Age: A Pivotal Event Lawyer and Liberal Party politician Jorge Eliécer Gai... http://t.co/S8sIRGAT

Thursday, 12 January 2012 via AutoTweet Connector

Fittedin

Columbia: The Day Colombia's Path Took A Terrible Turn: Bad Rep Some struggles have gone on so long that fighting ... http://t.co/tozAoCO8

Thursday, 12 January 2012 via AutoTweet Connector

Fittedin

Columbia: Crass Stupidity: An Outrage Unsurprisingly the Santa Marta outrage – a strike by banana workers in the C... http://t.co/1YcRceJK

Thursday, 12 January 2012 via AutoTweet Connector

Fittedin

Angela Grobben's Human Rights: Seasons Greetings from the Journey of Hope...from Violence to Healing: Season's ... http://t.co/yFyrVR7T

Saturday, 31 December 2011 via AutoTweet Connector

Fittedin

News: House Rules: What are the House Rules? We've established the following House Rules.1. Opinions expressed i... http://t.co/OrXIJ7Gd

Tuesday, 06 December 2011 via AutoTweet Connector

Fittedin

Lynette White: I Write What I Like: “I write what I like,” Assassinated anti-apartheid activist Steve BikoAbysmal... http://t.co/I77TScPR

Friday, 02 December 2011 via AutoTweet Connector

Fittedin

News: Conspiracy Theories : Fiddling While Colombia BurnedDr. Jorge Eliécer Gaitán Ayala had looked almost certain ... http://t.co/UE7CJONz

Friday, 11 November 2011 via AutoTweet Connector

Fittedin

Test the DNA in Hank Skinner's Case! http://t.co/NmJELmbp #signon

Sunday, 30 October 2011 via web

Fittedin

News: The Forgotten Victims #Knox Case: Tragedies – the Primary VictimsThere are no winners – just tragedies and ... http://t.co/0rAQxqmL

Saturday, 08 October 2011 via AutoTweet Connector

Fittedin

Angela Grobben's Human Rights: Anti-Roma Demonstrations Spread Across Bulgaria: Anti-Roma Demonstrations Spread... http://t.co/aXdfXjir

Sunday, 02 October 2011 via AutoTweet Connector

Fittedin

Angela Grobben's Human Rights: Catholics must no longer support capital punishment: VATICAN CITY: Dead wrong: Cathol... http://t.co/araW4wlG

Saturday, 01 October 2011 via AutoTweet Connector

Fittedin

Angela Grobben's Human Rights: Decades without daylight: 'West Memphis Three' describe life in prison: Editor's... http://t.co/fkrlXWVw

Friday, 30 September 2011 via AutoTweet Connector

Fittedin

Angela Grobben's Human Rights: JON VENABLES & ROBERT THOMPSON , when children kill...: Friday 12th February 1993.... http://t.co/BwbQvixk

Wednesday, 28 September 2011 via AutoTweet Connector

May

Damaged

Written by Satish Sekar

Disastrous
Disgraced pathologist Michael Heath has a long history of inadequate investigations and testimony. He made a complete mess of the case against a teenage agriculture student from Kent. If ever an example were needed of the need for an integrated approach to various forensic science disciplines, Neil Sayers' case was it.

It was a very complicated investigation as a maggot-infested, partially burned and mutilated body was discovered several days after Sayers' friend and fellow student Russell Crookes went missing in May 1998. Obviously, forensic science offered the best prospect of unravelling the mystery, but Heath's conduct robbed it of the opportunity to do so when it mattered most.

Sayers is either a liar and a vicious killer, or a very wronged young man. Various scientific investigations ought to have been conducted during 1998. The police chose not to. That was their right. They had a confession from Sayers' co-accused, Graham Wallis, but this wasn't really a confession; it was an accusation. Wallis blamed Sayers for virtually everything, but the facts were also consistent with another explanation.

Wallis had acted alone and then, knowing what had happened, inserted Sayers into his confession to cut a better deal for himself. Forensic science could have resolved many issues in this case over a decade ago, but it wasn't given the opportunity it deserved by the police, prosecution or even Sayers' defence. Despite great difficulties, it still can, although it is far harder than it could have been and now it will cost a great deal more than if it had been investigated adequately as it should have been in 1998.

Extensive Error-Strewn Pathology
Heath had the best opportunity to establish the pathology evidence. He conducted the first post-mortem examination and claimed that the body of Russell Crookes had suffered extensive fire-damage. Extensive compared to what? Examination of the evidence leaves only one conclusion. Heath was completely wrong. Body fat had not even been rendered into the fire, which would have fuelled it and the dissection conducted by Heath proved that far from suffering extensive fire-damage, flesh was red raw.

This showed that the temperature reached inside the body was not even high enough to allow the body fat to drip into the fire – hardly consistent with a blaze that caused extensive fire-damage. A competent pathologist ought to have recognised both this and that the fire-damage varied throughout the body. There was surface damage consistent with the wick-effect (clothing acts as a wick that raised the temperature in the areas under the clothing and resulted in greater damage), but Heath's inadequate explanations proved disastrous.

Consequences
Plainly, the body had not suffered extensive fire-damage, but these issues should have been raised by Sayers' pathologist, Peter Jerreat as well. He could have advised Sayers' solicitor to initiate scientific investigations. He failed to recommend consulting a forensic entomologist. He failed to collect his own maggots from his examination of the body. He also failed to recommend that a forensic fire expert be consulted.

The failures of the pathologists, especially Heath, would later affect the ability of forensic entomology to resolve important issues and other scientific disciplines too. It was in practice the only way to establish a post-mortem-interval in this case, although it would not necessarily mean time of death as this was a very complicated case – one that would eventually require revolutionary new techniques to establish the significance of the entomological evidence.

Heath's error regarding the extent of fire-damage, added to his conduct at the crime-scene, caused serious problems. He collected maggots from the body and handed them to police. He did not establish environmental conditions at the scene or in the body. He also failed to sample other areas of the body extensively. This prevented the maggots from telling their tale.

If Heath advised the police on what to do with the maggots, they ignored it and left the maggots to die with some liver in a fridge at the police station. They were not reared or even observed and the temperatures were not recorded either. The evidence that the maggots could have given was utterly wasted. It was not Sayers' fault, but the law held him alone accountable for the failures of pathologists, police and lawyers. Apparently, teenage agriculture students should be budding forensic entomologists as well.

Add comment

JComments

Like Fitted In?

Latest Additions

Get the book

Fitted In

Inscribed to you, signed by and direct from the author Satish Sekar.

Please email Satish@fittedin.com for details.

Fitted In - to Britain
£15.00

Fitted In - to Europe
£17.50

Fitted In - The Rest of the World
£20.00

Main Menu

Live Feed

Add comment

Like Fitted In?

Latest Additions

Get the book

Fitted In