Speaker: Dr. John V Goodpaster
Concealing the evidence of a homicide by disposing of the body used to be sufficient. However, new research on the plethora of volatile chemical compounds that indicated the presence of death and decay, even after a body is gone, has changed that. A dead human body emits hundreds of compounds that are collectively known as the “Scent of Death”. Dr. Goodpaster and his team have developed a laboratory-based method to detect these compounds, and it was successfully applied to a homicide investigation in Michigan City, IN. This evidence was admitted at trial and played a role in the conviction of the suspect.
Dr. Goodpaster is a professor in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Indiana University Indpls. He holds B.A., Chemistry, Gustavus Adolphus College, 1995 M.S., Criminal Justice, Michigan State University, 2000 and a Ph.D., Chemistry, Michigan State University, 2000. He is also a National Research Council Post-Doctoral Associate, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). He has worked in the past as a forensic chemist for ATF and continues to do research in forensic analytical chemistry.
Sponsored by Karen Bumb
