A farm of corpses in South Florida: why is it needed?

At first glance, this field looks like an ordinary meadow - there is a lot of grass, and in some places it is especially tall. From a distance it looks like an ideal place for a walk.

Photo: IFAAS / USF

But the fact is that the grass in these places is so high only because it was nourished for a few weeks by the remains of human bodies that decompose.

Today is a sunny, hot and humid day. If you go out into the field, the smell of a cadaver becomes so unbearable that tears appear in your eyes.

In this field of more than a hectare, 15 corpses lie. All of them are naked, some are placed in metal mesh, others are covered with blue plastic. A few bodies are in shallow holes, but most are simply lying on the ground in the open air.

Each body is surrounded by a patch of dry grass. But this is where the grass will begin to grow quickly over time - thanks to the additional nutrients.

"Court Cemetery"

Photo: IFAAS / USF

We are located in the judicial anthropological laboratory of the University of South Florida, located in a rural area near the city of Tampa, near the county jail.

Although some locals call these places body farms, scientists prefer the term “forensic cemetery” or even “taphanomy laboratory” (taphanomy is a branch of paleontology and archeology that studies the patterns of burial processes).

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Here they study what happens to the human body after death.

This open-air laboratory began operations in the 2017 year. At first, it was planned to open it in the nearby town of Hillsboro, but local residents opposed it, who were afraid that it would attract wild animals and cause an unpleasant smell, and this, in turn, would lead to a drop in real estate prices.

Photo: IFAAS / USF

But it turns out that not only ordinary people doubt the feasibility of the existence of such institutions. Some scientists, pathologists express doubts about the usefulness and necessity of such polygons.

In total, there are six such farms in the US, and this year similar farms should also open in the UK, Canada and Australia.

Most of the corpses lying in this field were left dead by science, although sometimes their relatives do it.

The main goal that scientists set for themselves is to understand how the human body decomposes and what happens near the place where the corpse lies.

Thus, scientists collect data that contribute to the investigation of crimes and will help during forensic examinations.

What happens to the body

“After a person’s death, a huge number of almost simultaneous processes begin,” says Dr. Eirin Kimmerle. “From the natural process of decomposition to the appearance of a certain type of insect and changes in the environment.”

Dr. Kimmerle is director of the Institute of Forensic Anthropology at the University of South Florida. She and her collaborators believe in the importance of studying decomposing bodies in real time and in natural environments.

According to her, the process of decomposition of the human body takes place in several stages:

• Fresh corpse: decomposition begins immediately after the cessation of the heartbeat, when the body temperature drops, blood circulation stops, blood begins to accumulate in certain organs;
• Bloating: bacteria begin to remodel soft tissue, changes in skin color become noticeable. Cadaveric gases, soft tissue of a frog arise;
• Active decomposition: at this stage there is a major loss of body weight. Most soft tissues are eaten by worms, or they become liquid and are absorbed by the soil and plants;
• Completion of decomposition: by this time almost nothing remains of the soft tissues, the activity and the number of bacteria, worms and insects are decreasing. If the corpse lies on the Earth, then the plants located nearby die, there are changes in the acidity of the soil;
• Dried Remains: The body begins to resemble a skeleton - this starts with the face, arms and legs. If there is high humidity in this area, the body may mummify. Intensive plant growth begins around the body as a result of the action of nutrients entering the soil.

However, these stages are not fixed and can be strongly influenced by the environment.

That is why Dr. Kimmerle and her staff reproduce the various conditions on this farm.

How to watch over the corpses

Some of the dead bodies are simply laid out on the ground, others are placed in metal cells or covered with plastic wrap.

Researchers observe how the body decomposes in each individual case - how insects behave when vultures, coyotes and small rodents appear.

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Sometimes the vultures arrive in large numbers. Hungry animals can bite through the skin of corpses, tear muscles and pull out internal organs - even turn bodies over.

All this time, scientists are a detailed recording and photographing everything that happens. They pay attention to the position of the body: for example, or it is located close to the water, on or under the ground, in a cage or under the open sky.

Geologists and geophysicists work together with them, analyzing the processes occurring in the soil, air, water - everything that happens to vegetation.

When the body is transformed into a skeleton, it is sent to the so-called dry laboratory, where the bones are cleaned and dried so that they can be further used for educational and research purposes.

How can this be used

Collected data may be useful in forensic examination.

Photo: IFAAS / USF

Understanding the processes of natural decomposition can give information about the time of death, about the duration of the body in various conditions, and even about how it was transferred after death.

These data may also shed light on the identity of the deceased. Together with genetic data and analysis of the remains, this information can be used in the course of investigations into unsolved crimes.

What about ethics?

Some may regard such studies as shocking, but Dr. Kimmerle says she doesn't care.

“As a professional and a scientist, you learn to distance yourself,” she says, referring to the taboos surrounding the topic of death.

“We often take part in murder investigations,” the doctor continues. “The worst thing is to see what a person can do to another person.”

There have been cases when Dr. Kimmerle and her colleagues had to talk to families who lost their children 20 or 30 years ago and are still looking for their remains.

According to her, this work is also needed because in the US only from 1980 onwards almost 250 000 murders remain unsolved.

Since opening in October 2017, the “farm” has received 50 donor bodies, and another 180 people have bequeathed their bodies to the institution after death. Mostly we are talking about older people who are preparing for death.

The Farm does not accept such donations from those with infectious diseases that could infect researchers studying the bodies.

Such institutions give science valuable information, but there are those who have doubts about this.

"There are some problems with these outdoor ranges," says Patrick Randolph-Quinney, an expert in criminal anthropology at the University of Central Lancashire in the UK.

Although, in general, the scientist supports the studies conducted at such test sites, however, he points out their imperfection.

“There are many variables that cannot be controlled. And you can see how this leads to difficulties in interpreting the data,” the scientist notes.

In his opinion, now the specialists in this field have a difficult task to move from descriptive data collection to their systematization and standardization. This will help to use them for scientific purposes.

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At the same time, anthropologist and anatomist Sue Black from the University of Lancaster has been critically focused on research conducted at the test site. She says she doubts their value through small amounts of data received and a huge variation in results.

But there is the ethical side of the issue.

“To me, this approach is unacceptable,” Black wrote in her 2018 book All That Remains. “And my distaste increases when I am invited to visit such a place as if it were some kind of tourist attraction.”

But Dr. Kimmerle is convinced that such testing grounds still have a future: this is evidenced, in particular, by the opening of new laboratories in different countries.

“Anyone who understands what we do here, and also knows about the practical application of the knowledge gained, has no doubt about how necessary it is,” says Eirin Kimmerle.

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