From Manson Family Murders to Execution by Beheading: Truth About Sharp Force Injuries

AEA: Autoerotic Asphyxia - David Carradine gained fame on TV in the early 70s as Kung Fu. Michael Hutchence was the frontman for hitmaking rock group INXS. Both men died doing the same thing: Autoerotic Asphyxia. Joseph Scott Morgan and Dave Mack discuss AEA as well as other public deaths by Asphyxia including the hanging of Jeffrey Epstein, suicide of Robin Williams, and a story about the death of a man accused of being a witch during the Salem Witch Trials and how he died  of asphyxia by "pressing".            Transcript Highlights 00:02.49 Introduction  00:39.43 "Blood Beneath My Feet" 04:48.20 Asphyxia by hanging 10:00.77 Suffocation - positional asphyxia 15:06.68 Compression of the neck 19:39.06 Hanging of Lewis Payne 24:40.59 Execution by "pressing" 30:12.40 Killed by hanging in public  35:11.67 Suspension Hanging vs Supported Hanging 39:15.66 Auto-Erotic Asphyxia 45:20.99 Strangle to point of death, and stopping, to cause more terror in victim 50:42.24 Conclusion  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Update on the decapitation of Baby Isaiah during his birth. Joseph Scott Morgan and Dave Mack discuss what happened and how the family is still having to fight for justice. The parents, Jessica Ross and Traveon Taylor Sr. have filed lawsuits against the hospital and the doctor but the first suit is about the damage done to the family by the doctor hired to do the autopsy of baby Isaiah, Dr. Jackson Gates. Dr. Gates posted pictures and video of the autopsy without the parents knowledge or permission and a jury awards the parents $2 million in damages.              Transcript Highlights00:04.96 Introduction 00:48.33 Parental grief with loss of a child 04:45.27 Use of forceps during childbirth 06:37.45 The death of baby Isaiah 10:04.56 Explanation of child birth options 14:28.88 Doctor applied enough force to decapitate baby  20:30.53 Baby Isaiah head placed on body so it wouldn't fall off 25:19.76 Funeral home reported decapitation 30:06.68 Head removed during delivery 35:09.52 Paying for autopsy 39:42.33 Lawsuit filed when autopsy doctor placed images of autopsy on social media 44:59.93 Conclusion   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Joseph Scott Morgan and Dave Mack discuss the Manson family murders and the real injuries suffered by the victims,  as well as beheadings carried out hundreds of years ago in an effort to explain the difference in the type of injuries created by all manner of weapons that can be used to stab, slice, carve, and disembowel. Professor Morgan explains the difference between the facts of a case and how injuries and weapons are shown in film and how difficult it is to determine the source of a sharp force injury.              Transcript Highlights 00:13.87 Introduction - Sharp Force Injuries  01:11.86 Description of a beheading 04:56.77 Sharp force injury 10:02.83 Executioner refusing to execute 14:59.68 Stabbing injuries 20:27.08 Studying the margin - edges of injury 24:48.30 Always look for the "winking eye" 29:58.47 Thorough autopsy - tongue comes out 35:03.25 First documented autopsy, Caesar 38:58.59 Manson family knife attacks, Sharon Tate 45:03.35 Manson Murders shown in movie shows fork bouncing up and down, ridiculous 46:2 9.07 Conclusion  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A solid understanding of firearms and their function and purpose is essential to being a successful investigator. Failure to understand the things encountered in the street... there is no telling what kind of interpretation one will wind up making . Joseph Scott Morgan and Dave Mack look at the weapons used in the murders of Lincoln, JFK, and Oswald and Joe explains why It is important to be "studied up" when working in the field.             Transcript Highlights00:00.07 Introduction  02:33.91 Brief History of firearms 06:08.03 $12 mail order gun supposedly killed JFK -- how do you figure it out 09:04.62 The Rifleman 15:48.72 The weapon used to kill Lincoln 20:12.47 Baseball bat favored by Dave 25:20.33 Never say gunshot wound on report in the field 30:25.58 JFK neck wound used for creating airway 35:14.95 The "Magic Bullet" 40:12.97 Oswald shooting injury 45:05.23 Projectile would have defect 49:28.41 Round traveling out of weapon 55:46.90 Conclusion    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Blunt Force Trauma and the trial of Karen Read in the death of her boyfriend, police officer John O'Keefe. Read was accused of hitting O'Keefe with her SUV in 2022 and leaving him to die in blizzard like conditions. Joseph Scott Morgan and Dave Mack discuss the case and how Blunt Force Trauma plays a critical part in the death of O'Keefe. Joe Scott also talks about a case involving the death of a woman confined to a wheelchair and requiring 24 hour care. At first glance her death seemed natural due to her medical conditions, but upon examination determined to be a homicide due to blunt for trauma. The woman had over 160 contusions on her body caused by a dryer belt.              Transcribe Highlights00:00.03 Introduction - Blunt Force Trauma 04:21.19 Taking a hit from Jesse Tuggle 05:04.72 Motor Vehicle accidents, number one cause of blunt force trauma deaths in USA 10:11.73 Bleeding out due to blunt force trauma 15:45.67 Brain injuries  20:01.76 Abrasions caused by blunt force 25:17.35 Describing victim with 167 contusions 30:05.95 Looking for item that caused injury 35:06.97 O'Keefe injuries, Karen Read case 40:13.55 "Grading" Bruises - age of bruise  45:00.87 Bruise created by a bat 49:46.82 Conclusion See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Suzanne Morphew vanished on Mother's Day 2020. Her husband Barry Morphew was later charged with her murder, even though her body had not been found. Due to many issues, the judge dismissed the case one week before it went to trial and Barry Morphew walked out a free man. The judge dismissed the case "Without Prejudice" meaning the Morphew could be charged again at a "later date". That "later date" came when Barry Morphew was indicted by a grand jury charging him with Murder in the first-degree of his wife Suzanne Morphew. He was arrested in Arizona on Friday, June 20, 2025. Joseph Scott Morgan and Dave Mack discuss the case and why it was dropped the first time and why it is being brought again now. Professor Joseph Scott Morgan will explain the forensic evidence that is  "the smoking gun" of the case.           Transcript Highlights 00:00.00 Introduction  00:49.42 Case of Suzanne Morphew 05:08.01 Mother's Day, Suzanne missing 09:47.15 Sasha Krause similar story 16:17.97 Barry Morphew hotel room smelled like bleach 20:26.86 Vigils, volunteers searching, Barry Morphew not helping much  25:13.43 Charges dropped, investigators believe they know where bones are but can't get to them 30:30.99 Suzanne remains found 45 miles from her home 35:05.68 Remains bleached, no maggots or other bugs feasting on her remains 39:59.83 Barry Morphew used BAM on deer 45:06.59 ConclusionSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Anjette and Ben Lyles are a young married couple with two children. Ben is a WW2 veteran and together he and Anjette work in his family restaurant in Macon, Georgia.  When Ben sells the restaurant for below market value to settle a gambling debt, Anjette is furious.  A few months after selling the restaurant, Ben gets very sick, very fast, and dies without doctors figuring out what killed him. Joseph Scott Morgan and Dave Mack discuss the death of Ben Lyles as well as Anjette's new husband, Buddy Gabbert, Anjette's first mother-in-law, Julia Lyles, and Anjette's daughter, Marcia.   Joe explains how Anjette Lyles got away with murder, at first, and what led to her ultimate arrest, conviction, and death sentence.       Transcript Highlights 00:00.21 Introduction 02:09.23 Eating at Hospital cafeteria 05:02.11 Ben Lyles sells restaurant to settle gambling debt, Anjette is furious 06:45.30 Ben Lyles dies, doctors don't know why 09:21.66 Diagnosis by symptoms 14:43.53 Ben's mother worked at Restaurant 18:26.54 Anjette buys the restaurant 20:01.78 Anjette marries Buddy Gabbert 25:07.03 Doctors not looking for arsenic 30:08.42 Symptoms were miserable, Buddy dies 35:32.05 Anjette seen lighting black candle and talking to it 40:00.01 Coroner's Inquest 44:51.91 Coroner gets anonymous letter about Anjette using arsenic ant poison to kill 50:09.65 One month after Marcia dies, Anjette is arrested, charged with murder 51:25.26 Sentenced to death. Sentence commuted to life in prison     See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Joseph Scott Morgan gives a "Live" presentation of what happened at 1122 King Road in Moscow, Idaho the night four students were murdered. Breaking down the forensic evidence that exists as well as items that have been destroyed, including the crime scene and all of this on stage in front of a live audience at CrimeCon UK 2025                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Transcribe Highlights 00:01.36 Introduction 04:06.06 Blood seen on back of house 08:00.55 KA-BAR Knife 11:48.76 Event took between 6 and 12 minutes 15:19.56 Moscow, Idaho, small town 20:00.53 House is complex 25:11.72 Kohberger car cleaning 30:08.31 Kohberger watching Joe Scott 35:44.67 House torn down     38:17.26 Conclusion See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Imagine a very large, very old, decomissioned sewage tank buried underneath the grounds of a long since demolished home for unwed mothers that may contain the remains of nearly 800 babies and small children. Joseph Scott Morgan and Dave Mack discuss the story of  the "Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home" in Tuam, Ireland....providing shelter for young women from 1925 until it closed in 1961.  Nearly 800 children died at the facility run by Nuns but there are only one or two actual burial records, the rest may have been tossed into an old septic tank buried on the property and turned into a mass unmarked grave.  Professor Morgan explains how the tank would have been tested, the condition of the remains, and the daunting task to identify and properly bury the children who were tossed away like rubbish.         Transcribe Highlights 00:05.83 Introduction "Bon Secours" means "Safe Harbor" 03:23.12 Homes for "single mothers" 05:00.85 Historian research indicates nearly 800 babies died, only one burial record 09:59.19 Death certificates were found  14:43.31 Bones sticking up from ground 20:12.78 Description of septic type system used at the time 25:09.84 Opening on top referred to as a "Thief Hatch" 30:07.44 The nuns are not the only ones responsible  35:02.15 Using methane probes in very small area  40:04.25 Permission has been give for full excavation  44:36.01 Need help with DNA and identifying the remains. Conclusion    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At 3:42 a.m. on February 17, 1970, Green Beret Doctor Jeffrey MacDonald makes an emergency phone call from his base housing at 544 Castle Drive at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The dispatcher hears the faint message, a call for help, "Stabbing! Hurry!"  Inside the residence, MacDonald's wife, Colette, 26, and five months pregnant, lies dead on the floor of the master bedroom, their daughters, Kimberley, 5, and Kristen, 2, are found dead in their respective beds.  Jeffrey MacDonald suffered minor injuries, compared to his wife and daughters. MacDonald claims 4 hippies, 3 men and a woman, came into his home, killed his family and knocked him unconscious. MacDonald says the woman with long blond hair was wearing a white floppy hat and holding a candle while chanting "Acid is groovy, kill the pigs." The case has been turned into books, movies, articles, and lawsuits. MacDonald was convicted for the murder of his wife and daughters and sentenced to life in prison. Jeffrey MacDonald claims he was wrongly convicted and has never wavered from his claims that hippies murdered his wife and daughters. Joseph Scott Morgan and Dave Mack discuss the case and the injuries suffered by Colette, Kimberley, Kristen, and Jeffrey Macdonald, and compare the forensic facts to the story told by the one person who survived.          Transcribe Highlights 00:00:01.45 Introduction  00:00:17.91 Killer on the loose in LA 00:03:06.24 Jeffrey MacDonald story 00:05:26.19 Victim recounting traumatic event 00:09:10.74 MacDonald tells his version of events  00:14:09.09 Four Hippies get on military base housing   00:19:10.31 Tearing down location of homicide 00:24:07.38 Officers explaining crime scene  00:29:36.21 Motive doesn't matter at a crime scene 00:33:55.42 MacDonald was the ONLY threat, he survives 00:38:43.83 Wounds on Colette 00:43:09.00 Comparing injuries suffered by girls and MacDonald 00:48:13.19 Injuries suffered by Kimberly, 5-years-old 00:52:21.98 Conclusion   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.