>> THERE ARE 206 BONES IN THE HUMAN SKELETON.
AND IN DEATH, A PERSON'S BONES SPEAK VOLUMES ABOUT THEIR LIFE.
>> WE HAVE TO LOOK AT EVERY SINGLE BONE INDIVIDUALLY.
AND IF WE SEE AN ANOMALY, WE WILL LOOK AT IT UNDER THE
MICROSCOPE.
SO THE MAXIMUM LENGTH IS 444 MILLIMETERS.
>> AUTHORITIES KNOW VERY LITTLE ABOUT THIS MAN, INCLUDING WHO HE
WAS OR EVEN HOW HE CAME TO BE IN WAKE COUNTY.
>> EVERY CASE IS DIFFERENT.
SO IT ALWAYS PROVIDES A UNIQUE PERSPECTIVE THAT YOU HAVE TO
GAIN FROM LOOKING AT THE REMAINS.
AND THERE'S ALWAYS SOMETHING DIFFERENT ABOUT THEM.
>> 95 MILLIMETERS.
>> AUTHORITIES ALSO DON'T KNOW WHO KILLED HIM, ONLY THAT HE
DIED VIOLENTLY.
>> IT LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE THREE ENTRANCE GUNSHOT WOUNDS HERE.
AND THIS IS -- LOOKS LIKE A KEYHOLE, SO THE DIRECTION WOULD
HAVE BEEN FROM SUPERIOR TO INFERIOR WITH THE BULLET
TRAJECTORY GOING THIS WAY.
>> BUT FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGY COULD BE CALLED THE SCIENCE OF
TALKING BONES.
SO LAW ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITIES FROM COMMUNITIES ACROSS NORTH
CAROLINA TURN TO THE FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGY LAB AT NORTH
CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY FOR HELP.
THEY WANT TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE REMAINS OF CRIME VICTIMS ARE
SAYING.
>> THEY CAN TELL YOU A LOT ABOUT THE PERSON, ABOUT HOW THEY
LIVED, ABOUT -- UM, EVERYTHING THAT WE DO DURING OUR LIFE
ACTUALLY LEAVES A MARK ON OUR BONE.
SO, FOR EXAMPLE, WE CAN TELL IF SOMEBODY, UM, HAD LARGE MUSCLE
ATTACHMENT SITES, SO YOU KNOW THEY WERE PHYSICALLY ACTIVE AND
WERE ROBUST OR RUGOSE, MEANING HEAVILY MUSCLE MARKED.
>> 126.
>> THE SCIENTISTS GIVE A VOICE TO UNIDENTIFIED REMAINS IN MORE
THAN A DOZEN COLD CASES EVERY YEAR.
>> THEY CAN TALK ABOUT THE DISEASES A PERSON MAY HAVE HAD
IN LIFE.
THEY CAN TALK ABOUT, UM, LIKE, IN SORT OF SPINA BIFIDA, WHAT
KIND OF PRENATAL ENVIRONMENT THEY MAY HAVE HAD, WHAT KIND OF
CHILDHOOD THEY MAY HAVE HAD, YOU KNOW, IF IT AFFECTED THEIR
STATURE, IF IT AFFECTED THEIR DENTITION, THEIR DIET, THEIR --
SOMETIMES EVEN THEIR CLIMATE, THEIR -- WHATEVER THEY'RE
ACCLIMATIZED IN TERMS OF ALTITUDE.
ALL OF THESE THINGS CAN BE READILY SEEN AND INTERPRETED
SOMETIMES.
>> TO FIND OUT WHERE THIS VICTIM WAS FROM, AS WELL AS THE SEX,
ROSS TOOK ALMOST THREE DOZEN MEASUREMENTS OF THE SKULL.
THE INFORMATION WAS ENTERED INTO A DATABASE CALLED 3D-ID.
DR. ROSS HELPED DEVELOP IT.
THE PROGRAM COMPARES THE FEATURES OF THE CRANIUM WITH
THOSE TAKEN FROM PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD.
>> WE WERE ABLE TO ESTABLISH THAT HE WAS A HISPANIC MALE.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE LOOKED AT WAS THE SHAPE OF THE FACE,
THE SHAPE OF THE NOSE.
WE DIGITIZED HIM AND TOOK MEASUREMENTS OFF OF HIS SKULL.
HIS MEASUREMENTS ALLOCATED OR CLASSIFIED INTO SOUTH AMERICAN.
>> THE PELVIC BONES ALSO INDICATED THE VICTIM WAS A MALE.
THE FEMUR CAN TELL A PERSON'S HEIGHT.
IN THIS CASE, ABOUT 5'5" TALL.
THAT CORRELATES WITH THE POPULATION OF CHILE.
MISSING TEETH INDICATE POOR NUTRITION.
AN EXAMINATION OF THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF THE BONES
REFLECTS THE DRINKING WATER WHERE THE MAN LIVED.
AND SINCE NONE OF THE CHEMICAL SIGNATURES IN THE BONES ARE
FOUND IN THE WATER IN NORTH CAROLINA OR ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE
UNITED STATES, IT IS LIKELY THE MAN MOVED TO THE STATE LESS THAN
FIVE YEARS BEFORE HE DIED.
DNA IS ALSO EXTRACTED FROM THE BONES, WHEN POSSIBLE, TO ADD TO
THE PROFILE.
>> ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE LOOK AT, HE HAS A SLIGHT SPINA
BIFIDA OCCULTA, WHICH YOU CAN ASSESS THAT HE HAD PROBABLY POOR
NATAL HEALTH IN, UM -- DURING LIFE.
AND THAT IS A LOT OF POPULATIONS THAT DON'T USE FOLIC ACID,
RIGHT?
AND WE INCLUDE THAT IN ALL OF OUR FOODS NOW.
WE HAVE THEM IN CEREALS, IN PASTA, PRENATAL VITAMINS.
SO A LOT OF THESE POPULATIONS, YOU WOULD GET THOSE KINDS OF
ANOMALIES.
>> THE FOCUS IS AS SERIOUS AS MURDER, BUT THE REMAINS ARE
NEVER TREATED AS JUST A CASE NUMBER.
>> IT'S IMPORTANT TO STAY GROUNDED AND REMEMBER THAT THEY
WERE A PERSON LIKE YOU AND ME.
YOU KNOW, WHAT'S TO MAKE THAT SITUATION DIFFERENT?
SO YOU HAVE TO KEEP THAT LEVEL OF RESPECT, I THINK.
>> BECAUSE THESE BONES BELONGED TO AN INDIVIDUAL, AND I THINK
ABOUT HOW I WOULD WANT MY REMAINS TREATED IF IT WAS IN
MY -- IF I WAS ON THAT TABLE INSTEAD.
AND I WOULD HOPE THAT IT WOULD BE IN THE SAME WAY THAT I WOULD
TREAT ANOTHER INDIVIDUAL'S REMAINS.
>> IT IS CHALLENGING WORK.
SOME PEOPLE MIGHT EVEN CALL IT GRUESOME.
THERE ARE INSTRUMENTS IN THE LAB TO DEAL WITH HUMAN REMAINS THAT
AREN'T FULLY SKELETONIZED.
BUT JUST AS EVERY PERSON IS UNIQUE, EACH CASE IS UNIQUE AS
WELL.
>> THEY'RE ALL VERY DIFFERENT, AND YOU HAVE TO HAVE VERY FRESH
EYES WHENEVER YOU START A NEW CASE, BECAUSE YOU'RE LOOKING FOR
SOMETHING THAT, A LOT OF TIMES, THAT YOU HAVEN'T SEEN ON ANOTHER
SKELETON BEFORE OR THAT YOU AT LEAST HAVEN'T COME ACROSS VERY
FREQUENTLY.
AND YOU HAVE TO BE CAUTIOUS, BUT YOU ALSO HAVE TO BE OPEN.
>> THE GOAL IS TO USE SCIENCE TO BRING RESOLUTION TO SOMEONE WHO
HAS NO VOICE.
THE INFORMATION GATHERED FROM THE BONES WILL BE PASSED ON TO
AUTHORITIES IN HOPES IT WILL HELP IDENTIFY THE VICTIM AND
SOLVE THE MURDER.
>> YOU WONDER WHAT MADE YOU GET TO THE POINT THAT YOU COULD
ACTUALLY DO SUCH A HORRIFIC THING TO A PERSON.
THE WORST CASES FOR ME ARE THE CASES THAT INVOLVE CHILDREN.
UM, SO PEOPLE DOING HORRIBLE THINGS TO CHILDREN, YOU KNOW,
BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T NECESSARILY PUT THEMSELVES IN A SITUATION
THAT THEY FOUND THEMSELVES TO BE IN AS WHEREAS A GROWN-UP,
SOMETIMES, HEY, WE MAKE SOME BAD CHOICES.
BUT WITH A CHILD, THEY DIDN'T HAVE A CHOICE, AND THOSE ARE --
I LOSE SLEEP OVER THOSE CASES.