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
Program: The Scent of Death Speaker: John V. Goodpaster, PhD, Director, Forensic and Investigative Sciences Program, Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, IU – Indianapolis
Introduced By: Karen Bumb Lauer
Attendance: NESC: 84, Zoom: 34
Guest(s): Jim Davis, Ericka Merlone, Terry Noffsinger
Scribe: Bill Dick
Editor: Bill Elliott
Talk’s Zoom recording found at:
https://www.scientechclubvideos.org/zoom/03162026.mp4
John Goodpaster was trained as a forensic chemist and is called on today to assist the BATF in cases of death involving volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which include chemicals emitted from dead animals, including humans.
Dr. Goodpaster thanked Michigan City, IN detective, Lt. Anna Painter and his colleagues in a case involving a murder. It concerned John Gonzales, who was beaten and killed in his home. His roommate, John Hallett, confessed but later recanted his story. Evidence was sent to Dr. Goodpaster’s lab and was used to gain the conviction of Mr. Hallett for 56 years. The IN Court of Appeals later upheld the verdict.
Mr. Hallett stored Gonzales’ body in the basement for 56 days. Hallett later dismembered the body and placed the remains in trash bags. He cleaned the floor and painted it. The body was never found. A cadaver dog still found the odor of a dead body in the basement. In the seams, where bodily fluids could collect, luminol was sprayed. It showed evidence of human blood. Core samples were drilled into the floor. The core sample materials could not be used for DNA testing.
Luminol detects hemoglobin (Hb), found in ed blood cells. It works even on surfaces that have been cleaned or bleached. It does not damage DNA. Luminol can find Hb even in dilutions of 1 to 100,000. This information helped in the case of Kristen Smart, who died in 1996. Her blood was found in her father’s home in the soil under his deck. VOC’s form the basis of all bodily aromas.
Dr. Goodpaster showed a diagram of our sense of smell, which is linked to taste. Humans can detect between millions of different aromas. Canine olfaction is 10,000 to 100,000 times more sensitive than humans. After we die, proteins, fats, and water are broken down. Bacteria run amok producing methane, hydrogen sulfide, and ammonia. These processes lead to the scent of death.
Dr. Goodpaster showed examples of chemical analysis in his lab. Solid-phase microextraction (SPME) is used to extract volatiles. Gas chromatography and mass spectrometry are used on the samples. If VOCs are found, it means that a dead body was present. Canines can find an amazing number of compounds.
John V. Goodpaster
