Dr. Beth Murray, Ph.D., a Professor at the Mount in the Department of Biology, Shares Expert Insight on WKRC Local 12 After Dismembered Body Found in a Cincinnati Neighborhood.
Dr. Beth Murray is a professor in the Department of Biology and teaches courses in anatomy and physiology, gross anatomy, and forensic science. She is a graduate of Mount St. Joseph University who went on to obtain her master's and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Cincinnati, focusing on skeletal biology and forensic anthropology. Dr. Murray is a retired forensic anthropologists in North America and has assisted in both forensic and historic skeletal investigations on the local, regional, national, and international levels since 1986.
At the beginning of November, the Cincinnati area was stunned by the discovery of a woman’s body found dismembered in North Fairmount. The woman still has not been identified due to the lack of teeth and fingerprints. Law enforcement hopes that by identifying this woman they will finally be able to locate the suspect responsible for this heinous crime.
Local 12 reached out to Dr. Beth Murray, a retired forensic anthropologist and current professor at the Mount, to receive expert insight from her on this case. Although Dr. Beth Murray is not involved in working on this case she does have more than 35 years’ experience working cases like this. Dr. Beth Murray shared the two reasons most suspects dismember victims’ bodies. “Usually in my experience, it's done in an attempt to thwart identification,” said Dr. Murray. "In many of my cases over the years of dismemberment, it’s really been more about transporting in a duffel bag or a backpack to a place where then they can discard the remains.”
The coroner working on this case is still trying to identify the instrument used in this crime. Dr. Beth Murray states, "In many cases, it’s easy to tell whether it was from a power tool versus a hand tool. These are gruesome things to think about, but in my experience, it’s been from the desperation of somebody who is trying to get rid of this body.”
Another huge piece of this case that Dr. Beth Murray shared insight on was the dumping location of the body. She shared that dismembered bodies were usually dumped in wooded areas or lakes and that the location could be very telling. Dr. Beth Murray also added, “I think the desperation would lead somebody to put this in a location that’s far away from where the killing took place and then somewhere that they would not personally be associated with.”
Dr. Beth Murray is an incredible expert in her field with great insight into crimes of this nature. Hopefully, with her expert insight on this case and the extensive work of our law enforcement, this woman will be identified and justice will be served to the suspect responsible.
Click to watch the video of Dr. Beth Murray’s interview with WKRC Local 12