Episode 39: Evidentiary Body Parts
From Death, et seq. by Tanya D. Marsh
March 16, 2026 · 35 min · Episode 40
About this episode
This episode explores the legal and ethical considerations surrounding the retention and disposition of human remains seized by law enforcement during criminal investigations.
In this episode, we discuss the retention and disposition of human remains after they are seized by law enforcement as part of a criminal investigation. We’re not talking about what happens to a body after an autopsy is conducted as part of an investigation. No, we’re talking about what happens to body parts (or things made from body parts) after they are seized as evidence of the crime itself. For context, think Ed Gein, the prominent 1950s criminal who made furniture and clothing out of human skin he harvested from graveyards or his victims. Or Jeffrey Dahmer, the infamous serial killer/cannibal whose apartment contained the dismembered body parts of 11 young men, including several skulls, hearts, and other organs. Or, more recently, the Harvard Morgue Case, where multiple people across the country were implicated in a scheme to buy and sell human body parts that had been unlawfully removed from cadavers in the medical school’s morgue. In each of these cases, investigators discovered and seized human body parts when they were searching the defendants’ premises. But what gave them the legal authority to seize these remains, if anything? And what did they or will they (or even…
People in this episode
Host: Tanya D. Marsh
Topics covered
- human remains
- law enforcement
- criminal investigation
- body parts
- evidence
- legal authority
Keywords
- human remains
- criminal investigation
- body parts
- evidence seizure
- legal authority
- Ed Gein
- Jeffrey Dahmer
- Harvard Morgue Case
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Harvard Morgue
More episodes of Death, et seq.
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- Episode 45: Empathy and End of Life with Stephanie Hopp · April 21, 2026 · 53 min
- Episode 44: The Strange Case of Jeremy DeWitte · April 13, 2026 · 26 min
- Episode 43: Regulating the Funeral Industry · April 6, 2026 · 30 min
- Episode 42: Green Burial with Suzanne Kelly · March 30, 2026 · 37 min
- Episode 41: Grave Goods · March 23, 2026 · 42 min
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