00:00:04
[music playing]
00:00:06
NARRATOR: In the fall
of 1987, a mapmaker
00:00:09
was surveying the
grounds of a Boy Scout
00:00:12
ranch in eastern Missouri.
00:00:16
Suddenly, something
strange caught his eye.
00:00:23
At first, it looked
like a turtle shell,
00:00:26
but it was a skull.
00:00:29
A mystery now unfolded.
00:00:32
To solve it, detectives
would have to put
00:00:34
a face on the grisly discovery.
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[music playing]
00:01:02
The S Bar F Boy
Scout Ranch covers
00:01:05
5,400 acres of picturesque
countryside in rural Missouri.
00:01:10
The mapmaker had
discovered the human skull
00:01:14
in a remote area of the ranch.
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Teena Orling was his supervisor.
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He was a professional
mapmaker from Finland,
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and he saw the skull his--
00:01:26
within the first few days here.
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He did not say anything to
me or to anyone else about it
00:01:31
because he was afraid.
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NARRATOR: But three months
later, just before he
00:01:35
returned to Finland,
the mapmaker finally
00:01:38
told Teena about the skull.
00:01:41
Using a detailed
map of the ranch,
00:01:43
and following the
mapmaker's directions,
00:01:46
Teena and a scout ranger
searched for the skull.
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They found what they were
looking for in a sparsely
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wooded clearing.
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TEENA ORLING: The sun was
glinting off this white object.
00:01:58
You could tell right
away it was a skull.
00:02:00
And I thought to myself, oh,
boy, we finally found it.
00:02:05
NARRATOR: Along with the skull,
searchers found a few strands
00:02:08
of hair, a lower jaw,
and about 40 bones,
00:02:13
including a pelvic bone,
a femur, and some ribs.
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My initial thought
was that it may
00:02:19
possibly be an Indian
grave, until we
00:02:22
saw the blue jean material.
00:02:24
NARRATOR: Searchers unearthed
the tattered remains of a pair
00:02:28
of jeans, pieces of
a flowered shirt,
00:02:32
remnants of a plastic shopping
bag, and a metal button.
00:02:37
To begin the task of
identifying the victim,
00:02:40
the physical evidence was
sent to the forensic crime lab
00:02:43
in Jefferson City, Missouri.
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They began their evaluation
with the tattered blue jeans.
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The outside seam was intact.
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This helped
criminalist Tom Grant
00:02:53
determine the overall
height of the victim.
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From cuff to
waistband, the outside
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seem measured 37 inches.
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Based on that
outside measurement,
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the inside seam length would
probably been approximately 27
00:03:06
to 28 inches, which is from
a short person who would
00:03:10
have worn that pair of jeans.
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NARRATOR: Grant
estimated the victim's
00:03:14
height to be about 5 feet.
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And scientists
discovered evidence
00:03:19
of foul play in the dirt
itself when they analyzed
00:03:23
a white substance which they
found mixed in with the soil
00:03:27
at the grave.
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The trace section of our
laboratory analyzed those
00:03:30
and determined the presence
of calcium carbonate,
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which is a-- could have been
a byproduct of calcium oxide,
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which is lime.
00:03:38
People put lime
there to either stop
00:03:42
the odor of the
decomposing body,
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or to actually cause
it to decompose faster.
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NARRATOR: Scientists
analyzed the hair
00:03:49
found at the grave site.
00:03:51
hair can be identified
as either Caucasoid,
00:03:54
Negroid, or Mongoloid.
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But the hair was badly damaged.
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The only conclusion
scientists could reach
00:04:02
was that it was not Negroid.
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THOMAS GRANT: The
hair on the left
00:04:06
is the hair from the gravesite.
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The hair that's on the right is
a Negroid or African-American
00:04:12
head hair.
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And its characteristics
differ considerably
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from that of at the gravesite.
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So I would determine that
the hair at the gravesite
00:04:20
is not of
African-American origin.
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NARRATOR: The
preliminary information
00:04:24
indicated that the victim
was a female Caucasian.
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She was short,
about 5 feet tall.
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Police sent this information
to the National Crime Center,
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a database of all missing
persons in the United
00:04:38
States and Canada.
00:04:39
And that was unsuccessful.
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We believed it to be murder.
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The problem was identifying
who the victim was.
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Really, the first
thought in my mind
00:04:49
was, was this was
probably going to be one
00:04:51
that we won't be able to solve.
00:04:55
NARRATOR: But were investigators
even on the right track?
00:04:59
One tiny piece of
evidence unearthed
00:05:02
from the shallow grave
would change the course
00:05:05
of the investigation and
take medical detectives
00:05:09
halfway around the world.
00:05:15
[music playing]
00:05:16
Investigators believe
that the skeletal
00:05:19
remains found in
the shallow grave
00:05:21
had been there for
less than 8 years,
00:05:24
and were those of a
petite, Caucasian female.
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One piece of evidence
had puzzled investigators
00:05:30
from the start, the small metal
button found with the remains.
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THOMAS GRANT: Half
of it was somewhat
00:05:38
rusted and deteriorated,
but the upper half had
00:05:40
a logo that was stamped on it.
00:05:42
The letters T-E-X-W-O-O-D
was present, Texwood.
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And in the O's, there
was a star-type pattern
00:05:51
that was present.
00:05:52
None of us at our
laboratory had ever seen
00:05:54
or heard of that logo before.
00:05:56
NARRATOR: But not
even the FBI had
00:05:58
heard of a product or company
by the name of Texwood.
00:06:02
So we began calling
all over the United
00:06:04
States, Canada, and Mexico.
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Couldn't find it.
00:06:08
So I called a friend of
mine with US Customs.
00:06:12
NARRATOR: US Customs
Special Agent
00:06:14
Timothy Quinn entered the
name Texwood in his computer.
00:06:19
What he discovered
gave investigators
00:06:21
the first crucial break they
needed to identify the victim.
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Checks of our computerized
importer files were negative.
00:06:30
Then had to make a series of
phone calls, the last of which
00:06:34
was to our national import
specialists in New York.
00:06:37
And from the Office of the
National Import Specialist,
00:06:39
we were able to determine
that the name Texwood is
00:06:43
a make of jeans that was
manufactured strictly
00:06:47
for consumption in Asia.
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The brand was not intended to be
exported to the United States.
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NARRATOR: This meant that either
the victim had traveled to Asia
00:06:56
before her death and
purchased the jeans
00:06:59
there, or was, in fact, Asian.
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To find out more, the bones were
sent first to anthropologists
00:07:06
at the University of
Missouri, and later,
00:07:08
to Colorado State University.
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NITA BITNER: If you
have the right bones,
00:07:12
you can find out
everything you need.
00:07:14
You don't need a
complete skeleton.
00:07:15
The more you have, the more
complete picture you can have.
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NARRATOR: For instance, a skull
can tell an anthropologist
00:07:22
about gender and race.
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The first step was to
determine whether the skull was
00:07:28
Caucasoid, Negroid, or
Mongoloid, which includes
00:07:32
Native Americans and Asians.
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A Mongoloid's skull usually
has broad, squared cheekbones.
00:07:39
The anthropologist
confirmed police suspicions
00:07:43
that the skull was Mongoloid.
00:07:45
NITA BITNER: The
bridge of the nose,
00:07:46
the squared
cheekbones, the overall
00:07:48
smaller features
led me to believe
00:07:51
that this was Mongoloid.
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NARRATOR: The anthropologist
confirmed that the victim
00:07:56
was indeed female.
00:07:57
Since the cranial sutures
were closed, and judging
00:08:01
from the wear of her
teeth, the anthropologist
00:08:04
estimated that she was young,
most likely in her mid 20s.
00:08:09
The bones had smooth surfaces,
an indication that the victim
00:08:13
was not particularly muscular.
00:08:16
Anthropologists
estimated her weight
00:08:18
to be approximately 120 pounds.
00:08:21
And they learned something else
from examining her pelvic bone.
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When a woman has delivered
at least two children,
00:08:29
the separating process
of the pelvic bones
00:08:32
creates a groove like this one.
00:08:35
Such a groove was found on the
pelvic bone at the gravesite.
00:08:40
Investigators now knew
that the victim had given
00:08:43
birth to at least two children.
00:08:45
Still, they were at a dead end.
00:08:49
It's very frustrating
because you cannot start
00:08:52
the investigation of who
committed the crime until you
00:08:54
determine who the victim is.
00:08:56
And you-- you continually--
it's like spinning your wheels,
00:09:00
not going anywhere, until
you can identify the victim.
00:09:03
NARRATOR: With
little else to go on,
00:09:05
the next step was to give the
unidentified skull a face.
00:09:15
The skeletal remains told
authorities what they were
00:09:18
looking for, an Asian
female who had given
00:09:21
birth to at least two children.
00:09:23
They knew she was petite,
standing about 5 feet tall
00:09:28
and weighing about 120 pounds.
00:09:31
But what did she look like?
00:09:34
Police asked the
anthropologist to bring
00:09:36
the skull to life
through the technique
00:09:39
of facial reconstruction.
00:09:43
First, the reconstructionist
makes a latex mold
00:09:46
of the actual skull.
00:09:48
Once the mold is made, the
skull can be returned to police
00:09:52
to be used as evidence.
00:09:53
Then, a plaster cast is
made from the latex mold.
00:09:58
Using this plaster cast,
rubber pegs called landmarks
00:10:02
are glued onto the cast.
00:10:05
They represent
tissue thicknesses
00:10:07
at various points on the face.
00:10:09
Facial tissue thickness
differ from men and women
00:10:13
and vary with race and age.
00:10:16
Next, the landmarks
are connected
00:10:18
with strips of clay following
the contours of the skull.
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NITA BITNER: Each individual
skull is like a blueprint
00:10:26
or a fingerprint.
00:10:27
No two are alike.
00:10:28
We follow this blueprint,
then, to create
00:10:31
our faces, following the
shape, the bends of each skull.
00:10:35
NARRATOR: The spaces
between the clay strips
00:10:38
are then filled in to
flesh out the face.
00:10:42
Plastic brown eyes are carefully
aligned and set in the sockets
00:10:47
and lids are molded.
00:10:49
Final touches include
a nose and lips.
00:10:53
And because the victim
was presumed to be Asian,
00:10:56
the bust was given a black wig.
00:10:59
The identity of the
victim was still unknown,
00:11:03
but police now had an important
tool in their investigation,
00:11:08
a face they hoped would
jar someone's memory.
00:11:12
They sent photographs
of the bus to newspapers
00:11:15
and television stations
in the nearby cities,
00:11:18
hoping for a response.
00:11:20
The wait lasted just three days.
00:11:24
REPORTER: The skeletal remains
of a woman were found in--
00:11:27
NARRATOR: Wilaiporn
Cox was watching
00:11:29
television when she saw the
bust on a local news program.
00:11:33
Then I call my
husband, tell my husband
00:11:38
what I saw in the TV.
00:11:40
NARRATOR: Her husband,
Karmen, picked up a newspaper,
00:11:43
looked at the bust, and thought
he recognized it as well.
00:11:47
Call her back.
00:11:48
I said, boy, it's awful close.
00:11:50
I think we ought
to do something.
00:11:51
NARRATOR: The Coxs said the bust
looked like their friend who
00:11:54
lived in a nearby
town, 33-year-old Bun
00:11:58
Chee Nyhuis, whom they hadn't
seen for the past five years.
00:12:02
They told police that Bun Chee
had left her husband, Richard,
00:12:06
and had returned home
to her native Thailand.
00:12:09
When police questioned
Richard Nyhuis,
00:12:12
he did not believe that the
skull found at the Boy Scout
00:12:15
ranch 100 miles
away from his home
00:12:18
was that of his wife, Bun Chee.
00:12:20
Richard said Bun
Chee had told him
00:12:22
that she missed her
family in Thailand
00:12:25
and that she wanted
to divorce him.
00:12:28
He said he personally
drove her to the St.
00:12:30
Louis airport five years earlier
to take her flight to Thailand.
00:12:35
He said that was the last time
he and his children saw her,
00:12:39
and they never heard
from her again.
00:12:41
And neighbors confirmed that
Bun Chee had, in fact, spoken
00:12:46
of returning to Thailand.
00:12:48
I knew she told me she
had gotten her pass--
00:12:50
her passport.
00:12:52
She had gotten her
citizenship and her passport.
00:12:55
So it wouldn't have
surprised me, you know,
00:12:57
if she had done that.
00:12:58
She mentioned to me, you
know, she's a not happy.
00:13:04
She liked to go to
Thailand, visit family.
00:13:08
NARRATOR: And if Bun Chee
was indeed the woman found
00:13:11
in a shallow grave, why
hadn't her family in Thailand
00:13:15
reported her missing
during the last five years?
00:13:20
For the information
police needed,
00:13:22
scientists once again looked
for answers in the bones.
00:13:31
Had Bun Chee Nyhuis left
behind her two children
00:13:35
and returned to Thailand as
her husband claimed, or were
00:13:39
her remains those found
in the shallow grave
00:13:43
at the Boy Scout ranch?
00:13:45
The answer lay in the skull
and a technique called skull
00:13:49
photograph superimposition.
00:13:52
Police obtained this
photograph of Bun Chee
00:13:54
from her husband,
Richard, and sent
00:13:56
it to the anthropology
department
00:13:58
at Colorado State University.
00:14:01
Police also included
a photograph
00:14:04
of another Asian woman who was
reported missing in Georgia.
00:14:08
The photographic work was
done by the late Dr. Michael
00:14:11
Charney, a world-renowned
forensic anthropologist
00:14:15
at Colorado State University.
00:14:17
Charney positioned the
skull in the same Pose
00:14:21
as the photographs
of both women,
00:14:24
then superimposed slides of
the skull over the photographs.
00:14:29
The skull did not match
the woman from Georgia,
00:14:33
but it did match the photo
of Bun Chee Nyhuis perfectly.
00:14:39
Face is at an angle.
00:14:40
She's clowning
around, making a face.
00:14:43
We find that the jaw
line is within the chin,
00:14:46
the top is within the top of
the head, the cheek is within,
00:14:50
the eyes are in the
orbits, the nasal opening
00:14:54
corresponds to the nose,
and the teeth match up very
00:14:57
nicely to the jaw line here.
00:15:00
In spite of the fact that
it's a very difficult angle
00:15:03
to approximate, an
expression to approximate,
00:15:06
we felt this was
a very good match.
00:15:08
NARRATOR: Now armed with
a positive scientific
00:15:10
identification, police
turned their attention
00:15:13
to Richard Nyhuis.
00:15:15
They suspected that he knew more
about his wife's disappearance
00:15:18
than he was telling them.
00:15:19
Her friends
indicated that they
00:15:21
had a very volatile
relationship,
00:15:25
that they argued quite a bit.
00:15:27
NARRATOR: And
police also learned
00:15:29
of a disturbing coincidence,
that Richard Nyhuis was a Boy
00:15:33
Scout leader and often
camped at the Boy Scout ranch
00:15:38
where police discovered
Bun Chee's grave.
00:15:41
And I turned to my partner,
and we looked at each other,
00:15:43
and we just couldn't believe it.
00:15:46
That's when we knew we had
to formulate a game plan,
00:15:50
and we'd have probably
just one shot at him.
00:15:53
It all started fitting
together at that point.
00:15:55
All the pieces started
coming into place.
00:15:58
NARRATOR: When police
confronted Richard Nyhuis
00:16:00
with the forensic
evidence, he confessed,
00:16:03
although he gave
conflicting accounts
00:16:05
of what actually happened.
00:16:07
He said Bun Chee
fell during a scuffle
00:16:09
and hit her head
accidentally, but admitted
00:16:12
suffocating his wife.
00:16:14
Bleeding real bad,
blood all over the place,
00:16:16
and she was yelling, scared.
00:16:18
So I put my hands over
her mouth, her nose,
00:16:23
and suffocated her.
00:16:25
NARRATOR: In light
of the confession,
00:16:27
forensic pathologist Dr.
Mary Case examined the skull.
00:16:31
She studied the small wound
on the back of the skull
00:16:34
and concluded that it was not
the result of an accident,
00:16:38
but rather, the result of
blunt trauma to the head.
00:16:42
This is a very limited area.
00:16:44
It's pushed inward,
and we tend to see
00:16:46
this kind of a
depressed skull fracture
00:16:48
when you strike the
head with something
00:16:50
that has very forceful
impact over a very
00:16:53
small striking surface.
00:16:54
A hammer would be a good
example of something
00:16:58
that could do that.
00:16:59
It's a tool.
00:17:00
It's meant to strike.
00:17:01
And all of the force
is directed onto a very
00:17:03
small striking service.
00:17:07
NARRATOR: Based on the forensic
evidence and parts of Nyhuis's
00:17:11
confession, prosecutors
believe that Richard
00:17:14
and Bun Chee argued one night
in the basement of their home.
00:17:18
We're not moving.
00:17:20
We've been through this before.
00:17:21
We are not moving, all right?
00:17:24
NARRATOR: Bun Chee wanted
to move into a new house.
00:17:27
Richard refused, saying
they couldn't afford it.
00:17:30
And I'm taking the
boys and leaving.
00:17:32
[music playing]
00:17:40
NARRATOR: The blow to
her head was, not fatal,
00:17:42
but while she lay
bleeding on the floor,
00:17:45
Richard suffocated her.
00:17:49
He used a service
merchandise bag
00:17:50
to contain the bleeding wrapped
the body in a sheet of plastic,
00:17:54
and placed her in the
freezer, where she remained
00:17:58
for the next three months.
00:18:04
Nyhuis fabricated the
story about driving
00:18:07
bunchy to the St. Louis airport
for a flight to Thailand.
00:18:14
When spring arrived
and the ground thawed,
00:18:18
Richard took Bun Chee's
body to the Boy Scout ranch,
00:18:22
a two-hour drive from his home.
00:18:25
He chose a secluded area deep
in the woods for the burial,
00:18:30
but made a number of mistakes.
00:18:34
The lime he spread over
the body most likely
00:18:38
aided decomposition, but the
grave was only 2 feet deep, not
00:18:43
deep enough to keep burrowing
animals from bringing
00:18:46
her bones to the surface.
00:18:49
And Bun Chee was
buried in Texwood
00:18:51
would jeans, which told a
story since they were made
00:18:55
and sold exclusively in Asia.
00:19:02
Nyhuis never anticipated
that his wife's remains would
00:19:06
be discovered, and if they
were, that they would ever
00:19:10
be successfully identified.
00:19:15
Finding the Texwood button,
the pelvic bone that revealed
00:19:20
the victim had at least
two children, the Mongoloid
00:19:23
skull, the forensic sculpture,
and the photographic
00:19:27
superimposition, all
were essential elements
00:19:31
in the identification.
00:19:33
During the trial,
Dr. Case testified
00:19:36
that it takes between
three and five minutes
00:19:38
to suffocate an individual.
00:19:40
After a minute or
two, the person
00:19:43
would only be unconscious.
00:19:45
It was entirely
possible that Nyhuis
00:19:48
put his wife into the freezer
while she was still alive.
00:19:53
Richard Nyhuis was
convicted of murder
00:19:56
and sentenced to life in
prison without the possibility
00:19:59
of parole for 50 years.
00:20:01
MARY CASE: It was
great forensic science,
00:20:03
and, of course, that's
how it's supposed to work.
00:20:05
You get a button,
you get a hair,
00:20:07
and the expert in that
area can tell you.
00:20:10
And if you look at the button
work, it took about a month.
00:20:13
It was less than a month for
someone to look at that button
00:20:16
and say, well, that's
only manufactured
00:20:18
in that part of the world.
00:20:19
Well, somebody had to
collect all that information.
00:20:22
And I-- I admire that.
00:20:23
I think that's wonderful.
00:20:25
It took all the-- all
the different scientific
00:20:28
and forensic people to
make this thing happen,
00:20:30
any one piece of which could
have stopped the investigation.
00:20:33
One of the unique
things about the case
00:20:35
was actually having the
remains to do the trial.
00:20:39
And Bun Chee Nyhuis actually
came alive in her own trial.
00:20:45
[music playing]
00:20:50
This was one of the few
cases where a prosecutor got
00:20:54
to try a murder
case with the victim
00:20:57
actually in the
courtroom with him.
00:20:59
Speaking to the jury.
00:21:03
[music playing]
