00:00:17
NARRATOR: In 1969 an archaeologist unearth remains belonging to a party of 17th century
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French explorers who made it to the new world, but then died suddenly under mysterious circumstances.
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Men were dying probably several a day. They were in serious trouble. NARRATOR: Now it's up to forensic anthropologist Dr. Tom
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Crist and his wife Molly Crist to figure out what killed so many young men before 100 years ago.
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We really didn't know what the possibilities were. NARRATOR: Then a distraught mother holds out hope
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that her son Jason will return home after vanishing without a trace three years earlier.
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I kept the candle flickering but it was just a flicker. NARRATOR: But when detectives find a body buried
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in the woods, they wonder if this mother's search has finally come to an end. I discovered the bottom of running shoes.
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NARRATOR: Now they are counting on forensic anthropologist Dr. Jerry Melby to tell them if this is indeed Jason.
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And if so, how on earth he ended up here. My responsibility to the victim is to find the truth about what happened to them.
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NARRATOR: On a tiny uninhabited island in Maine, a team of archaeologists is on an unusual hunt.
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Their mission is to find artifacts left behind by a group of explorers that once settled
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this island known as St. Croix. But as they begin to dig, they make a startling discovery.
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It's a collection of human remains. The team spends weeks excavating and collecting the bones.
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Then with their mission accomplished they leave, and the island fall silent once again.
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The excavated bones are taken to Temple University in Philadelphia, where they are placed in storage
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for further research. But they are soon forgotten. The bones wait gathering dust, 24 years
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go by until one day in 1993 someone takes an interest in their story. At the time I was looking for a doctoral dissertation topic.
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NARRATOR: Back then forensic anthropologist Dr. Tom Crist was a 29-year-old graduate student.
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I knew that a professor at Temple University had excavated these remains from St. Croix island in 1969.
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And I made arrangements to examine them. As it turned out I got much more than I ever hoped for.
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NARRATOR: In fact, Dr. Crist had stumbled across one of the most dramatic tales of world exploration.
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These bones have a remarkable story to tell, one that may have even changed the course of American history.
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It all started in 1604 when a group of French explorers set sail across the Atlantic Ocean.
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These were the pioneers. These are the early explorers who came to the New World
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to establish French colonies. NARRATOR: One of the most notable people on board was Samuel De Champlain the ship's cartographer.
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Samuel De Champlain is considered the father of New France. He personally explored and mapped much
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of the coast of North America. And we use these maps today. NARRATOR: In June of 1604, the voyagers
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come across a rocky six acre island which they named St. Croix. They thought it was a perfect place for them
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to set up their settlement. NARRATOR: But as fall turns into winter, this idealic tableau was shattered by the sudden onset
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of a mysterious illness. This mystery disease was killing all of them. They really didn't have any idea what caused it
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or how to treat it. They were in serious trouble. NARRATOR: As the baffling disease claims life after life,
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the death toll continues to rise, from 10 men to 20 to 30. The men were dying probably several a day.
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NARRATOR: But with the arrival of spring a strange phenomenon occurs, the surviving sick
00:05:04
make a miraculous recovery, and the disease seems to completely disappear. But with 35 of the 79 settlers dead,
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it's too late to salvage the colony. They were saved when the ships from France returned in June of 1605 and evacuated
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the men off the island. NARRATOR: The dead lie undisturbed for nearly 400 years on the island of St. Croix now part
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of Arcadia national park, until archaeologists exhume them from their shallow graves in 1969.
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Despite the passage of time, one critical question remains unanswered. They never solved the mystery of what
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was killing them on the island. NARRATOR: Now Dr. Tom Crist hopes to answer this 400-year-old question
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by studying the only clues that remained, the bones. I became a forensic anthropologist
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because I was fascinated by the mystery of the discoveries that we can make. I can open up windows on the past that are otherwise
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close to us there's always something unusual about every single case. For his all important first case Dr. Crist
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did lease the help of a fellow grad student, Molly Hickey. We literally met in an anatomy lab, over a cadaver.
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He didn't really like me too much and I didn't really like him. Molly's impression of me was that I didn't know anything
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but thought I did, my impression of her was that she thought she knew everything
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and I wasn't so sure. NARRATOR: As their first step, the pair heads out to search the university's store rooms
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where the bones are located. And it didn't take us very long to find some boxes that were labeled St. Croix.
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We thought, my goodness, this could be very interesting. NARRATOR: Dr. Crist removes the lid from one of the boxes,
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and peers inside. And there was this skull from the island looking a little bit up at me.
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And we thought, my god they're here, that was incredible, 1604? that's unbelievable.
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At that instant I embarked on what became for me an adventure of a lifetime. NARRATOR: As Dr. Crist and Molly moved the boxes
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to their laboratory for analysis, the sheer scale of their undertaking begins to sink in.
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The chances that we were going to be able to actually come up with what was killing them, we really
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didn't know what the possibilities were, was it going to be a hit or miss? The first step is to try to determine the ages of death
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for each of the individuals that we recovered. NARRATOR: But in this case, Dr. Crist must overcome
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an unexpected obstacle. The challenge was that I did not have the complete skeletons
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of each individual. NARRATOR: That's because the archaeologists who exhumed the bones in 1969 brought back only the bones strong enough
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to survive the journey, mostly skulls, jaw bones, and some long bones. They really left most of the human
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remains in the ground in the island. NARRATOR: But in a lucky break, the bones most commonly used in determining age
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have made the cut, the teeth. An easy way to pinpoint a person's age is to look for the presence or absence
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of the third molars, more commonly known as wisdom teeth. Third molars tend to erupt in most people between the ages
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of about 18 and 25, so if I see a pair of third molars that are very worn down I know that this person probably
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chewed on those teeth for 10, 15, 20 years that gives me an age range. NARRATOR: Using this method, Doctor Crist
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is able to estimate the age at death for each of the explorers. He concludes that most of them were in their 30s or 40s
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with one startling exception. Among the most surprising ones was number 10. NARRATOR: Number 10 was the name given
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to the skeletal remains exhumed from the 10th grave during the excavation in 1969.
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He had his mandible, his lower jaw, and his third molars had not erupted. NARRATOR: From this Doctor Crist knows
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that number 10 was a young man, most likely under the age of 25. But Doctor Crist has an additional bone
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that will help him narrow down number 10 age range even further, the tibia or shinbone.
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This is number 10's tibia, this is the bone below the knee. And you can see here this line, this open line
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here indicates that it recently fused just before he had died. NARRATOR: The tibia is made up of three
00:09:52
separate bones that fuse together once a child stops growing. The fact that number 10's tibia has just recently fused
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provides Doctor Crist with an invaluable clue. And that's the indicator that this is a young man
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about 18 or 19 years old. He turned out to be the youngest of the men that were excavated at St. Croix Island.
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What must have been like for an 18- 19-year-old young man to travel to the New World?
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It would be like us almost going to outer space. NARRATOR: But it would appear that even youth offered
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no protection against the ruthless disease that stopped the settlers. I was surprised that someone this young had died
00:10:34
on the island, because you would have thought that younger men are in better shape, they're more able to survive,
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but clearly he had not. NARRATOR: But as Doctor Crist nears the end of his initial examination he is no closer
00:10:49
to discovering what caused these 17th century explorers to die so suddenly. I was concerned that I may not be
00:10:57
able to find any evidence of the disease that took their lives. NARRATOR: Coming up, Doctor Crist
00:11:07
uncovers a chilling account of the final moments of these men's lives. To live through that so far from home, so cut off,
00:11:16
you can really see the horror of not knowing what this mystery disease was. NARRATOR: And then authorities have
00:11:23
been investigating Jason's suspicious disappearance for years. But Jason's sister is convinced she knows what happened to him.
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I knew he'd been killed. It was a gut instinct. NARRATOR: When Skeleton Stories returns.
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Doctor Tom Crist and fellow researcher Molly Hickey have rediscovered a cache of 400-year-old bones.
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Now, they must examine them to discover what sent these early French settlers to their agonizing deaths.
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It was a mystery, I was anxious that I would not be able to define the diseases that affected these men
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or the causes of death. NARRATOR: Doctor Crist begins his examination of the bones looking for any evidence of disease.
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He focuses on one settler in particular, number 10. I think both Molly and I felt a special attachment
00:12:29
to number 10, we knew and recognized that he was the youngest man that we had worked with from the site.
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NARRATOR: As Doctor Crist studies the boy's mandibular or lower jaw, he spots something suspicious.
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I saw areas of porous bone of porosity. NARRATOR: Porosity refers to the loss of density
00:12:48
in the bone which causes it to appear sponge like. With number 10's mandible we have porosity
00:12:54
where the muscles that let us chew the catch but we also have it down in the two sockets themselves,
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looks like spongy bone. NARRATOR: And they find this same sponginess in all of the settlers mandibles.
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I began to try to think of what diseases could cause these patterns of what I would call porosity.
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NARRATOR: But the list of possible diseases is so long that doctor Crist must look
00:13:24
beyond the bones for answers. And that brought me to Champlain's own personal accounts of what had
00:13:32
happened at the island, which he had written and published in 1613. NARRATOR: Champlain's chronicles begin
00:13:41
with the decision to settle on the island of St. Croix. I think that they were very pleased that they found such
00:13:47
a perfect place to start their colony, what they failed to understand of course, was that they would be trapped
00:13:53
on the island in the winter when the ice flows began to pass by them. The first snow fell according to Champlain in October.
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They were unable to get fresh water which was on the mainland, their source of firewood
00:14:06
was located on the mainland. NARRATOR: Before long the settlers are freezing and starving.
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What they must have gone through on that island must have been unbearable, obviously it was.
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NARRATOR: And then they begin to suffer from a mysterious and painful disease, which
00:14:24
makes their tongues and gums swell up. The swelling becomes so bad that the men can't eat
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and they can't drink anything. NARRATOR: And that's not all, Champlain describes other terrifying symptoms,
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bleeding from the fingernails and gums, teeth falling out, strange purple bruises and flea like bite marks on the skin.
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You can really see the horror of not knowing what this mystery disease was. A sense of doom that the men must have had, I think
00:14:56
would have been overwhelming. And Champlain's word says it all they suffered. NARRATOR: During the winter of 1604 35 of the 79
00:15:07
settlers die from this mysterious disease, and just as mysteriously once spring arrives the remaining
00:15:14
sick get better Dr. Crist is starting to suspect what this killer might be. The best explanation is based on the skeletons themselves
00:15:24
and Champlain's own journals was that it was scurvy. NARRATOR: Scurvy is a severe nutritional disease caused
00:15:32
by insufficient vitamin C. Vitamin C is a key ingredient in the production of collagen, the glue that
00:15:39
holds the human body together. Without it the blood vessels, soft tissue, and even the bones
00:15:46
begin to deteriorate. As an individual suffers from scurvy his or her blood vessels
00:15:51
essentially leak inside the body. You start to see bleeding anywhere that muscles
00:15:57
may be pulling on the bones. NARRATOR: As critical bodily systems falter a scurvy
00:16:02
sufferer can die of dehydration or heart failure, vitamin C cannot be produced by the human body
00:16:09
and must be absorbed through diet, by eating fruits and vegetables. But Dr. Crist will need some concrete evidence
00:16:16
to back up his theory. And thanks to Champlain's journals he now knows exactly what to look for.
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I see clearly the inflammation of the roof of the mouth, the spongy bone in the two sockets,
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some teeth are missing, this is evidence of scurvy. I was very excited to be able to link these skeletal markers
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with Champlain's own words and say, I know now that this is scurvy. NARRATOR: Dr. Crist has related it,
00:16:46
he has solved the mystery of the St. Croix deaths. This diagnosis of scurvy also explains
00:16:52
the survivors miraculous recovery, come spring they could once again consume fruits
00:16:57
and vegetables rich in vitamin C. To this day, the most effective treatment for the onset of scurvy
00:17:04
is an infusion of vitamin C. Dr. Crist has written a new chapter in the old history
00:17:10
of North America. And as it happens, he and fellow researcher Molly are writing a new chapter in their lives as well,
00:17:18
they have fallen in love. We have many mutual friends who swear that they saw this
00:17:24
all happening from the very beginning, but you couldn't have said that to me back then.
00:17:29
I always remind my students to be nice to the people that they're working with, because you never
00:17:35
know where it might end up. NARRATOR: In 1997 Dr. Crist and Molly are married. His work with the St. Croix bones is done
00:17:45
and he ships the remains off to the National Park Service. I had assumed that would be the last time
00:17:51
I would ever see them. NARRATOR: He couldn't have been more wrong. Coming up, the Crist's travel back
00:17:59
to where the story of these bones began, but nothing can prepare them for what they find on St. Croix island.
00:18:06
It was mind blowing, we thought this is cool, this is like the holy grail. NARRATOR: And then as Dr. Melby begins
00:18:16
to excavate what they believe is Jason Patrick's unmarked grave, he makes a puzzling discovery.
00:18:22
I thought you would have difficulty getting a whole body into that diameter of a hole.
00:18:28
NARRATOR: One skeleton stories returns. In 1993 forensic anthropologist Dr. Tom Crist
00:18:49
solved a 400-year-old mystery proving that the first settlers of St. Croix island died of scurvy.
00:18:56
As far as he and his wife Molly knew they were finished with St. Croix island, but the island wasn't quite finished with them.
00:19:05
Ten years later Dr. Crist receives a surprising call. That was one of the most exciting and memorable calls
00:19:12
of my life. NARRATOR: The National Park Service wants to know if he and Molly will help supervise
00:19:17
the reinsterment of the St. Croix colonists in time for the 400-year anniversary of the settlement.
00:19:24
Here was an opportunity to actually bring them home. NARRATOR: After several months of preparation
00:19:32
the Crists arrive on St. Croix island in June of 2003. To stand on that island and to look
00:19:39
around and see what they saw. The essence of it all, it just hits home. NARRATOR: The Crists now face the difficult task of restoring
00:19:48
all the bones that were excavated in 1969 to their respective graves. The tricky part for us was making
00:19:57
sure that we had the right burials for the right individuals. NARRATOR: During their second week of excavation
00:20:04
they reach a grave with a special meaning. This is where the young man number 10 was buried,
00:20:10
and where most of his skeletons still lies. As Molly begins to excavate the grave in order
00:20:17
to rebury number 10's jaw and tibia she makes a startling discovery. I came across something that looked a lot like skull.
00:20:25
NARRATOR: Using a soft bristle brush, Molly carefully removes the soil from the skull.
00:20:31
The further I got, the more I realized that we didn't have just any old skull. At that time she called all of us, the entire team
00:20:40
over to say I think something very unusual is here. As I brushed away further and further what I began to see
00:20:47
were cut marks right along the side of the skull. NARRATOR: Doctor Crist wonders if the cut marks are
00:20:55
the result of a terrible accident or worse, could this cut be evidence of murder?
00:21:02
But further examination of the cut marks leads him to another conclusion. These are cut marks that's cut all the way around.
00:21:09
Is that a hesitation mark right there? Here is a cut right on the skull. We could exclude that it was an accidental blow to the head
00:21:17
or a knife wound because the cut itself was all the way through the entire top of the head.
00:21:23
NARRATOR: But this type of cut can only mean one thing. It was absolutely clear that this man's skull had been
00:21:30
cut open to reveal the brain. This was an autopsied skull. NARRATOR: In the grips of this terrifying illness
00:21:39
it is likely that those who had not succumb to this disease were desperate to learn what it was,
00:21:44
and the only way was to perform an autopsy. Crists have made a truly historic find.
00:21:52
Of this particular autopsy at St. Croix island is the earliest evidence of an autopsy
00:21:56
that had been found anywhere in the new world. We thought this is cool, this is like the holy grail.
00:22:03
We already had sort of become attached to number 10, so finding out that he himself represented
00:22:10
a milestone in medical history it was a thrilling moment. NARRATOR: With his last forensic clue
00:22:17
Dr. Crist can now look back across a span of four centuries and paint a picture of the months leading up to number
00:22:25
10's death. In the spring of 1604 number 10 and his fellow shipmates set sail for New France.
00:22:39
This young man born in the late 1500s on board a ship for three or four months, maybe
00:22:44
he had sailed before maybe it was his first voyage. NARRATOR: But the young man's excitement
00:22:48
turns to horror when he falls prey to the mystery disease that is killing the colonists, scurvy.
00:22:55
To live through that so far from home with very little hope of ever being able to see his family again,
00:23:01
he must have known he was dying for quite a while, it must have been just a horrible experience.
00:23:07
NARRATOR: As his gums, tongue, and the roof of his mouth began to swell the young man finds himself
00:23:13
unable to either eat or drink. Weakened by the scurvy and suffering from starvation
00:23:19
and exposure number 10 dies. And when he died they were compelled to perform an autopsy on him.
00:23:28
But that couldn't help them at all figure out what was causing the problem. NARRATOR: Number 10 along with the other St. Croix dead
00:23:35
is then buried in the island's sandy soil. I sometimes catch myself looking at the face and saying,
00:23:42
what did you see? What did you hear? What was the last thing you saw? What was the last thing you heard?
00:23:48
And what would you have done if you'd lived? NARRATOR: Now that number 10 tragic story has been told,
00:23:56
his skull and all of his bones are returned to the soil once more. It was sad when we left the island for the last time.
00:24:05
The sun was just going down it was just getting to be dusk and we just sat there and watched the island
00:24:10
get further and further away. It was definitely like saying goodbye to old friends.
00:24:17
NARRATOR: But the Crist's leave one last enduring mystery behind them, the cemetery on the island
00:24:23
is unmarked where exactly the St. Croix dead are buried, the bone detectives will never tell.
00:24:31
We never want them disturbed again they were disturbed enough. And they've been put back and we'd like to just let them
00:24:37
rest. NARRATOR: For Dr. Crist this case marked the beginning of a successful career
00:24:43
in forensic anthropology, but he will always be grateful to the St. Croix settlers
00:24:48
for this extraordinary journey. For me, it really was a voyage of discovery much like it was a voyage of discovery for these men.
00:24:55
To be able to touch them, allow me to touch that part of the past. And that's a rare opportunity.
00:25:07
NARRATOR: Up next, Jason Petrie, mother is heartbroken to learn that authorities
00:25:12
may have found her son's dead body in the woods. It was very hard, I was completely
00:25:17
separated from myself. NARRATOR: When Skeletons Stories returns. The woods of northern Ontario, Canada, a man
00:25:48
is on his way to catch some fish in a nearby lake instead, he ends up fishing something out of the dirt.
00:25:55
He saw a key sticking out of the ground. He pulled on the key and the wallet was attached to the key.
00:26:03
NARRATOR: The wallet holds a driver's license with the name Jason Petrie, it's a haunting discovery.
00:26:13
Everyone in this tight knit community knows that 20-year-old Jason vanished three years earlier.
00:26:20
Police conducted a massive manhunt for him but found nothing. Still Jason's family held out hope
00:26:27
that he would one day return. I kept the candle flickering but it was just a flicker.
00:26:32
NARRATOR: The wallet is the first sign of Jason since he mysteriously disappeared.
00:26:37
I couldn't stop thinking that there had to be something else there. NARRATOR: Police immediately search for additional clues
00:26:44
in the area. Then detective Fabrio and his partner made their way through the woods to the spot
00:26:49
where the wallet was found, and begin digging a hole. I get down on my hands and knees looking
00:26:58
into the hole I could actually see fabric marks or patterns in the soil. I started to move some of the soil away with my hands
00:27:08
and I discovered the bottom of running shoes. And I knew that this was going to be a very important day.
00:27:19
NARRATOR: Investigators wonder if they have finally found Jason Petrie. According to friends and family, Jason had always
00:27:29
been a fun loving young man struggling to build a future for himself. He loved life.
00:27:35
He'd like to explore. He was very kind. He was very loving. He sang like Randy Travis.
00:27:43
NARRATOR: But Jason has also made some mistakes in life, and at the time of his disappearance
00:27:50
he is serving time in a halfway house for a burglary offense. I remember he said I swore to dad I'm never going to get
00:27:58
in any trouble again, mom. And he really tried from there to turn his life around.
00:28:02
NARRATOR: Because Jason disappears while he is incarcerated, investigators develop a theory as to what
00:28:08
might have happened to him. Jason was seen to have airline tickets in his pocket,
00:28:13
on the day that he disappeared. Well, the police suspect that he was just on the run.
00:28:18
NARRATOR: Investigators also learned that Jason and his wife, Cindy McLeod are recently separated,
00:28:24
and that she has been awarded custody of their one-year-old son. Based on this information, investigators
00:28:31
begin to speculate on another possible scenario. Jason was extremely troubled from the events
00:28:37
arising from the dissolution of his relationship with his wife. There was the possibility that Jason had taken his own life.
00:28:44
NARRATOR: But Jason's sister Tammy has her own theory about what happened to her brother.
00:28:49
I knew he'd been killed. It was a gut instinct from my first day landing in Ontario.
00:28:55
I wasn't here to find him alive, I was here to find his remains. NARRATOR: Tammy believes Jason's wife's
00:28:59
family the McLeod had something to do with his disappearance. But there's no evidence to back up the hunch.
00:29:06
When we were questioning the McLeods they claimed to have no knowledge of the whereabouts of Jason.
00:29:12
NARRATOR: Now that detectives have found Jason's wallet along with buried remains, they need
00:29:18
to exhume the body to determine who it is and how they died. We just simply don't have the expertise
00:29:24
as police investigators to be able to do that. NARRATOR: But they know just the person with that expertise,
00:29:30
forensic anthropologist Dr. Jerry Melby from Texas State University, San Marcos.
00:29:38
My responsibility to the victim is to find the truth about what happened to them.
00:29:44
My job is to tell the story like it is. I do not work for the defense, I do not work for the prosecution, I work for the victim.
00:30:02
NARRATOR: Dr. Melby arrives ready to exhume the body, his first step is to determine the graves boundaries so he
00:30:09
knows exactly where to dig. It's pretty imperative because then you know where the body is.
00:30:17
You have to be very exact, very careful, so that you don't accidentally disturb any piece of evidence which would be
00:30:25
relevant to the investigation. NARRATOR: Dr. Melby knows the clues to the graves boundaries
00:30:31
are contained in the soil. So here I found undisturbed soil that's quite hard, it hasn't been dug.
00:30:40
The disturbed soil is softer. And this would be the edge of their pit right here,
00:30:49
and we'll record where the grave goes from here. NARRATOR: As Dr. Melby's assistant places flags
00:30:57
around the boundaries of the grave he is puzzled by the grave's small size. This doesn't make too much sense.
00:31:05
NARRATOR: The grave is only three feet in diameter, not big enough for an adult male
00:31:10
to lay horizontally. This was of concern immediately, the pit looked very small and I thought
00:31:19
you would have a little bit of difficulty getting the whole body into that diameter of a hole.
00:31:27
NARRATOR: A grave this size would typically contain only a very small child or a dismembered adult body.
00:31:36
But there is one other possibility, that the body is buried vertically and the grave is very deep.
00:31:42
But such deep graves are rare because they take so long to dig. This was highly unusual, criminals are either in a hurry
00:31:50
or they're lazy and they don't dig. Well at that stage I had no idea exactly what we were going to uncover.
00:32:02
NARRATOR: Coming up, as Dr. Melby digs into the strange grave he uncovers something even more puzzling.
00:32:09
To add complications onto complications we start hitting this white kind of greasy stuff.
00:32:17
NARRATOR: Next on Skeleton Stories. Dr. Jerry Melby continues to excavate a makeshift grave in the woods.
00:32:38
Investigators believe it contains the body of a young man named Jason Petrie. Dr. Melby hopes by digging deeper
00:32:46
he'll solve several mysteries, is this in fact Jason? How did he die? And why is the grave only 3 feet in diameter?
00:32:56
As he digs further he begins to encounter a strange greasy white chemical, he believes is lime.
00:33:04
The presence of lime indicate to Dr. Melby that whoever buried this body was trying to cover their tracks.
00:33:10
And I guess they just presumed that it would eat away the body. NARRATOR: This discovery supports the investigators
00:33:17
suspicions of murder, and just a few inches into the ground he uncovers yet another sign of foul play.
00:33:25
Here we see we have some yellow rope that's in the vicinity of the ankles. NARRATOR: Whoever buried this body tied up the ankles first.
00:33:37
The story continues as we excavate down. NARRATOR: As the team gets to the bottom of the pit
00:33:46
Dr. Melby confirms there is a whole body buried here, head first. And the deep grave may actually have helped preserve
00:33:54
some forensic evidence. In general, the deeper you bury a body the slower decomposition progresses.
00:34:02
NARRATOR: Dr. Melby also discovers ironically, the killers attempts to decompose the body with lime
00:34:09
has had the opposite effect. That's because the perpetrators used marking lime usually used
00:34:15
in gardens to speed plant growth, rather than pebble lime the type known to burn flesh.
00:34:21
The lime combines with water and makes a thick paste all around the body and acts to preserve it.
00:34:29
NARRATOR: In fact, there is still tissue on the bones and even clothing. As the team removes the body from the deep pit
00:34:38
it becomes clear why the killer went through such great lengths to dig the unusual grave.
00:34:44
The hole was narrow because of the constraints of the trees. So they put him down head first,
00:34:49
but they must have had to twist him a little bit to get around that tree root. NARRATOR: Though detectives strongly
00:34:55
suspect the body belongs to Jason Petrie they are counting on Dr. Melby to provide
00:35:01
them with definitive proof. Dr. Melby transports the body back to his lab where he compares Jason's dental records
00:35:12
with the teeth in the victim's skull, it's a perfect match. After three years, the search for Jason Petrie is over.
00:35:22
Jason's family is devastated by the news. It was very hard emotionally and mentally, I was completely
00:35:29
separated from myself. I think I was completely out of body. NARRATOR: Jason's case abruptly shifts from a missing person
00:35:41
to a murder investigation. Police revisit their leads in the case starting with Jason's estranged wife Cindy McLeod,
00:35:50
her brother, and her mother. McLeod's had a hostile relationship with Jason, we felt quite confident that they had
00:35:59
knowledge about Jason's death. NARRATOR: Detective Fabrio informs McLeod's that Jason's body has been found
00:36:08
and under suspicious circumstances. Afraid they might be blamed for a murder they didn't commit,
00:36:14
they reveal who killed Jason and it's an entirely new suspect. Cindy's boyfriend Craig Nickerson, a body builder
00:36:22
known to have a hot temper. He had a relationship with Cindy McLeod while Jason was in custody at the halfway house.
00:36:31
NARRATOR: The MacLeods then explain why they hadn't come forward sooner, they were afraid of Craig.
00:36:36
They had been threatened right from the very get go by Craig Nickerson that, if I go down
00:36:40
you're all going down with me, and that's why he involved them. He wanted to make them part of this.
00:36:45
He wanted to be able to use that to control them, to manipulate them. NARRATOR: Cindy, her mother, and her brother
00:36:52
tell investigators that Craig first incapacitated his victim by hitting him in the shin with a tire iron,
00:36:59
unable to escape or defend himself. Craig proceeded to beat Jason to death. According to trial testimony, he then
00:37:07
forced Cindy and her family to help dig Jason's grave. This is a big break in the case but detectives merely
00:37:15
have testimony from three people who withheld information for years. They need more proof to support the McLeod story.
00:37:23
It was important for us to prove that they weren't lying at the time they provided us with the statement.
00:37:30
NARRATOR: Police hope Dr. Melby can find forensic evidence to support the McLeod story, if the evidence is consistent they
00:37:38
will be able to build a case against Craig Nickerson, but without it a killer could go free.
00:37:47
Coming up, as he examines Jason's bones Dr. Melby is shocked by what he sees. Must have been a horrible experience being tied
00:37:56
up and beaten and tortured. NARRATOR: Next on Skeleton Stories. Dr. Jerry Melby prepares to examine Jason Petrie bones.
00:38:20
Investigators are counting on him to find any evidence that points to how Jason died.
00:38:26
Otherwise, the suspected killer Craig Nickerson, could go free. Establishing the cause of death
00:38:32
and homicide investigation is a very important piece. NARRATOR: Dr. Melby first removes
00:38:44
the remaining skin and tissue from the bones using a process called mass oration.
00:38:49
This is done by taking the body and simmering it in water usually eight to as long as 24 hours.
00:38:58
NARRATOR: Once Jason's bones are clean he lays them out in anatomical order and methodically examines every bone.
00:39:07
When Dr. Melby looks at the tibia or shin bone he immediately see signs of brutal foul play.
00:39:15
The shin bone was fractured into several pieces. It would take quite a bit of force to break a tibia.
00:39:21
NARRATOR: Force that Dr. Melby believes could not have been the result of a simple fall or accident.
00:39:28
He believes the extensive fracturing is most likely the result of severe intentional trauma.
00:39:34
Any kind of blunt force weapon would have caused this, such as an iron bar. NARRATOR: While it's clear that the broken shin did not cause
00:39:42
Jason's death, it could have rendered him defenseless while the killer continued to beat him.
00:39:48
If you're beaten severely around the head the possibility of hemorrhages is increased.
00:39:53
The beating to the chest can cause breathing problems. NARRATOR: And while Jason's bones do not reveal exactly how
00:40:01
he died, Dr. Melby's findings corroborate the McLeod story that Craig Nickerson brutally beat Jason
00:40:08
to death with a tire iron. When Dr. Melby established the fact that Jason had a broken
00:40:13
leg, it helped us to be able to demonstrate the credibility of our witnesses. NARRATOR: Relying on Dr. Melby's forensic evidence
00:40:21
combined with the MacLeods version of events, police can finally piece together the last hours of Jason's life.
00:40:36
It's July 13, 1992, Jason gets a pass to leave the halfway house. And goes to visit his son at his estranged wife's home.
00:40:47
But Cindy's new boyfriend, Craig, is there and he refuses to let Jason in the house.
00:40:53
Later Craig tracks Jason down at a local donut shop. He offered to share some marijuana with him,
00:41:01
it's kind of a peace offering. NARRATOR: But the marijuana is just baked. Craig asked Jason to roll a joint.
00:41:09
And as Jason is distracted, Craig rushes him with the tire iron breaking Jason's left shoulder arm.
00:41:17
He would have been incapacitated him anonymously. NARRATOR: Craig then close Jason into the trunk
00:41:22
and heads to a family cottage deep in the woods to finish the job. And enroute he could hear Jason
00:41:28
in the trunk trying to get out. NARRATOR: At the cottage Craig ties Jason to a post
00:41:34
and brutally beats him until he dies. Must been a horrible experience being tied up
00:41:40
and beaten and tortured. NARRATOR: Now Craig needs help to cover up his crime. According to trial testimony, he forces Cindy and her family
00:41:52
to help dig Jason's grave, but because of the tree roots and rocks they are forced to dig a small but deep hole.
00:42:00
The roots in the forest must have constricted the size, great deal. NARRATOR: They then lowered Jason's body headfirst
00:42:07
into the hole and Craig doses the body with lime, thinking it will help destroy forensic evidence
00:42:13
if the body is ever discovered, but he doesn't know he's using the wrong type of lime.
00:42:19
Jason remains in the deep grave for three years until his wallet is discovered by a fisherman.
00:42:29
In the end, Craig Nickerson pleads guilty to murdering Jason Petrie. He was convicted of secondary murder
00:42:36
and sentenced to life imprisonment. NARRATOR: Cindy pleads guilty to obstruction of justice
00:42:41
but never serves time. None of the MacLeods are arrested or charged in connection with the murder.
00:42:51
Jason's family will never hear his voice again but in a way they feel Jason spoke one last time in a final cry
00:42:59
for justice. Jason can't tell us what happened but Dr. Melby has told us. And my brother has spoke through his voice
00:43:07
Dr. Melby is my guardian angel. I'm very thankful to Dr. Melby a man that was able to give us proof.
00:43:17
I was very gratified that I was able to make a contribution. I am on the side of the victim.
00:43:25
I always want to see that justice is closed.