Australia’s ‘Doctor Death’ has spoken candidly regarding a selection of the most peculiar and horrifying cases he’s encountered throughout his profession. Share Article Share Article Facebook X LinkedIn Reddit Bluesky Email Copy Link Link copied Bookmark Comments
The Australian ‘Doctor Death’ has unveiled insights into some of the most gruesome ways individuals can meet their end, emerging from a multi-decade vocation immersed in the dark and morbid.
Forensic scientist Roger Byard has scrutinised numerous fatalities, spanning from those executed by serial killers to fatal encounters involving fowl and diverse fauna.
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“I’ve been amassing data on animal-related deaths. Canines, serpents, sharks, cockerels, tuna,” Roger confessed during a recent installment of the I Catch Killers podcast, presented by former police superintendent Gary Jubelin.
“Inauspicious circumstances,” the expert added while elaborating how a fisherman in Australia’s Northern Territory perished when a 55-pound tuna breached the surface and collided with him, resulting in instant death, in Darwin Harbour.
During the program, Byard, who occupies the George Richard Marks Chair of Pathology at the University of Adelaide, also detailed one of his initial cases, an incident eternally etched in Australian notoriety, referred to as the ‘bodies in barrels’ homicides.
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This wave of crimes captivated Australia during the 1990s. “I was oblivious to the gravity when the head of Major Crime summons you,” Roger conveyed.
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These atrocities transpired in Snowtown, South Australia, and were perpetrated by instigator John Justin Bunting, in conjunction with Robert Joe Wagner, and James Spyridon Vlassakis, as a vicious manifestation of skewed justice that entailed tormenting and executing alleged child abusers, often with scant evidence, along with singling out members of the LGBTQ community and victims due to their size.
“That coincidentally happened to be my first week on call,” Roger mentioned, “there were eight corpses partly mutilated within the barrels,” which he and his team needed to analyse subsequent to a colleague uncovering “extremities protruding externally” within one.
Doctor Death’s narratives grow even more bizarre beyond this, however, as he proceeded to recount the circumstances of an elderly woman’s passing at the claws of her own roosters, which Roger portrays as being “unpleasant beings”.
“An elderly woman out back gathering eggs… (the rooster) attacked her and she had distended veins, and it punctured her leg (resulting in her passing).”
Varicose veins constitute a medical affliction in which veins enlarge and contort and can cause substantial haemorrhaging when severed.
Roger elaborates: “I’ve seen a series of demises involving individuals with varicose veins who encountered minimal trauma. There was a feline abrasion (that caused the death).
“This clarifies my motivation for disseminating this content, it’s not merely for its oddity. It’s to educate individuals that if they possess varicose veins and sustain a minor wound, recline, apply direct compression and raise the limb… you’ll pull through.
“But never trust a rooster.”
Even amidst glimpses of brief levity during the exchange, Roger emphasised the emotional burden inherent in the vocation of a forensic pathologist.
“There is a conspicuous absence of discourse concerning PTSD among forensic pathologists,” he remarked. “We encounter carbonised remains, fragmented cadavers, juveniles succumbing to starvation. Subsequently, we are compelled to meticulously delineate every aspect in the courtroom—frequently while enduring attacks on our credibility.
“Initially, I surmised that I would ascertain the origins of all of these mortalities – I was zealous. Subsequently, as my career advanced, I acknowledged that I am not always going to unearth solutions.
“And I am compelled to engage with grieving families and declare ‘I cannot provide an explanation’. I can reassure them with ‘Your actions did not contribute’. Often, they wish to make an acquaintance with the individual who was responsible for their offspring between their last encounter and the subsequent sighting at the funeral parlour.”