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Guardians of the Dead podcast: True stories and fascinating cases from a working forensic pathologist

New podcast series Guardians of the Dead explores the grisly but fascinating world of forensic pathology through the case notes of a veteran Adelaide forensic pathologist. Listen to episodes 1-7 here.

Forensic pathologist and academic Prof Roger Byard. Artwork Steve Grice/ The Advertiser.
Forensic pathologist and academic Prof Roger Byard. Artwork Steve Grice/ The Advertiser.

WARNING: This podcast series features graphic descriptions of forensic pathology techniques, and descriptions of violent crimes, accidents and traumatic incidents that some listeners may find distressing or upsetting.

Roger Byard knows what death looks like. How it feels to the touch. He can tell you how it smells. In many ways, Roger Byard has given his life to death.

In a career spanning nearly 40 years, more than 6000 autopsies, the grim remnants of terrorist attacks, serial murders and the putrid aftermath of natural disasters Prof Byard has seen death up close. Dissected it from every angle.

The Chair of Pathology at the University of Adelaide, Prof Byard has worked on a string of high-profile cases in SA and around the world, from Snowtown to the Bali bombings.

His office isn’t like yours. His office is the mortuary, the courtroom, the lecture theatre, a murder scene on the edge of a road in the middle of nowhere, in the middle the night.

He has written hundreds of research papers on every facet of death, dying, grief and mourning, on the strange and unusual ways some unlucky people have met their demise; death by rooster, death by herbal medicine, death by freakish accidents at home.

Prof Byard has opened up his case files and trawled back through his personal recollections for a new podcast from The Advertiser and the University of Adelaide, Guardians of the Dead, which sheds a light on the macabre but fascinating world of forensic pathology.

LISTEN TO ALL THE EPISODES BELOW

“I say that pathologists are almost the guardians of the dead, because we are the last doctor to look after this person and this is a person,” he says.

“Father, mother, brother, whatever. They’re part of a family and there are people who will miss this person for a long time so we have tremendous responsibility in this.

“Particularly for parents who’ve lost a child or a baby, they want to talk to me… they just want to eyeball the person who looked after their baby.

“And so I can look at them and just say ‘this is not (just) a case. This is your dead child. And we can’t imagine what you’re going through, because we’re so saddened by it.

“But we treated your little boy or little girl with every respect and I looked after her while she was with us. They need to know that this is just not a medico-legal process that doesn’t care.”

Through the course of the series, Prof Byard recalls his work on the ground in the wake of the 2002 Bali bombings, the 2004 Thai tsunami and on the gruesome world-headline-grabbing Snowtown serial murders of the 1990s.

Forensic Pathologist, and Chair of Pathology at the University of Adelaide Professor Roger Byard, in the Ray Last Laboratories at the university. Picture Matt Turner.
Forensic Pathologist, and Chair of Pathology at the University of Adelaide Professor Roger Byard, in the Ray Last Laboratories at the university. Picture Matt Turner.

He also explores the ways modern forensic technologies are being used to solve historical mysteries and how what happens in the mortuary can help shape public policy to prevent people from dying in the first place.

He says he hopes the podcast will help do what society conditions us not to do.

Talk openly about death. About how easily a life can be taken away, by design or by accident. And how hard it can be to explain exactly how it happened and why. He also speaks candidly about what it means to live a life so completely surrounded by death.

“I was involved with the Sally Clark case in the UK. She was a lawyer who was actually imprisoned for allegedly murdering two of her children. And I was involved in the court of appeal and the conviction was quashed.

“I heard it on the news that morning and actually got tears in my eyes. I hadn’t realised how immersed in the case I’d been. I was looking at just the technical aspects to it but underneath there’s the emotion, because, you know, even pathologists are human beings.”

EPISODE 1: Even pathologists are human beings

What is forensic pathology? What happens at a crime scene, in the morgue and in court? Prof Byard debunks some of the biggest myths about this fascinating science and explains why one particular case – the murder of 15-year-old Adelaide girl Samantha O’Reilly, has stuck with him for almost 20 years. Read the story | Listen to the episode below

Current subscribers can stream the episode here.

Note: If the audio player embedded above does not load, Advertiser app users can listen to all episodes in this series by going to the “Podcasts” section in the footer of our app.

EPISODE 2: ‘Just so many dead bodies’ Bali bombings, Boxing Day tsunami

Wherever tragedy strikes, forensic pathologists follow, tasked with the important work of disaster victim identification – often in the most trying and confronting circumstances. Prof Byard was on the ground in the wake of the 2002 Bali bombings and 2004 Thai Tsunami and reveals how, even in the midst of so much death, he witnessed one of the most beautiful things he’d ever seen in his life. Read the story | Listen to the episode below

Current subscribers can stream the episode here.

Note: If the audio player embedded above does not load, Advertiser app users can listen to all episodes in this series by going to the “Podcasts” section in the footer of our app.

EPISODE 3: Never trust a camel: Death by animal

All kinds of animals can kill people, from leeches, roosters and sheep, to fish, monkeys and camels. In this episode, Roger discusses the many bizarre ways people have been killed by animals and how animals can help solve a mysterious death but also complicate a criminal investigation. Read the story | Listen to the episode below.

Current subscribers can stream the episode here.

Note: If the audio player embedded above does not load, Advertiser app users can listen to all episodes in this series by going to the “Podcasts” section in the footer of our app.

EPISODE 4: Snowtown: Crime scene in a barrel

Two weeks into his new career as a forensic pathologist, Roger Byard got a phone call that would not only have a profound impact on his own life and career, but also on the tiny SA town of Snowtown and the whole of South Australia. In this episode, Roger details the forensic aspects of the Snowtown investigation, the unique challenges the gruesome killings presented and his prevailing memories of one of the world’s most shocking acts of evil.

Read the story| Listen to the episode below.

Current subscribers can stream the episode here.

Note: If the audio player embedded above does not load, Advertiser app users can listen to all episodes in this series by going to the “Podcasts” section in the footer of our app.

EPISODE 5: Bushrangers. Real folk heroes or just thugs?

In modern Australia, Bushrangers are generally held up as folk heroes, fighting for the oppressed 19th century working classes – but is this true? Taking examples such as Ned Kelly, Ben Hall and Captain Moonlight, Prof Byard explains how modern forensic techniques and cutting edge technologies have helped historians see these bush bandits in a whole new light. He also explains why having a Ned Kelly tattoo could be bad for your health. Read the story | Listen to the episode below

Current subscribers can stream the episode here.

Note: If the audio player embedded above does not load, Advertiser app users can listen to all episodes in this series by going to the “Podcasts” section in the footer of our app.

EPISODE 6: Deadly herbs: How ‘natural’ remedies can kill

More and more people in the West are turning to herbal therapies for relief from disease or for general wellbeing, but as Prof Byard explains, even herbal remedies can kill. He details several cases from Australia and around the world where people have died by consuming and preparations they thought were ‘natural’ but were anything but and makes a case for stronger regulation of what’s become a multi-billion dollar industry. Read the story | Listen to the episode below

Current subscribers can stream the episode here.

Note: If the audio player embedded above does not load, Advertiser app users can listen to all episodes in this series by going to the “Podcasts” section in the footer of our app.

EPISODE 7: Weird ways to die

We’re all going to die but how we check out may be totally out of left field. In this episode, Prof Byard explores some of the more unusual cases he’s seen in nearly four decades as a forensic pathologist – from choking and misadventures at work to strange parasites and selfie deaths. Read the story | Listen to the episode below

Current subscribers can stream the episode here.

Note: If the audio player embedded above does not load, Advertiser app users can listen to all episodes in this series by going to the “Podcasts” section in the footer of our app.

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Original URL: https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/guardians-of-the-dead-podcast-true-stories-and-fascinating-cases-from-a-working-forensic-pathologist/news-story/ecc4fbcf4395e3f2a002efdeaa032289