Yukio Yamaji was just 16-years-old when he beat his mother to death with an aluminium baseball bat in the apartment they shared in Yamaguchi, Japan. He turned himself in to the police and was transferred to the family court. When asked why he killed his mother, he stayed “it could not be helped” and that “she did not tell me what she would use her borrowed money for.” The court decided that it would be “possible to reform him,” so he was sentenced to the juvenile detention school in Okayama. He served just three years before he was back on the streets.
The court would soon come to discover that they had made a grave mistake.
On the 17th of November, 2005, a fire was reported at an apartment in western Osaka prefecture. Once the blaze was extinguished, two bodies were discovered: 27-year-old Asuka Uehara and her 19-year-old sister, Chihiro. They had both been raped and then stabbed in the chest and face with a butcher knife. Suspicion soon fell onto Yamaji who lived in the same apartment block. When police brought him in for questioning, he readily confessed. “I can’t forget the feelings I felt when I killed my mother and I wanted to see blood,” he said. He told police he left the murder weapon at a shrine several hundred meters away.
Yamaji was found guilty and sentenced to death. He was hanged alongside two other murderers in 2009.
December 17th is the beginning of a week long Roman celebration called Saturnalia, dedicated to the god Saturn- it ends on the 23rd. A few emperors legally changed the amount of days that Saturnalia was seen on, but Romans seemed to always stick with the whole week regardless of what the government had to say. Saturnalia is really a mixture of multiple different holiday practices, which was celebrated in honor of the “Golden Age”, which Saturn was thought to have presided over. Here are some of the key features of Saturnalia:
Merriment -
Saturnalia was all about reveling in the glory of Rome, and about personal happiness. It was a week made for pure jubilation. There were a lot of expectations among the people of Rome in accordance with certain behaviors, but Saturnalia loosened these social faux pas.
Reversal of Servitude -
One such changing of society occurred with a particular day in the celebration when slaves were regarded as equal. This is a nod to how in the mythical Golden Age there was an agricultural bounty and no need for the enslavement of people to produce a plentiful harvest. One member of the house was even given the privilege to command the male head of the household, a title called “King of Misrule”. Freed members of the household served the enslaved, which was extremely paradoxical to Rome’s particularly classist society.
Gift Giving -
Not only did Saturnalia briefly give the gift of freedom, they also exchanged actual gifts. That’s right- gift giving. Candles meant to symbolize the light of the Golden Age were given, along with figurines and other items for household guests. This was conducted on the very last day, or last couple of days.
Feasting and Religion -
Of course, no religious celebration is complete without a grand party and honors towards the god it was dedicated to. Saturn was offered a sacrifice. And a public banquet was held that really brought Rome together. This was all done on the first day of Saturnalia, though it’s likely that feasts continued on throughout the week.
Saturnalia influenced the celebrations around Christmas and the New Year.
The Roman poet Catullus deemed it “the best of days.” And rightfully so.
Okay, I totally missed it last night, because I was pissed (still am) about the complete disinterest for Ryan and Esposito’s well-being at the end.
But they got a latent fingerprint off someone’s skin. The next day.
See, latent fingerprints are generally left by the oils on your skin. Try leaving a fingerprint on a window or mirror. If your hands are very clean, it doesn’t leave much. Rub your finger on your forehead, and then try. A much more identifiable print will be left behind.
If someone touches you, their print will be unidentifiable amongst your own oils and sweat. (Not to mention, skin seems too… squishy for an undistorted print.) Then, even if the print was perfect, for the girl to manage to not touch or rub her arm all day or while she was sleeping, is insanity.
</rant>
I swear I really did love the episode, I just needed to get this off my chest. Expect more rants from me concerning completely insane forensic science on TV. Because HANG ON PEOPLE, someone is wrong on the internet.
My research includes analyzing different samples such as immunochromatographic cards, washed stains, and lipstick samples. Bekka grad student in the Penn State Forensic Science Program
The stranger wore scrubs when she plucked the 3-day-old newborn from a Texas hospital and hid her in a handbag. Lubbock police, with the aid of the infant’s family and surveillance, created a computer composite of the suspect for the public.
In the state if Florida, it’s completely legal to start a fire anywhere, as long as it’s not damaging property. The catch is, though, that you have to say it’s a “warming” fire (i.e., a fire you’re using to keep yourself warm) and it has to have less than a 3 foot diameter. The police can’t arrest or fine you. Next time I’m at the beach at night and they tell me I can’t have a bonfire, imma tell them it’s for warmth.
Update on “Wilbur”; top left was taken on September 16th (seven days after leaving the pig out), top right on September 17th and the bottom on September 19th.
Decomposition happened quite fast because this was a small body, and it had been quite warm during the first few weeks of September. This would be considered the “dry” or skeletonization stage of decomposition…which is pretty self-explanatory.
Only the skin on the skull and some of the hooves were left, as it doesn’t provide much for feeding larvae. Also, there hadn’t been much rain during this time, so the conditions had been warm and dry. In a less exposed area (i.e. with little to no insect activity), the cadaver would have likely become mummified.
If you look at the head, you’ll see that the eye hole in the skin doesn’t match up with the eye socket in the skull. Keep in mind that there’s no longer anything anchoring skin to…well, anything. So slipping does happen.
Since then, there hasn’t been much change. A little less skin, but not much.
Okay, CSI’s. These remains were found partially submerged in a nearby river in close proximity to some clothing – when the state crime lab determined that they weren’t human they kicked them over to us. What are you able to tell about them? Is it all from one animal, or are you even able to identify the individual bones? Because of the extensive erosion some of these fragments may be unidentifiable – I included them just to throw you off!
Or, did the crime lab make a mistake: are they really human after all!?
Edit: Also, please feel free to answer incompletely; if you don’t know them all just take a guess at a few!
Do you like great mysteries like Law & Order or NCIS? Ever like to read books with forensics, but you loose interest due to the lack of excitement in the characters’ lives? Well if you’re looking for a forensic/mystery-romance book for teens and young adults, I highly recommend
The Christopher Killer series by Alane Ferguson. This series is about a 17 year old girl named Cameryn Mahoney who lives in a small town of Silverton, Colorado. Cameryn’s father is the towns coroner, and so she falls in love with all of the aspects of forensics. When her father accepts her as his assistant-coroner, the first murder in over 25 years is committed and everyone is making sure that the job is done right. As Cameryn uncovers these cases in the series, she meets a young Deputy Officer, Justin Crowley, and immediately they become close. Cameryn’s life soon becomes frantic over pressure from the police, news about her mother, a love, and her personal life issues. Out of five stars, I’d rate this series with 10 stars. Alane Ferguson really brought everything to the table with her current four books in the Christopher Killer series. Even if you’re not much of a murder-book-type of person, I guaranteed that you will not be disappointed. These are easy to follow books that never loose your interest. Awesome job for Alane Ferguson!
P.S.- If you are looking to follow up on this series when you have finished The Christopher Killer, here are the following books in the order of the Cameryn Mahoney series:
Angel of Death
Circle of Blood
The Dying Breath
**The fifth book is coming out soon!! Check alaneferguson.com for details. So far the title is The Forensic Academy Murders. I will post further information on the upcoming books.
