How a clump of moss helped convict grave robbers in Illinois
The Guardian • • science
Key Points:
- Four workers at Burr Oak cemetery near Chicago were convicted of digging up over 100 bodies and relocating the remains to resell burial plots, a scandal that emerged nearly two decades ago.
- Forensic scientists used a tiny clump of moss found with the reburied remains to determine the location and timing of the crime, which was crucial evidence in the trial.
- The moss, identified as common pocket moss (Fissidens taxifolius), was not native to the area where the bodies were found but abundant in a suspected dig-up site, indicating it had been moved with the bodies.
- By measuring the moss's metabolic activity, scientists established that it had been buried for less than 12 months, disproving the
